Despite having and annual pass to the Dallas Arboretum, we haven’t been in almost a year.  We have the discussion that says, “You know, we should go to The Arboretum.”  “Yeah, we should.”  And that’s the end of it.  We allow other things to come first, to push this out of the way.  I’m not even sure I know why that happens; it just does.  I was determined to go this fall.  Fall is my favorite time of year and The Arboretum decorates beautifully with pumpkins everywhere.  How can one not be cheered when surrounded by that sea of orange.

So, we planned a mini date day today.  We slept in a little.  8:00 feels late after the work week mornings of 5am.  We headed to our local coffee shop for breakfast waiting for the rush hour traffic to dissipate, and then made our way to The Arboretum.  There was a slight chance of rain in the forecast, but we decided to take our chances.  The overcast skies made it a perfect day to stroll through the gardens.

We took a leisurely walk around with Weber stopping to make notes about plants and me taking pictures.  Every now and then we found a bench and just sat and took in the sights and sounds.  It was the best kind of day!

Here are a few images from our day:

The huge pumpkins that greet you as soon as you walk through the front gate and then are resting all around make me smile.

Downtown Dallas…so close, yet so far.

More pumpkins.

Tis year’s theme for The Arboretum’s Pumpkin Village is the Wizard of Oz.  Today, the yellow brick road was filled with toddlers and their parents as well many school aged children on field trips.  We did take a little time to walk through the hay bale maze and to say “hello” to the Tin Man.

Not all of the color came from the bright orange of the pumpkins.

The best part of the day was taking the time to be still, to sit and watch all of the critters, to be amazed by nature.

The Monarch butterflies were all over.  I took many shots of them, to end up with only a couple that are worth anything.  That said, it really was not about the destination, a decent; it was about the time spent watching these beautiful creatures fly in and out of the flowers.

This little guy was begging to be photographed…or discovered by a talent agent!  He posed and talked and ran away and then came back for more.  He was definitely the squirrel with the mostest personality!

And this one more interested in food.  A squirrel after my own heart!

I needed this day outside of my ordinary.  I needed it to remind me that we all need a change of pace and a change of scenery.  We all need an opportunity to see life from a new perspective both literally and figuratively.  I now feel energized, renewed, and ready to face the daily grind with a better attitude than I have had lately.

We are already planning our next visit to The Arboretum, when the pumpkins have been replaced by the sights of the holiday season.  This year we are going to get our money’s worth out of our yearly pass!