Reiman Gardens adventures

So on Wednesday, Anna and I went out to Reiman Gardens here in Ames. It's a horticultural garden affiliated with the university that is really gorgeous. Reiman Gardens is in the city limits of Ames - in fact, it sits in the shadow of Jack Trice Stadium, home of the Iowa State Cyclones and is just off Elwood Drive which is a main drag out to the highway, so it's kind of funny that you're in this serene place yet, you can still hear traffic and, if you were there on the right day, the roar of football fans.

It has a butterfly sanctuary that Anna adores. She always wants a butterfly to land on her -- except when she's on the lookout for dead butterflies that she can pick up. I tell ya, that kid is a study in contradictions. One minute, girly girl. The next minute, looking for dead things.

It was hotter than hell the day we were there. Anna wanted to go look in the pond for frogs - something she'd seen the last time she was out there with Heidi.


Unfortuantely, there were none to be had. I think it must have been too hot - heck, if I were a frog, I think I'd be swimming or at the very least, in the shade. We did, however, see dragonflies and tadpoles which was enough for her.

And no visit to the gardens is complete without her rolling down the hills like a maniac. I had figured out how to set my camera on "paparazzi mode" i.e. take 3 or 4 pictures in quick succession, so I got some pretty good shots of her rolling down the hills. The unfortunate thing is that 90% of them have her back to me. But below is one of the better ones.

We left after only about an hour because we were so damn hot. We spent the rest of the day at home.

Coming up ... Glidden pool adventures.