July 2-5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14 July 15 July 16 July 17 July 18-21	Tuesday, July 14 I had set the alarm for 6:15, but got up a little earlier. Breakfast was downstairs in the restaurant. Their oatmeal was decent. Then I spent about an hour adding metadata to images from the last two days. We all met downstairs at 8:15, got loaded up, and headed back to Butchart Gardens. Yesterday, we found out that, while the Gardens open at 9 am, the parking lot opens up to a half hour earlier, so we were there as soon as they opened. Our first stop was back at the overlook to the Sunken Gardens, hoping to get some photos without people in them. I took the ones to the left and right this morning. The three photos above were taken in the main entrance area. The photo on the left shows a statue of a wild boar. It's a copy of the one found in Florence, Italy. The other two photos show some cosmos that were growing nearby. I spent most of the morning in the Italian and Japanese gardens. I did a lot of walking. The area got contrasty fairly soon, making photography a challenge. The three photos above were taken in the Japanese Garden. The photo on the left shows one of the stairways in this garden. The center photo shows a pond with waterlilies. The photo on the right shows a pattern in moss. . . At the far end of the Japanese Garden is a path leading to Butchart Cove, a sheltered harbor for those visiting Butchart Gardens by sea. This view to the left is looking through some foliage at the cove. . An art group took over most of the Japanese garden, adding to the difficulty. The three photos above were taken in the Japanese Gardens. The photo on the left shows the lovely red gate that marks the main entrance to the Japanese Gardens. The center photo shows a red bridge and a contemplation garden. The photo on the right shows a set of stairs winding back out of the Japanese Gardens to the main area. Near the fireworks viewing area (they shoot off fireworks every Saturday during the summer), is a small plaza with two totem poles. The one on the left has an eagle with salmon, an orca, and a bear with salmon. It was carved by Doug LaFortune of the Tsawout First Nation and dedicated on September 9, 2004, on the 100th anniversary of Butchart Gardens. The one on the right has a raven, a beaver with grouse, an otter with pups and a clam, and a frog. This totem pole was carved by Charles Elliott of the Tsartlip First Nation and was dedicated the same day. Butchart Gardens has a large collection of fuchsias. Some are almost trees. Some are in pots. Some are in hanging baskets. Some are planted in the garden beds. One wall of the Italian Gardens is covered with baskets of fuchsias. The two shown here were on a bush near the future carousel. I thought they looked like little ballerinas. . The next area was the Italian Gardens. The three photos above were taken there. The two on the left show some of the waterlilies in the central fountain for this garden. The photo on the right shows the statue in the middle of the fountain area. It depicts a girl holding a fish. The photo on the left shows a nice lawn area between the Italian Gardens (to the left) and the Rose Garden (to the right). If I had turned around, I would have walked straight through the red gate shown above that leads to the Japanese Gardens. The building in the background is the Dining Room, the formal restaurant at Butchart Gardens and part of the original family mansion. We read later that Buchart Gardens could be rented for weddings. I'd be willing to bet that such ceremonies are performed in this lush green area, which is not normally open to the public. We drove back to the hotel and walked to Murchie’s Tea House for lunch. Yum!!! I had a Florentine tart and fruit salad and, of course, hot tea. Only one member of our group got dessert. The rest of us just drooled... So, to compensate, some of us bought gelatos on the way back to the hotel. I was still working on mine when I got to the room. Interesting trying to go to the bathroom with a partially eaten ice cream cone in hand... We had a short break, then met in the conference room of the hotel for a while. This afternoon's session was mostly Camera Raw and Photoshop tips. Then back upstairs to work on photos again until it was time for the afternoon shoot. We left the hotel at 5:30 and promptly got caught in some rush hour traffic. We stopped at a grocery store and I picked up bananas and muffins. The room has a mini-kitchen, so I’ll eat there for breakfast for the rest of the stay. Some of the others picked up snacks or breakfast items also. We returned to Butchart Gardens arriving a little after 6. Dinner was there at the Blue Poppy, a cafeteria style restaurant on the grounds - I had a bowl of seafood chowder and a spinach salad and a glass of pinot noir. That made the evening shoot rather interesting... I started the evening shooting back in the Japanese Gardens. The artist group was long gone and the crowds were smaller. The three photos above were taken in the Japanese Gardens. The photo on the left shows a red bridge with the contemplation garden. The center photo shows a garden clacker also known as a boar scarer. The photo on the right shows a small waterfall with its evening lighting. Several of us made a point of shooting the lighted fountain tonight. John was funny - he was videoing the fountain and kept saying he had enough footage to use and start to leave. Then he'd look back and, next thing you know, the video was recording again (g). The three photos below show the fountain at dusk. We were late leaving the Gardens again. When we returned to the hotel, we found that the parking garage main area and secondary area were full. We wound up parking in the third parking area. They don’t make it easy. I downloaded images and wrote in this journal then hit the sack. Next...