My Sweetheart's birthday

Today, the 5th of May, is my Jerome's birthday. Seeing as how we couldn't arrange being together  to celebrate on the day itself, we looked for another way. Free of his evening service obligations at the synagogue on the first Friday of each month, Friday looked like an option. Knowing we had just daytime hours we devised a scheme whereby each of us would travel half the distance that separates us and meet there: Madison. 
We agreed to meet at Olbrich Gardens, a lovely garden just off Lake Monona, which we've visited often and have enjoyed watching grow over time to be the first rate garden it is today. Our routes took us to the same exit from opposite directions, and in that marvelous quirky way of the dance of life, Jerome's Jeep came into view of my rearview mirror within minutes of my exiting the highway!

This is a view from the rose tower looking toward Lake Monona. Though the roses and other summer perennials were just in bud, it was the early season plants and all the annual growth on shrubs and trees that really stole the show.

Here is a shrub I'll be looking to add to our farm garden. Have any of you grown it?
Though we've visited the Thai Pavilion  often, it wasn't until yesterday that I learned it was being delivered by air on September 11th, one of the last planes allowed to land at O'Hare in Chicago.

 

 

Olbrich Gardens is built along a waterway entrance for small boats onto Lake Monona. To add the pavilion, more land was purchase across the canal, making the entrance to the pavilion gardens accessible by bridge. In summer months this garden is augmented with enormous potted tropicals.
And as the garden has grown, there have been many water features added within the main garden.

Seeing these has encouraged me to get the farm pond cleaned up and running this summer.

Here are two views of the capital. Guess there's always more than one point of view when it comes to government. Wisconsin is in the midst of a governor recall. Coming from Illinois, a state whose last two governors are in prison, it sounds like a story I've heard before.


We also visited two smaller gardens on the UW Madison campus and an art museum with many fine pieces. This museum reminded each of us  of other college campus art museums, perfect, tidy gems. We ended our extraordinary day with a late afternoon coffee and an exchange: birthday gifts for Jerome and mail delivered to the city house for me. By just before 5 were each merging onto the Beltline in opposite direction once more.
Happy day today, sweetheart, and thank you for yesterday.