i come to the garden alone

I woke up to something unusual on Tuesday morning.

The sun had decided to pay a social call.

After a week of mist and rain, I knew exactly where I would spend the sunny pesos that had just fallen into my grasp.  At El Charco del Ingenio-- San Miguel de Allende's botanical garden. 

I took you along with me in 2011 (going wild in san miguel) and 2012 (from the sublime).  But this would be a completely different visit.  I had never been to the garden this late in the year; and every garden has a different personality according to the seasons.  And, of course, I had a new camera.

Birds sounded like a good theme for this trip.  But the birds had a different idea.  Even though I wandered around with my nifty new telescopic lens, I saw nothing more interesting then this shy dove.

Well, that was just not going to do.  Not on a beautiful day like Tuesday.  Look at that blue sky stealing the show from the bird..

Instead, I took off on a hike that took me through the various ecological zones of the garden on a four-hour hike.  The wetlands.

The canyon and the dry surrounding desert.

And, of course, the rim that gives what I believe to be one of the grandest views of San Miguel de Allende.

Including, my little patch of living space.  Like Waldo, you have to find it on your own.

One of my fellow bloggers insists that close-up shots of flowers are a sure sign that a blog has just jumped the shark.  But September is the month for wildflowers in the highlands.

I have become accustomed to brilliant flower colors in Pátzcuaro in September (a weekend in the country).  The fields look as if they had suffered a industrial accident involving a trainload of Pepto-Bismol.

Not so the botanical garden.  I admit I was a bit disappointed.  But this is a desert country.  And the wild flowers are there for the observant.

In all colors.  Yellow.

Purple.

White.

Blue.

And, of course, a sprinkling of pink cosmos.

Taking these floral Norma Desmond close-ups exposed another of the garden's secrets.  The place is alive with insects.  You may have noticed that on some of the flowers.

For the squeamish, I have edited out the more shocking discoveries.

First, the butterflies.  Everyone likes butterflies.

My focus was not as good as should have been.  But I did catch this brown butterfly.

And this gray one -- even though quite plain -- looks as if it were part of a Chinese wall painting.

Even the grasshoppers are colorful -- and quick.

Of course, there could not be any butterflies without caterpillars.  This pair could be part of the family Christmas tree.

Speaking of Christmas.  Maybe this is what the punk family uses for decorations.

I have no commentary onthis barrel cactus close-up.  I just like it.

All in all, it was a great day.  I may return to see if I can figure out how to take better butterfly photographs.  Patience would be a virtue I could add to the photo kit.  Unfortunately, the Sony Store was fresh out when I bought the camera.

So, there you have it.  My day in the botanical garden.