A Day With a Friend

Yesterday, my good friend Shelley and I spent a long overdue day together. One of the day's activities was a visit to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Fort Wayne, Ind., a place I count on to give me brief respites from the winter each year. Thursday was a cold and blustery day, but it was pleasant in the rooms of the conservatory.

I'd never visited the conservatory at night before. Each Thursday, they're open until 8:00 PM and since it gets dark around 5:30 now, our late visit meant anything we saw was going to be illuminated by artificial means. I soon discovered that the various lighting methods would present a challenge for photographing anything. Since I'd been to the conservatory many times during the day and had the opportunity to photograph the plants in natural lighting, I decided to use different eyes and see what the camera would capture for me.

They were decorating for Christmas while we were there and the first room was pretty sparse yet. The theme this year is "The Night Before Christmas" and I've no doubt when all the decorations and plants are in place, it will be charming. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see that last night, since they'd only just started putting things in place and the official start of the Christmas display isn't until Saturday, the 19th.

The main reason I wanted to go to the conservatory was because I'd read about the new Saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) they'd brought in a couple of weeks prior. There were three of them, of various sizes and age. Removal of roof panels and a street closing for the crane that was necessary for the move made the actual acquisition a big deal.

The largest of the three weighs approximately 1850 pounds and is impressive when you're standing next to it. I've not seen any in their natural desert habitat, so I'm glad to have this opportunity to see them up close and personal - not that anyone would really want to get too close. Pricklies, you know.

Saguaro cacti, found only in the Sonoran Desert, can live to be150-200 years old and can grow to 45 feet in height. While not currently a threatened or endangered species, they are protected in both the U.S. and Mexico. The Conservatory is one of approximately 79 Plant Rescue Centers for CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in the U.S.

My favorite room in the Conservatory is the middle one - the rain forest - with its tropicals and a waterfall.

I didn't take note of which plant this purple bloom belonged to, but I don't
recall ever seeing it in bloom on previous visits.

Orange and pomegranate fruits were ripening on the trees.

Pomegranate

Common orange

We wrapped up the day with a live concert right next door at the historic Embassy Theater. Favorites of both of us, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith were performing as part of their 2 Friends Tour. Shelley and I had first seen both Amy and Michael together some 25 years ago.

 Friends
©1983
Words: Deborah D. Smith
Music: Michael W. Smith

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
Can't believe the hopes He's granted
Means a chapter in your life is through
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends.

With the faith and love God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show

But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seem you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long to live as friends.