Mosaic Monday: Japanese Garden

The hostess for Mosaic Monday is the lovely Mary at the Little Red House. Be sure to visit to see the other mosaics.

I'm also linking to My World Tuesday where you can travel around the world without leaving home!

Here are some more photos from the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park.

Designed by world-renowned Japanese landscape architect Ken Nakajima, the garden was built to symbolize the friendship between Japan and the United States, and to recognize Houston’s thriving Japanese community.

It was a beautiful day in this island of serenity just steps from the Texas Medical Center.

You could hear the water gently falling and the leaves in the trees -- talking to us in the gentle breeze.

Joy to You!

Camera Critters

Each Saturday Misty hosts Camera Critters. Be sure you visit! It's a wonderful place for critter lovers.

Back to the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park.

We rounded a corner to view the Tea House and found this little guy.

We kept looking and found his friend.

By the time we walked all the way around the lake near the Tea House we had found seven Black-crowned Night Herons ... all little statues ... standing very still, quiet, beautiful.

Last week there was an article in our little neighborhood newspaper about Black-crowned Night Herons and Yellow-crowned Night Herons nesting in a neighborhood near Hermann Park where the Japanese Garden is located. I think Mr. Dragon and I will go heron hunting this weekend!

More critters in the Japanese Garden next week!

Mosaic Monday: Japanese Garden

It's Monday and that means Mosaic Monday, hosted every week by the lovely Mary at The Dear Little Red House. Be sure you visit.

Edited to include link to Today's Flowers -- a virtual flower garden. So many of you have enjoyed the iris, I thought I should share them a little more!

Mr. Dragon and I went to the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park last week.

It was a beautiful afternoon. The humidity was low and we had the garden almost to ourselves.

With its waterfalls, bridges, and stone paths that wander among crepe myrtles, azaleas, Japanese maples, dogwoods, and peach and cherry trees, the Japanese Garden is a peaceful hideaway in the Park. This particular garden is a daimyo style, and includes a tea garden, a kaiyushiki stroll garden, and a scroll garden.

I have lots of photos and you may have to put up with them for several weeks!

This is the Japanese Tea House and all of these photos are shots from or around the Tea House.

We were too late for the azaleas in the Japanese Garden, but there were a few Iris still blooming.

More next week!

***

A quick update on Mr. Dragon. The feeding tube is out and he is learning how to eat all over again. Much easier said than done. He doesn't have much energy, so when we go out we make sure there are plenty of places to sit and rest. The Japanese Garden was perfect. Going in the afternoon, all the school children (at the museum of natural science or the zoo) were gone and we could find a good parking place. He's lost weight. Each day is an adventure, but the doctors are happy about the pathology report and very optimistic. We keep plugging along.

Thanks again for all your love, prayers, support, white light, et al.

We do appreciate it and you!

Camera Critters

Camera Critters is hosted every Saturday by the lovely Misty. Be sure you visit!

Last week Mr. Dragon and I decided to visit the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park.

It was a beautiful afternoon. Little humidity.

On the way to the Japanese Garden we saw a few feathered critters.

A couple of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks with friend.

Black-Bellied Whistling Duck

I have a story for you about the Whistlers. Last year Mom Whistler made her nest in the sculpture garden at the Museum of Fine Arts -- several very long blocks from this lake. When her eggs hatched, several birders at the museum kept an eye on the youngsters and one day were able to capture them and take them to the lake at Hermann Park. They figured Mom could and would fly over, but the youngsters would never make it across the streets to water. I'd like to think that the Whistlers we saw are those same babes all grown up.

Inside the gates of the Japanese Garden we found this little guy.

He has a white tail ... cotton tail perhaps.

This little bunny was smaller than the first. A little family.

More critters in the Japanese Garden next week!

Happy Critter Day!

My World Tuesday

Go visit the My World site to see more of our world - or participate yourself!

Today I'm taking you to the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park in Houston, Texas. The last time we visited, the local bonsai club was having an exhibition.

An important part of making the park sparkle is the meticulous landscaping and gardens found there. An exquisite Japanese Garden redefines beauty Japanese style. The Daimyo garden, with its gentle waterfalls, lanterns, and teahouse provides a place for quiet contemplation a universe away from the bustle of the City.

Ducks and turtle (all of the pictures can be made larger by clicking on the photo).

The teahouse, built in Japan and carefully reconstructed on site by Japanese craftsmen, is a uniquely Japanese structure. Japan’s former Prime Minister Kaifu is responsible for bringing the Teahouse to Houston.

Located on nearly five-hundred acres just south of Downtown, the park is home to an excellent zoo (see Camera Critters posts for short visits to the zoo), outstanding Science Museum, gardens, family attractions and plenty of wide open spaces, Houston Garden Center, McGovern Lake, a railroad for the kids, Miller Outdoor Theater, a golf course -- lots of fun!

Hermann Park isn’t just IN the heart of the city, it IS the HEART of the city. For the past couple of decades it has also been the focus of a concentrated effort to make it one of the finest city parks in the nation.

There is a lot more to see in Hermann Park. This is just our first visit.