Blossoms: Royal Paulownia still in bloom. I've noticed another tree in bloom around the city and in Lawrenceville. It has clusters of tiny white blossoms. There are a few such saplings in front of the Baptist church down the street from us. I think it is hawthorn, but I'm not sure.

Watching: Our tape of Homicide from Friday night. The promo for next week's episode is touting it as the series finale, rather than just the season finale, so I guess the show has been officially canceled. This cancellation comes a year too late: its glory days were over when Andre Braugher left. Still, I will miss it.

Back to the Garden

Yesterday afternoon after the twins got up from their naps, Tab suggested a family outing to Sayen Gardens, a twenty-seven acre botanical park in nearby Hamilton Township.

Sayen Gardens is known for its azaleas. In fact, every year on Mother's Day, Hamilton hosts an Azalea Festival there. The park has azaleas of every variety and color: red and white, pale pink and coral, magenta and cream. A lot of people in the neighborhoods around here have azaleas in their front yards, but I prefer seeing them in a woodland setting. The huge banks of colorful flowers seem more beautiful when set against the green of the trees. Winterthur in Delaware also has an extensive azalea woods.

The house at Sayen Gardens is often booked for wedding receptions. Other wedding parties use the gardens as settings for formal photographs. In fact we spotted two separate wedding parties on their way out as we arrived. Tab has brought bridal parties here for pictures, too. Even when the azaleas are not in bloom, there are other flowering trees and plants, as well as a pretty, rock-lined pond with a fountain in the middle, several picturesque bridges, a small marble temple and a wooden gazebo.

We followed the winding paths through the woods, enjoying the scenery. The boys ran ahead of us and climbed on some of the rocks that lined the trails. Then we returned to the pond, sat on the rocks, and watched several large orange fish swimming around. Stephen spotted a frog, and then Tab noticed lots of tadpoles milling about on an underwater ledge.

"Look, Mama, another robin redbreast with a worm in its mouth! I saw two robin redbreastes!" exclaimed Stephen.

The boys were climbing around on the rocks, when a woman approached me and whispered: "I don't want to scare you or your children, but my daughter saw a snake on those rocks."

I thanked her for the warning, chuckling inwardly. Daniel would be thrilled to find a snake; and as long as it wasn't poisonous, it wouldn't bother me, either. The snake never reappeared, however. No serpent in this Eden for us.

Holding hands with Tab, I felt quite content as we walked out of the garden, our children scampering about beside us.

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