Mental Health Day

Yesterday was a mental health day.  Pure and simple. Yesterday was about getting out, getting away, and getting a new perspective.  I am tired, I am at my end.  I need a recharge and this was it.  So I went to the LA Arboretum with camera in hand for a walk-a-bout.  The house that you see is a California historical landmark, a Queen Anne style house built for entertaining by "Lucky" Baldwin.  It is more famous for its bell tower.  Remember "Fantasy Island"?  Tattoo yelling "The plane!  The plane!"?  Yep, that's the same tower.  

There are many gardens to wander through.  Noises to hear, flowers to smell, wildlife to watch. One of the things that first impressed me were the peacocks and hens.  They have no real fear of humans or the equipment used to keep the property in trim.  They wander at will, including from table to table at the Cafe while your eating or talking with your companion.  Hawks soar, hummingbirds zoom and twitter, and the occasional call of the peacock.  Turtles in the lake sunning themselves on fallen tree branches that have fallen in the lake, carp breaking the surface of the water to suck in food.  The variety of colors of the flowers, blooms from small to large and everything in between, the smell of fresh cut grass, the hum of bees as they went from bloom to bloom, the feel of the breeze on my face, the warmth of the sun on my skin.  All of this was life in action.  

 So much to see if I just stay still and quiet for a time.