We're in the soggy pacific northwest, right?
Swirling around the feet of the giant wire saguaros is a river of great plants.
Every year, I swear to check out the zoo during the day just to enjoy the gardens like Alison did. See her post here.
Psychedelic plants, no paint required!
A flash exposes some lovelies hidden by darkness.
Beautiful! Loree's Christmas tree next year?
A monkey puzzle tree wearing Seahawk colors.
I wonder what it might look like with a bit of snow?
Skating puffins, not something one sees every day.
Our native Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) putting on a show of it's own!
Magical forest.
The "flame tree" changes shape a bit each year but retains its popularity as a photo backdrop for attendees.
It's hard to capture the effect of these simple white lighted snowflakes hung throughout a woodsy area of the zoo. It was delightful in person.
If gazing at lights isn't your thing, you can ride the nifty vintage merry-go-round or ride a camel.
I looked at both ends but there was no pot of gold!
Mt. Rainier
A crab being eyed by the lurking octopus behind it.
May your winter be filled with light and love!
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your pics, now there's no need for me to go!
ReplyDeleteViewing the pictures from a warm living room is a bit nicer than braving the cold although that has its charms as well.
DeleteI love colored lights among plants. I bought anther string after Christmas to add to the collection from last year, still in the box. The old 40 year old strings in the greenhouse need to come down and new ones go up. Ambitious project for the winter.
ReplyDeleteThe lights bring out the kid in all of us, I think. I also got some lights on sale to put in my greenhouse. Perhaps it'll happen one of these days.
DeleteThis is how bees and other insects see certain plants, right? Beacons of light and color...
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that these are quite nice, even though I feel like this is not my cup of tea -- the MBG has its Garden Glow and I avoid it every year.
You're right. Hadn't thought about that but we decorate our gardens with lights perceptible by insects. Cool.
DeleteI hate myself for loving holiday lights so much!
I like how they added lights underneath the plants in the first few images (desert garden shots), it ups the "wow" factor. As for the crab/octopus scene I wonder if that means the organizers saw this video: http://www.santacruzwaves.com/videos/octopus-leaps-water-grabs-crab/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link! Bet they did see that video as the crab is a new addition this year.
DeleteYou really wring every last drop of pleasure from the holidays!
ReplyDeleteI'm slow to warm up to the holiday season but then hate to see it go.
DeleteImpressive! We had a similar light show at our botanical garden here in Madison in late fall/early winter. My photos weren't very good. What's your secret for photographing night light shows? These shots are great!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I don't have a secret, just put the settings on automatic but disable the flash, try to hold my hand steady (a tripod helps but got really cumbersome last year) and push the shutter release button. Editing helps.
DeleteWe haven't been to Zoo Lights for a while. It was fun to see your photos.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a bad idea to skip a few years every now and then as much is the same each year.
DeleteMuch better than the lighted Santa's workshops I'm used to seeing!
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of really brilliant light shows in the area. People really enjoy them here where winter's dark nights can seem endless.
DeleteWow - that's a lotta lights! The "flame tree" alone is astounding, and one hopes they're using LEDs. This is far nicer than our local light show at PIR (Portland International Raceway), where there are no plants at all.
ReplyDeleteNow that's just too fun! Some of these are like looking at negative images. The colors are crazy wild.
ReplyDelete