Spring!

Trees with spikes are not just in Hardwicke movies!  Where's my red cape?

Spring is definitely in full bloom in the Bay Area.  For us, Spring is always heralded by the arrival and ultimately the passing of Girl Scout Cookie season.  By now, all of the local schools have completed their Spring Breaks, too. Over our Spring Break, we went to Disneyland, and we took Middie Blythe to the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco's Golden Gate park.  This is a fabulous location for dollie shots.

Carniverous cup plant

And while we were there, the exhibit Boomtown: Barbary Coast at the Conservatory of Flowers was underway.  This was the conservatory's 5th annual garden railway.  The exhibit was a reproduction of historic old-time San Francisco just after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill-- and this is the best part-- in miniature complete with trains!  Okay, so obviously, I'm not just a miniature enthusiast, but I love trains, too.  Well, I guess, honestly I'm nuts about anything that functions in miniature.

Unfortunately, the bad news is this exhibit has closed.  But the next exhibit sounds great. . . Butterflies & Blooms showing from Wed 5/8/'13 to Sun 10/20/'13 10 am - 4:30 pm.  The special exhibits gallery transforms into a cottage garden with more than 20 species of butterflies in attendance!  Wow!  Walking among the butterflies!  I wonder how long your lovely Blythe will have to stand and wait for a butterfly to light on her to get that special shot?  And don't forget to have a splash of tea at the Japanese Tea Garden around the corner while you're in the neighborhood.  Another truly special spot for photos. . .

Large Koi in the pond

And to celebrate Spring I will be cleaning up my Etsy shop.  It has been empty for a while now, but I'm going to add listings for everything that I have on hand.  And all of the returning items (almost everything) will be at Spring Clean-Out prices!  So keep an eye out.