Beautiful plants and a cup of delicious tea

Today was a good day. I spent most of it working on a garden on the side of the park office. My goal was to rehabilitate the overgrown garden. There was shrubbery to be pruned, a tree to shape, and weeds to remove. 

As I continued with my project at the park, I thought about the imaginary adventure that I had started in the previous Ultimate Blogging Challenge. And I thought about the fact that I can't do much "for real" traveling. The European Union is closed to Americans. Canada is open for "essential travel" only. So, virtual/imaginary travel is the way to go.

The breezes from the lake blew cool air upon me as I pruned back the very much overgrown shrubbery. It reminded me of "The Secret Garden," by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a book that I am currently reading. It sounds like a book that a gardener would read, right? So I wondered what kind of gardens I might find in Kazakhstan. In Almaty, one can visit the Central Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan. There, you can find many varieties of roses, peonies, asters, tulips, and lilacs. You can also find numerous varieties of cactus, a line of tall trees, a small Japanese garden, and much more. There are suggestions for possible upgrades for the botanical gardens, which include the addition of a small tea house.

All right! My two favorite things during the summer in one place! Beautiful plants and a cup of delicious tea.

After hiking in Ile-Alatau national forest, where the snow leopard lives and after visiting waterfalls, glaciers, and lakes, it would be relaxing to visit a botanical garden, especially if there were a tea house. It would be a chance to get together with friends and share stories.

Tomorrow will find me in a different place here in Western New York, as well as in my imaginary journey around the world. Stay tuned. Who knows where that different place might be!