19. Stroll through the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.

I've got a lot of to-do's from the last few months to catch up with! On a day like today... fall coming to it's end and the chilly wind finding it's way through the cracks and crannies of your house and into your slippers to numb your toes... it would be nice to reminisce on a much warmer event. Like the time we went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. Yes, the memory of that event will warm my toes... that and maybe another pair of socks.

So one day last July we had a dinner date with the friends that we knew back in Provo that had moved to Madison for a new job. Prior to dinner we had an hour or so to spare so we drove into town early to see what the Olbrich Botanical Gardens had to offer. Being late-ish summer a lot of the flowers were past their prime but the landscaping and Thai pavilion were still very neat. We'll definitely have to go back this coming spring to see everything in full bloom. Here are some highlights from our afternoon...

That is a pond behind us completely covered in green mystery fluff.

A cute boy and some huge leaves.

The Thai pavilion! This thing was boss!

Gold leafing everywhere...

built in Thailand, taken apart, shipped to Madison, and rebuilt again...

pretty sweet stuff!

Here we are on the rose garden tower. Not a ton of roses in bloom but the tower was fun.

Colors, colors, colors...

and two bears having a picnic! (the shrubbery ones, not Todd'n'Peter)

Well, we really had a lovely time. I am already looking forward to that warm spring day next year when we go back to see even more! For now... we'll just make the most of the blustery 42* with a chance of rain. Hey, at least it hasn't snowed yet, right?