Walking through Botanical Gardens

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright."

Sometimes its nice to take a day and relax. Norfolk Botanical Gardens is a beautiful place to go on a hot summer day.  They have over 30 themed gardens on 155 acres!  I love just going on walks and checking out all the beautiful flowers.

They have a wonderful Butterfly Garden! You can even find your way through a butterfly shaped maze made of flowers! I enjoyed all the flowers that were starting to bloom. They daisies were my favorite...Bright white petals and sunny happy yellow centers.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Variegated Fritillary"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Variegated Fritillary"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Variegated Fritillary"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Long Dash Skipper"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Long Dash Skipper"][/caption]

While watching this long dash flutter around from daisy to daisy, I noticed a spider jumping out from under the flowers trying to catch any insect that landed on his flower....I tapped on his flower to see if he would come up...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Bold Jumper Spider"][/caption]

We picked a beautiful bright sunny day! Walking through the gardens was so relaxing. After visiting the butterfly gardens we headed towards the Eagle nest where the famous eagle cam is located.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Eagle fledglings"][/caption]

I took this photo from the Nato Tower near the tropical garden.  The sun was behind the tree so it was very difficult to get a picture, but watching them through the binoculars was awesome! The little Eagles were flapping their wings anxious to leave the nest.  Under the tower I could hear a little chickadee. It was so cute! He looked as if he was bigger than his mom.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Chickadee Fledgling"][/caption]

There were lots of dragonflies buzzing about in all of the gardens. The dragonfly has been a symbol of happiness, new beginnings and change for many centuries in lots of different cultures.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Painted Skimmer"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Blue Dasher"][/caption]

"Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home....your house is on fire, and your children will burn. Except
little Nan, who sits in a pan, weaving gold laces as fast as she can!"

I'm sure you're familiar with this cute saying... but do you know how the rhyme originated? In Medieval England, the farmers would set torches to the old hop vines after the harvest, to clear the fields for the next planting. The poem was a little warning to the aphid-eating Ladybugs, still crawling on the vines in search of aphids. The Ladybugs' children (larvae) could get away from the flames, but the immobile pupae (Nan) remained fastened to the plants (laces) and couldn't escape. Kinda morbid when you break it down...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Seven Spotted Lady Beetle"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Seven spotted lady beetle"][/caption]

After having an amazing walk through the botanical gardens we headed towards sandbridge beach to watch the sunset. We had so much fun watching the ghost crabs(sand crabs) run around on the beach that we missed the sun going down!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Ghost Crab"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Ghost Crab going into its home"][/caption]

When you come to Virginia Beach (NOT the Ocean Front, it's touristy and they move the sand around everyday - there are many more beaches to visit) ... You might notice the golfball-sized  holes scattered about...  Ghost Crabs burrow in the dry sand of the upper beach, or in the sand dunes. The burrows extend down 3-4 feet. It's facinating to watch the clever little crabs build their homes...they bring up clawfuls of sand and tosses it 6-12 inches away from the burrow opening. Later on, the Ghost Crab tromps down the strewn-about sand, and, using its claws, smooths out the surface. The tunnel home is constructed with wet grains of sand so that it will not collapse. In the winter Ghost Crabs hibernate in their burrows, “holding their breath” for six weeks by storing oxygen in specialized sacs near their gills.