MEADOWLARK GARDENS, VIENNA, VIRGINIA

On Sunday after a few days of rain, the sky was a perfect blue and the temperature, though fresh, was quite mild compared to what it had been. We decided to drive to Meadowlark Gardens.  I was very comfortable wearing a coat.  I could have done with a scarf to wrap around my ears, but I only thought about this when we sat on one of the benches for a few minutes to look across the lake.  It was a lovely day and we both had a great time being back.  Our last visit was in October 2019.

I remembered last year at this time there was no admittance charge, and such was the case today.  We always buy an annual pass as we are here a lot during the year, but it is very nice for people with larger families especially.  There were a dozen kids using lots of their energy, and at the same time being exposed to nature.  For the amount of cars in the parking lot it was not that crowded.  Perhaps with 90 acres to explore the place just doesn't feel crowded.   

The wildlife was a bit scarce but we did see a pair of Mallard ducks, male and female, a grand total of two birds flying from tree to tree, a pair of Canada Geese in the distance being chased by a little girl, with a mother chasing her (the geese thought it prudent to take to the air and fly across the lake), and later an American Robin. The only photos we took were of the ducks as everything else didn't hang around long enough, or were just too far away.

Signs of life in the sprouting of new buds on the trees...

and new shoots growing all over the park...

pansies planted...

a few flowering plants like the Woodland Camelia shown at the beginning of today’s post, and other vegetation in their dormant stage.  The grass was still very brown.  

There were several Winter aconite, these yellow flowers.  You can read about them here.

Our main purpose was to get out and enjoy a good walk in favorite surroundings, as even in the winter we get such a sense of peace.  It is beautiful at any time of the year.

I will have more photos later.  We didn't take as many as we normally do, but there are those left to share after I get them organized.

We visited Sunshine who is kept in one of half a dozen terrariums to the left of the entrance.  You just have to go around the first pillar to see, and we never fail to stop by.  Sunshine was very active, more so than I have seen before, walking at a fast pace in the lizard way, to get from A to B.  Sunshine (my nickname for this little beauty) is a fascinating Bearded Dragon, who always seems to be smiling.  

And on that note...