It’s about -25 today so it’s a great day to share some pics from the Glimpse of the Tropics display at the Regina Floral Conservatory. It’s one of the hidden gems in Regina, and on Sunday afternoon it was full of people escaping another cold January day. I highly encourage a visit if you’re experiencing the winter blahs – you’re welcome to bring in a coffee, take off your coat, sit on a bench, and forget for awhile that you’re on the prairies in January!
The best antidote for a cold winter’s day is a visit to the Regina Floral Conservatory. Granted, Saturday was the first time I’ve ever been there, but for an hour it was easy to forget that it was the beginning of February and minus 20 outside! The air was warm and moist (great for prairie winter parched skin), and the bright colours are a feast for the eyes!
The Conservatory is maintained by volunteers, and there are different themes throughout the year. The theme right now is A Glimpse of the Tropics. It’s open every afternoon and there are lots of benches and seating areas to soak it all in. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
I have a new phone so wanted to try out the camera, what a perfect place to take photos in the winter!
One of my favourite Spring flowers…
Up until yesterday, when the snow started, my flowers were still blooming. It would’ve been nice to get another week or two out of them. It does look kind of pretty outside, but it would be prettier if it was December! At least the snow should be gone by the end of the weekend with warmer temps in the forecast.
I always have a camera in my bag (well, two if you count my phone)…but these are the results of actually taking a camera out of my bag! Work has been a little stressful, and as an antidote to that stress, I’ve been taking more pictures, and thinking about why I started my blog so I can come up with a tag line/slogan. There are two reasons… the possibility of a strike was looming at work and I wanted something to do when I wouldn’t be walking the picket line (our contract ended up being settled before that happened).
The second reason, and the one that still guides me, is that we are inundated with so much negativity in all forms of media everyday, and I wanted to put something out into the world the opposite of that. A negative free zone, if you will. My goal continues to be to showcase the simple things in life…a pretty flower, a funny animal, cool things I see in my travels, and just the beauty and wonder around us if you take the time to look. Photography has become a way to share how I see the world, a stress reliever, a great motivator to get out and see things, and allows me to exercise my creative side.
In that spirit, these are pictures I’ve taken over the last few days during everyday events – on my lunch break at work, taking the long way to walk to a neighbourhood store, and just stopping to look up at the sky…
I’ve shared this quote before from George Santayana, but it’s one of my favourites, and goes with the theme of this post:
You don’t always get to choose the things that happen in your life, but you always get to decide how you handle things. (I wrote that mostly as a reminder to myself!!!)
We have had warm weather and a good amount of rain….the flowers are flourishing early in the season, and that makes me a happy girl.
