Garfield Park Conservatory (Chicago)

We could have gotten up and come straight home on Monday morning, but sometimes it's hard to get in the car and say goodbye. Instead we made an afternoon out of visiting the conservatory and riding the El, then had an early dinner of sushi before finally hitting the road.

The fern room gives a good look at what Chicago might have looked like during the Carboniferous Period.

In the tropical food plants room we found a number of citrus trees, papayas, bananas, and pineapples.

It's neither a bat, nor white, and I don't see any flowers…

Lazy Praying Mantis. These flowers stink of decaying meat, attracting flies by the dozen. Lazy or opportunistic, you be the judge.

And an axolotyl in the kiddie pond? My favorite part.

Back home today we're slow to get back on our feet. The loss of the hour, plus the dipping temperatures and waning sunlight always catch me by surprise after a fall trip to Chicago. We can't dally too much this week, though; we have a book sale on Saturday, and work on the next play (for Calvin's theater class) begins on Friday.