The first sign of the new visitor education center at the NC Botanical Garden, which is part of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, was basically a big mess.
Then I saw a literal sign showing what was being planned and built to house garden education classes, visitor information, etc.
That helped me, somewhat, to tolerate the mess that was a part of the garden for the years of construction on the new education building.
I always liked the Totten Center which is the old garden Education building but the new one is much larger.
The shot above and the two below are of the old education building at the garden (Totten Building).
Since the new Education Building has been completed, the Totten building is no longer opened for public use but is used for plant propagation and other purposes.
The rest of the shots are of the new Visitor and Education building at the garden. First are several shots I took a month before it was officially open.
This 29,656 square foot building has 3 sections connected by breezeways.
It has a number of green features including rainwater cisterns, geothermal wells, photovoltaic panels, storm water retention ponds, clerestory windows, and the site was selected for a variety of environmental reasons.
To learn more about the new Education Center you can click here. The rest of the shots were ones I took in the early spring of 2010 about six months after the education building opened.
I will be interested in seeing how far along they are in terms of the garden around the building by this summer.
Part of what I like about the original education building is how it was nestled into the garden but I realize that will happen over time with the new education building.
Click for the home of photohunters to see what others did for the education theme.
Hard to believe that we are already a third of the way through February.
I thought I'd post some of the shots I've taken so far this month starting with two American Robins (above) although one is hidden except for its chest. The little bird below is a junco.
Our weather this month has been all over the place with as much as a 40 degree change in temperatures within 24 hours. Below the male cardinal is having a snack on my deck wall.
We've had a lot of gray days but when the sun comes out it has been pretty spectacular.
Below the carolina chickadee is on the left with two sparrows to its right.
It's supposed to snow tonight and into the morning but then warm up so I doubt it will amount to much.
I had to look up the American goldfinch in the shot above because I never quite believe how different it looks in the winter than in the summer. I guess it's adaptive to wear winter browns and then in the summer when it can blend into the flowers be bright yellow.
We had a pretty Sunday after being rainy on Saturday so I went for a walk at the lake. The is the second week in a row where Sunday has been a beautiful day in between less pleasant weather.
I love how the blue sky and the white gulls make a good contrast to each other.
I have been posting a lot of my gull shots on both of my blogs lately but hard to pick my favorites.
At the angle below the blue jay is hiding its bright blue feathers.
I think the jay in the next shot appears to be turning its nose up at me.
The waxwing below seemed to pose for me, or maybe it didn't notice me at the window but it stayed like that a long time.
I've been noticing a lot more mourning doves lately.
I've also been spotting a lot of house finch lately like the one below.
The junco in the next shot is one I took today. I was standing at the door with windows and while I shot it came closer and closer and stopped so I could get a close-up.
I love to watch the way female cardinals move their heads in little side way bobs.
Click for the home of Nature Notes.
This week I'm looking back on my August 2010 blooms.
The shot above is black-eyed susan (rudbeckia) and below is an August bloom from my Crepe Myrtle tree.
The last one is a morning glory blossom.
Click for the home of Today's Flowers.
When I saw that the photohunters word this week was fashion, I wasn't sure what to do. Then I thought, why not show my own sense of fashion, or at least part of me.
For more photohunters, visit the home site.
I always have mixed feelings when we start to have spring like days too soon.
An isolated warm day here and there doesn't do any harm but if it lasts too long and nature gets ahead of itself, we sometimes lose blooms and plants.
For now I'm enjoying warmer days but I'm hoping they will not last too long and send mixed signals.
The problem arises when we start into spring and then have very cold temperatures which is likely to happen through early to mid April.
I've even seen my pecan tree start leafing out in early April only to have all the leaves killed by very cold temperatures, and although the tree survived it affected that year's foliage which had to start a second time. I also don't think I got as many pecans that year.
Spring flowers are usually not as abundant if we have a warm spell lasting too long in early February, because winter is bound to have a last blast. I never like to see buds starting to grow in February because with a few exceptions they won't make it.
A lot depends on how far along the premature spring growth gets going prior to hard low temperatures, frost and, or snow. Depending on variables, snow can actually protect tender plants.
The plants tolerance varies a lot too. Some flowers are fine with very cold weather after they start growing while others perish.
All these internal questions don't keep me from enjoying a walk on an unseasonably warm winter day. By the way the narrative only relates to the walk as the green in these shots are evergreens and the fields and woods are still in the winter stage. At home my helioborus (lenten rose) is showing signs of buds but they can survive very cold weather so may make it. Click for the home of nature notes.
