Postcrossing Favorites for October

Here are this month's favorite postcards received via Postcrossing.com:

From Germany

Here I am, reading cartoons with Jupiter. 

(I'm the fat one.)

From The Netherlands

Mysterious cows...

From Ukraine

From Poland: "We are all complicated."

(See http://myturntodayyourstomorrow-cheryl.blogspot.com/2010/07/postcrossing.html for details about Postcrossing.com.)

Butterfly Rainforest

While I was in Florida, my daughter Mary took me to Gainesville to see the Butterfly Rainforest at the Museum of Natural History.

This beautiful garden is chock-full of lush foliage and colorful butterflies. Visitors follow a trail through the garden which could be walked in two minutes, if you completely ignored your surroundings, but Mary and I enjoyed the garden for the better part of an hour. Between the two of us, we snapped nearly 500 photos. This blog post contains a few of my favorites.

[Click on images to enlarge them.]

Two varieties of finches also share the space; the little birds darted amongst the flowers and bathed in the fountain. 

Food trays for the birds and butterflies were tucked into the foliage.

Outside the garden, we could look into the hatching lab where the cocoons are kept. Periodically, new hatches are released into the garden.

Drawings and mounted specimens lined the hallway.

For those who might feel claustrophobic, there was an outdoor sitting area, near a wall covered with sculpted frogs.

All in all, a beautiful and informative part of the museum. If you're ever in Gainesville, don't miss it! Or, you can visit the Butterfly Rainforest's website at  http://www.visitgainesville.com/attractions/item.aspx?id=14

Golf Tournament: Drop Your Old Bag Here

Last week, while visiting family in Florida, I attended my first golf tournament. Holly, my granddaughter, was one of the players representing her high school.




The tournament took place at Turkey Creek Golf Course, where I observed neither turkeys nor creeks, but it was a beautiful, sunny place.  (Oh, right. I was in Florida, where every place is beautiful and sunny.)

I did notice a spot where people are apparently supposed to unload their grandmothers.

Holly's team wore red shirts, and so did her mom.

I chose my costume accordingly.

They let me drive the golf cart.

The players had to walk the entire course and carry their own clubs. We were permitted to follow them in golf carts, but we were forbidden to talk to the players, cheer, or point at lost golf balls. 

It felt a little like we were stalking them.

Each hole was accompanied by a granite marker, which included a tiny map and other pertinent information. I learned that you are not supposed to dig these up to take home and place in your garden.

We had to be very quiet as the girls prepared to tee off. 

All these rules made me feel a bit teed off, myself.

Holly hits a long drive into right field.

The players are "on the green." What other color was there to be on?

Here, Holly is "sinking her putt," which sounds like it might be a fishing term, but isn't.

As we watched the game, Holly's parents sometimes looked hopeful...

 ...and sometimes, not so hopeful.

It turns out that golf is rife with "hazards," not the least of which were nests of fire ants...

...and the occasional stray golf ball to the temple.  Although the player shouted "4," we were lucky, and only one golf ball came our way.
 

Pat tried to avoid the fire ant nest, but risked getting jammed between the golf cart and a tree. Which hazard would he choose?

Yay!  He chose to ride with me in the golf cart!

But, Pat reconsidered his choice when we went perpendicular for a while...

...and then accidently pinned Mary to a tree.

I guess the final straw was when we stopped long enough for Pat to do some repairs to the cart...

...and I forgot to put on the brake.