Smith-Gilbert Gardens in winter ... and more

Three weeks or so ago when it was snowing we went to the Smith-Gilbert Gardens which are near our home.  I have written about these gardens several times, about their history, and shown them in summer, on August 21, 2011, in A Secret Garden in Cobb County, Georgia, part 1, followed by part 2, then by part 3.  Then in a post showing them in the fall, on November 23, 2011 in Return to the Smith-Gilbert Gardens, and then again last year on September 19,2013 in End of Summer in the Smith-Gilbert Gardens.  On my last visit three weeks ago the snow was melting fast but I did get some snowy pictures.  I returned to the gardens last Friday, February 21, 2014, to take some pictures showing the gardens now, when the weather is back to normal and spring flowers are starting to show.

The first and second days it snowed we could not get to the gardens because the roads were icy and the gardens were closed.  The third day it was sunny and the snow was gone from the trees but there was still plenty on the paths.  (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

We followed the little stream to the waterfall.

The waterfall was charming as usual, with beautiful formations of icicles.  I took so many photographs of it - it is difficult to choose just a couple, so I'll show several.

My husband followed some critter's tracks that lead him to the pond.  There he decided to sit on a bench and wait for me while I took all my pictures.

Ice had formed along the small stream.

As with the waterfall I could not help taking photographs of all the ice formations - the appealing designs nature had created.

The movement of the water had carved out some unique ice shapes and the light reflecting in the water made them seem alive.

The water forcing its path through the ice caused lovely tiny bubbles.

When I went back to the gardens last Friday, all this winter vista was gone.  The sky was blue, it was close to 70 degree F (21 C) and did not feel like winter at all.  I took a couple of pictures with my cell phone.

Actually, it was warm all last week.  Last Sunday we had dinner at my daughter's in-laws.  As usual we ate some tasty Indian cuisine - curries and small Indian cutlets.

My little grandchildren were there.  The two eldest grandsons and a little friend were quite enthralled with their "carrom" game.  I had not seen this board game before.  My son-in-law's brother told me that it was popular in India and when they were children he and my son-in-law played it often.  I found out that it is a "strike and pocket" game of Eastern origin similar to table shuffleboard.  There are variants to the game - one of them called "Family-Point Carrom Game" is popular with housewives somehow.  My husband's nephew looked quite interested too.

I also have been getting much enjoyment with what I may consider a "toy."  I have seen this on a couple of blogs.   It is a photo "app" for a cell phone called "waterlogue."  I purchased this app and have been playing with it with some of my pictures.  It is a lot of fun.  First I used the snow pictures I showed on my last post, the red barn and the cardinal in the bird feeder.  I'll show my original photos, then what "waterlogue" did to them.  They really look like watercolor drawings.  Click on them to see better.

Then I worked with photos of my cats - Cody, the orange cat and Mitsou, my late grey Korat.  I could see printing those on nice paper and framing them.

I'll finish with photos I took last Friday, the pond with the koi fish and the blue sky above the Smith-Gilbert Gardens (originally taken with my cell phone and not retouched at all.)