Gorgeous Autumn Day…

After a delicious brunch with the Cheese in Park Slope we went for a walk through Prospect Park. We entered from the 9th Street entrance, and headed straight for the dog beach. We watched a dog play in the water and attempt to catch a duck.

We left the dog beach shortly after arriving due to an embarrassing dogfight in the water. It was only a one bite, then a yelp commotion that left everyone a little stunned, and no one looking each other in the eyes. ***Both dogs are alright.

So we went along our way.

We got to walk through the more “natural” part of the park that has a couple of small waterfalls and the only place you can walk or sit is on the path. The parks department has the path fenced in, and I kind of felt as if the squirrels and birds were looking at us as if we were the attraction.

I had never been to that part of the park and found it was quite peaceful.

Then we headed off to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and along the way I found a lemon tree that was leaning over from the Prospect Park Zoo. I know it was a lemon tree since I sliced one fallen piece of fruit open and it reeked of rotting lemon inside. This scent stuck to my hands for the next four hours.

After the lemon debacle we found ourselves across from the Lefferts Historic House.
Having never been to this house myself and since I am an absolute sucker for historic home tours, I immediately found my way to the open door.

The house itself had the smell that just about every historical wooden building that is open to public tours has. I’m not quite sure if each home is stuffed with a mothball type of anti decay packaging or if it is the wood that these homes were built with that gives it this smell, but I enjoy smelling it.

After a short 10 minutes of looking at photos of what19th Century suburban Brooklyn’s Flatbush Ave was like the tour was done.

I recommend you take the tour if you’re ever in the area, it’s free, and it’s cool to see what is now Flatbush Ave without a brownstone in site, just humungous trees and grassy fields.

Finally, we made our way to the gardens. I flashed my ultra hip swag BBG membership cards and we went in through the back entrance.

I had never been to these gardens until this past February, and each time I go I fall in love with the place a little more. I picked up some more seeds off of the ground from that tree with the crutch holding it up - seeing it is only way to believe such a tree and crutch actually exists – I have plans for the spring time when I will attempt to grow one of the trees from seed.

Since thee tree will eventually grow to about 80 plus feet tall I have no place of my own to plant a young seedling if I do have success, I can only hope to find a spot in my sister yard or a nearby church grounds for it.

Then I found myself a comfy rock to lie down and think on.

As I relaxed and pondered my thoughts I found out something new about myself.

I realized that I have the ability to read lips. Yes, lips. Here’s the catch, I can only read lips of people who are not speaking English.

It’s crazy, I know. I sure as heck can understand the English language verbally and in written form, yet I find it is just too hard for me to read a persons lips if they speak English.

Any other language I can read the lips of without any problem. I was able to read a Russian mans lips telling his wife, “I would love to climb a tree and watch the snow fall down in Montana tomorrow.”

I was slightly perplexed by this mans comment as well, until I heard his wife reply with, “Axl Rose is the blackest man I have ever seen.”

It was at this point when I realized that this Russian couple knew I was able to read their lips with they spoke Russian and that they were screwing around with me, and I fell for it hook line and sinker.

I also realized that I want to ask Santa for a digital camera this Christmas.