2022/5/15 - DUKE GARDENS
SPIDER FREE THEATRICAL RELEASE

This is the Spider Free Theatrical Release for this album, meaning I have included only the highest quality photos and cut the arachnids (there was actually only one this time, in case you really wanted to see the other photos). I have trouble culling down even this far - because I get emotionally attached to the memories - but I do it all for you, the viewers. If this isn't quite enough photos for you, visit the longer Extended Edition at DUKE GARDENS MAY 2022 - DIRECTOR'S CUT EXTENDED EDITION.

Another visit to Duke Gardens, hoping to see our friend the Great Blue Heron again. We'll get to that. It's always lovely to see how gardens change throughout the year as plants progress through their life cycles - gone were the cherry blossoms, replaced by lush green leaves that one might not recognise at all if one had not seen them in the same spot a month earlier. The best reason to go out early, aside from avoiding the sun of course, is that no one or their dog has yet scared away the timid wildlife. Today in the learning garden, I was treated to a couple of Hispid Cotton Rats as they nibbled the greens. I have perfected the art of moving slowly and smoothly while maintaining a low squat. I conducted a slow-motion chase on a few birds, learned that onion flowers look absolutely ridiculous, and took blurry photos of a bunny standing entirely still.

Moving into the Asiatic Arboretum, I watched in delight as an American Robin took a little bird bath. The turtles were once again confidently tanning on rocks near the shore. No sign of the heron yet, so I kept walking. The tulips in the terrace garden had been replaced by spherical alliums and foxglove bells. A crow attempted to break into a lost bag of froot loops, which I put a stop to. Paper wasps were crawling around leaves in a way I couldn't understand, which my friend tells me could be them looking for other bugs to take back to their nest to feed to their larvae. I wandered around looking for bees to model for me, and then went back to look for the heron.

Well, he was across the pond in a spot that I couldn't get any closer to. So I waited half an hour for him to move, and then ran around the pond, hoping to get a better view. He slowly did his odd little heron walk up the shore. I took his photo. He slowly did his odd little heron walk RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and MY CAMERA RAN OUT OF MEMORY. My hubris, my greed, wasted too many photos trying to catch songbirds in bad lighting. Well, I have 3 photos of him right there, and they're not bad. I'll take it.

However, I was still fuming about it over lunch, so I decided to drive back over to give it another shot (after deleting 60 out-of-focus photos). No heron, but I did get slightly spooked by a snake slithering off the path right in front of me. To my surprise, the snake appeared to disappear himself before my very eyes. Then I realised he was climbing the (small, fragile) tree right next to me. I knew a black snake was no danger to me (Black Rat Snake to be specific - watch out Cotton Rats...), but this tree is right next to a zigzag bridge with no railing, so I did my best not to call anyone's attention to him so that no one would panic and fall in the water. Unfortunately, he tried to parkour his way from the tree onto a separate branch, most of his body slapped the tree with a loud swish, I laughed, and passers-by had to be pacified and reassured that he really didn't care about them at all. I also saw a lovely cardinal, watched dragonflies on the hunt, and saw a family dunk their ball into the lily pond even though it was painfully obvious that it was the inevitable outcome of playing soccer there instead of literally anywhere else on the entire field.