Magic Carpet Ride: Arboretum in the Snow

You can often find me truffling around campus with my camera, looking to discover neat things. A few weeks ago, I finally took a few steps inside the new Business building at the corner of Shortlidge and East Park Ave. for the first time. When I walk past the building, I am often tempted to play camera games with the reflections on the big row of windows facing Park Ave. But on this day, I wanted to go inside and see what I could see.

So I went inside and took the elevator to the top floor, and I worked my way down from there. The building has lots of windows everywhere, and the sun was out, so there was a great view in any direction I looked. It had just begun to snow lightly - it would turn into a full-scale whiteout on the way home, but I didn't know that yet - and as I looked to the sky, I could see snowflakes etched against the dim golden sun.

I walked down each level of stairs, taking time to stop at each one and look out, to see what I could see. It turns out that it is an awfully cool building, with many different open outdoor areas seamlessly integrated into the whole: little patios and porches, featuring tables and chairs currently covered in snow. With all of those windows, the overall feeling of the building is very light and airy and spacious.

As I stopped near the stairwells at the fourth, and then third floor, I looked out the nearest window. And it was then that I discovered I could get a great aerial view of the Arboretum from there! And when I reached the second floor, even better: I found a doorway near the stairwell that opens onto a tiny, absolutely charming patio overlooking Park Avenue and the Arboretum itself. I will be back there for sure!

And so I stood for a few minutes overlooking the Arboretum, taking pictures of the view. It was like being given the gift of a magic carpet ride, over a place that I love. I almost felt like I could be soaring over it, like a bird, with the wind and the snow flurries all around me.

In this photo, you can get a glimpse of my view. There is the children's garden, Childhood's Gate, in the upper left quadrant. The round dome belongs to the little Glass House that once held a beautiful, shining Christmas tree. And you can see the cave structure, and the wigwams, and the colorful transformational canopy at the entrance to the children's garden.

In the middle of the shot is the neat, spiky triangle of the solar clock, nestled amid the strolling gardens. Just beneath those are the fragrance gardens. To the middle right edge of the shot, you can catch a glimpse of the brown leaves of the Witness Tree. My beloved lily pond is just out of frame to the lower right, now frozen over and covered in snow.

And in the lower foreground is the lone human being: a tiny figure dressed in a warm winter coat, with its hood up against the storm, is trudging through the snow. I spotted that figure and thought to myself: Ha! That could have been me! Except that - for right now, at least - I'm up here, fully enjoying my magic carpet ride, and my bird's-eye view of the Arboretum in the snow.

The soundtrack: Steppenwolf, with Magic Carpet Ride.