A few weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to check the Gainesville campus of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens – something that has been on my Adventure map for quite some time, but that I just hadn’t given enough thought to actively planning. What a mistake! This is one of my closest botanical gardens, and is well worth an afternoon of meandering!
After a few weeks of a very busy travel schedule, and lots of the unexpected curve balls that life can throw at you, Teri and I needed a quiet, meditative walk around the beautiful creations. One of my favorite things to do, especially when life feels frantic, is take my favorite macro lens and walk – slowly – through nature. While the Gainesville campus is small, it offers a lot of diversity, and we took our time (right up until closing, actually).
We spotted their beehive quickly upon entering, and I loved watching the ladies work! I think bees are absolutely magical, and I spent a long time just following them from flower to flower.
I even find beauty in the details of spent flowers. I find myself still standing in a season of grief, and I am trying to find my place in the process, to find strength in the place where I am standing.
As we walked through the garden, I found myself gravitating towards different colorations, almost an “I spy” with colors or textures.
Even though I am decidedly NOT a fan of Trichonephila clavata (Joro Spider), I still can’t resist photographing them when I’m already out and about with my macro lens – especially considering that there aren’t any other spiders to photograph in the area because they’re being pressured out of the ecosystem by our new invasive neighbors.
I am, however, a fan of ants – similar to our honey bee friends, I love these industrious ladies, and photographing them as they go about their busy little lives.
If you’ve got the opportunity to visit the Gainesville campus of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, I cannot recommend it enough! Such a beautiful way to spend the afternoon, and I know it was certainly the thing that I needed to help recharge my batteries.
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