Great Wide Open

AIR OUT THERE: We're not quite all 'green' here, smoke in the air wise, but I'll take 'moderate,' and so out we went into the morning sunshine and blue skies!

Kubota Garden was our destination. Just a couple miles north of our house, it features 20 acres of immaculate hills and valleys, streams, ponds, waterfalls, and amazing plantings. It's a gem of a park.

 There are lots of little bridges. Here are the kids and their pups on one.

And on the bridge below, on our very first trip to Kubota, for whatever reason, Laika (the little black one) thought it would be a great idea to jump into the water. :0 Fortunately, she had a harness on, and I fished her out.

We came around one corner and found this light chocolate bunny in a meadow. It wasn't at all bothered by our presence - not us, or the dogs. That shocked me. All I could figure was that it has grown up in the park and doesn't think of humans or their furry (on leash) friends as foes.

At one small corner of the park, there are bare tree trunks. I told the kids to "go stand in the U-s" and they knew what I meant immediately. I love seeing Spock peek out from the trunks. 

We passed by a number of ponds today where we expected to find koi based on a past visit. However, they were fish free. I speculated to the kids that was because the water was too low and they'd be too vulnerable to predators.  

Eventually, we happened upon a nice big, deep pond and found many a koi there. Call it their summer home. :)

They came right over to us. Clearly, they're used to humans as their food source.

This duck wanted in on the action, too.

 And honestly, as slow-moving as this turtle was, he made his way toward us in hopes of food, too.

 All in all, a lovely day in the out-of-doors.

 There were some pretty flowers along the way. 

 Fortunately, a family member informed me they're Cleome. 

 And below, some lace leaf hydrangea. 

This shrub below was interesting to me. The south-facing end of it was SO much whiter than the rest. I don't think the discoloration was a new-growth thing. I think it was sun bleached.