On Saturday my brother and I zoomed down to Norfolk to visit the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, a glorious place for flower lovers (& tree huggers of all varieties.)
While there we took an hour-long boat ride through the canal system and out to Lake Whitehurst that borders the massive 175-acre Botanical Garden, the largest in the state of Virginia.
We saw all sorts of scenic views as we wound our way through the canals, but the beginning of our journey started out with a surprise visitor who saw us off with great aplomb just a few feet from the boat…
A blue heron, who hung out for a few clicks!
As our boat passed by this blue heron seemed comfortable standing tall, exuding a sense of confident humility. (Trying to work in a quote from church yesterday, so here goes…)
“Humility is a proper sense of self in a universe of wonders.” Saint Benedict
Front and center, have a good look at me!
“If you’re searching for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.” Anonymous
Have a good look, I’m proud to be me but don’t take myself too seriously!
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis
grace, peace & humble herons
Virginia : )
p.s. My heart and prayers are with the people of the Bahamas and everyone in the path of Hurricane Dorian. Be safe!!
Roses in the Rubble 
Great pictures!
Thank you – the blue heron seemed to enjoy posing for our boat as we passed by! Cheers! 👀😎👀
Hey Virginia, how are you?
A beautifully cultivated setting in which to marvel a most cultured bird. The weather looks fantastic!
Have a wonderful week. Take care.
Namaste 🙂
DN
Hey DN – so glad to hear from you! We enjoyed a beautiful day in Norfolk (about an hour drive) @ the Botanical Gardens, such a lovey place. I took my energizer uncle there in July (he’s 80 & still teaches full time as a professor in Iowa) & I’ve never seen so many day lilies in so many vivacious hues. This time wild flowers & roses were bloomimg full blast while this blue heron made friendly overtures!
Blessings to you in all you are up to! 💐☀️💐🦋🌟
Hey Virginia,
That glowing sense of vivacious beauty lingers between the words of your reply where the enjoyment and delight of the day remains a palpable joy. Some days are (in a magical way) made more perfect than others: the day of your accompanied visit is one such day to be remembered. Lilies and Roses are amongst my favourite plants: a scintillating backdrop for a remarkable bird.
Your energizer uncle is an inspiration to us all.
A wonderful share, thank you Virginia 🙂
Love and Peace,
DN
Hey DN – my energizer uncle wears us out, but isn’t it grand @ 80 years old to have such a vivid sense of curiosity & adventure? (+ he still teaches a full course load of classes & is one of the most popular professors at his college.)
So glad you like roses (one of my favs) & lilies (another fav) + I have always been partial to gardenias, my mama’s favorite flower.
Blessings to you, DN!! 🌟🌸🌹🌸🌟
Hey Virginia,
He sounds a wonderful person whose infectious enthusiasm touches many people’s lives. You are obviously very fond of him.
I am drawn to many flowers, both by the quality of their presence and natural beauty as much their symbolism. Attributes of Gardenias might for example include: hope, trust, purity, clarity, dreams, intuition, renewal, friendship, and innocence. They are favoured flowers for wedding bouquets and one can very easily understand why.
Enjoy the latter part of your week. Take care,
Love and Peace,
DN
Hey DN – that’s so cool about gardenias, my mama’s favorite- and one of mine, too. Now I like them even more! Thank you for sharing that. Hope you have a grand weekend – Cheers! 🌟🦋🤗🦋🌟
My pleasure Virginia. You’ve great taste in flowers 🙂
Love, Peace and Gardenias,
DN
💐🤗💐
Thanks for the prayers. We are as prepared as we can be. Seems like a decade since we began the wait for this hurricane. Nice outing you had there.
Hope you made it through Dorian okay. My friends & family in Florida, Wilmington & Va. Beach made it fine, thanks be to God. So sorry for horrific damage in Bahamas. 💨🙏💨
We are good. So happy to hear your relatives are safe. I’ve sent money to the relief effort for the people of the Bahamas. They need all the help they can get.
💨☀️🙏☀️💨
Looks like a very nice day! The next time we go to the beach I’m hoping to make a trip to the botanical gardens. 🙂 I’d love to see it.
Michelle, the Norfolk Botanical Garden is incredibly beautiful & HUGE with lots of different gardens & even an “Enchanted Forest” to meander through. Next time you’re headed to beach, it’s definitely worth checking out! Blessings! 🌸💐☀️💐🌸
Loved the pictures and the C.S. Lewis quote…
Our boat guide said the blue herons don’t usually turn up that close to the boats – a real treat! Blessings & hugs!! ☀️💐☀️🦋☀️
A very dignified bird.
This blue heron seemed to enjoy posing for us, a real treat! ☀️💐☀️🕊☀️
Love this quote — “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis
And that’s a lovely heron you’ve found for us, Virginia. He looks quite happy about posing for those photos!
Debbie, the boat guide said it was highly unusual for herons to be where we started out – and to stay put as our boat passed. On the contrary, this blue heron seemed to enjoy our attention (in a humble way!) Blessings! ☀️💐☀️🕊☀️
The state of Virginia never disappoints when it comes to beauty. Between your floral, landscape, and heron pics, I can certainly understand how you were inspired to find, and post some resonant quotes. Good on you & as always, thanks for sharing!☺️
Thank you, Sparkyjen. We also enjoy Maymont Park & the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden both located in Richmond, but the Norfolk Botanical Garden is a bit larger & includes an “Enchanted Forest” along with the canal system that makes it a grand place to visit. Blessings! 💐☀️💐🦋💐
Sounds lovely Virginia. Nature has a way of pushing all the right buttons doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing!😊
Amen, Sparkyjen! 🌸🕊🌸🦋🌸☀️🌸🌟🌸
🕊😏
A lovely post-and especially timely.
Thank you, Michele – so glad you & your family in NC came through Dorian safely! Much love & hugs! 💨☀️💐☀️🤗☀️
Have a blessed weekend, Virginia!
You, too, Nora! It’s finally cool in the evenings here so can’t wait to make soup (like the Moosewood pumpkin one.) Blessings!! 🍂🤗🍂