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Martha Glantz (Farmer)
Ron and Pamela (Richardson) Williams, in background Joe and Gloria (Ruiz) Santana viewing the crane sculpture in the pond, Lynn Brosman Romero, Sandy Stewart Smallwood, Steve Brooks.
Bonnie Krueger Kelly, George Boyden, Tooey (Lanning) Boyden, Jerry Goffe
Hank Kelly, Phillip von Klemz
The early birds set up chairs on the pavilion near the gate to await the rest of our group. As the circle grew, we greeted Lynn Brosman Romero and Ron and Pam (Richardson) Williams whom we haven't seen in some months. 14 of us paraded to the Gardens, with Phil Klemz, our newest picnicker, towing our paraphernalia in the cart Jerry secured. (That sounds like an initiation into the group, but Phil volunteered!) We were then ushered on a round-about route to avoid the movie being filmed near my imagined destination. It was a boon because we settled near the performance tent with lovely shade, as you can see.
About 90 minutes later, we loaded chairs into the wagon and headed to see butterflies. Everyone was snapping pictures as though we were professionals. Then Jerry Goffe, the real professional, led some to the Dragonfly Pond, where a frog and bumblebees had replaced the "mosquito hawks". On our way out, we took a short jaunt to the Rose/Wisteria Room...to see porcupines! They were lounging in the thick vines overhead, not disturbed in the least by our exclamations! I asked Jerry how he could spot them so quickly. "Sometimes you can see the quills they drop as they crawl through the vines." Sure enough, I spotted one on the ground. Being an amateur tracker, I'd heard of looking for scat. Jerry said, using his skills in alliteration, "We call it porcupine poop," as he pointed to the ground at some little round splats that hadn't been there when I picked up the quill....
The last of us drove away about 2:00. I heard exclamations, "Let's do this again!" "I don't want to leave. It's so peaceful!" "Let's go to the zoo next month!" And well we may--on the second Monday of October.
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