Summer Friday #2

We took the annual trip to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I've always wanted to go there during the different seasons each year, but it's a long trek out to the western edge of the metro so my plans never seem to materialize. It's marvelous in summer, though, and a great place for kids with simple tastes and good imaginations. We have a regular routine that includes the maze garden and "thinking labyrinth" for Ellis, numerous fountains to touch "water!" for Charlie and a sprawling outside of plants and flowers for me. Each summer there is a temporary outdoor interactive art installation. This year, it is a building made entirely of branches. We managed to enjoy it after successfully distracting Charlie from the geese that meander across the main road. We also enjoyed the fountain in the perennial garden that was full of tadpoles rather than the koi. I love how the arboretum is slightly different each year the way that each summer is slightly different. I asked Ellis if he would still want to come with me when he and Charlie are old enough to walk up three-mile road rather than drive to the maze garden, even if he was a cranky teenager. He said he would, and I hope that it's true that we can do this together every year.