New Monitor & Gainesville

I loved my old monitor. It wasn't really old, just previous. But for accuracy in photo work I needed a different monitor, one that could be calibrated better. Hooray for eBay, I got a used NEC MultiSync LCD 2090UXi for $96 plus shipping. It arrived today.

I can see the difference. My old monitor would vary tremendously depending on the slightest change in viewing angle. This one has essentially no difference regardless of angle! Wow!

Enough about technicalities... on with the show!

Today's post is about a recent trip to Gainesville to visit my son, David. I took two digital cameras so we could go photo expeditioning. Our first stop was Kanapaha Botanical Gardens at 3pm, just 2 hours before closing time. I am not a morning person, and Gainesville is about a 1 1/2 hours drive from Homosassa.

And I did stop for a few minutes to take some photos of this tree in a field.

Still, there was plenty of time to see the lovely gardens.

There is a labyrinth just inside the gardens as you exit the office/ticket/gift shop building (also the location of the only rest room!)

It is guarded by two griffins.

We paused to photograph the peaceful Buddha...

...as we walked through areas of bamboos, including the green bamboo shown here and my favorite, black bamboo, which wasn't in a very photogenic mood.

Deeper in the gardens I spotted this yin/yang symbol in a little sunken area near a...

small stream and waterfall.

Just across from the sunken yin/yang area was a charming water feature for thirsty pups. (Image made more artsy in Photoshop.)

Despite all the garden's charming plants and decorations, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this number, spray-painted in the ground cover. (I told you I like quirky things!)

  

The koi pond provides interesting photos, and dreamy viewing. This is my favorite picture of them, a pair of colorful koi. I love the look on the face of the one on the right. These fish are expecting us to toss them some food!

The people who were there just before us fed them from this dispenser. (Huh? You only want me to feed them quarters? No nickels and dimes?) Oh, by the way, you can see most images a little larger - just click on them, then use your browser's back button to return.

The highlight of the garden is the giant lily pads. I took a kajillion photos of them. They were in bloom. Bonus! Here are a couple you might enjoy:

Lovely lilies, blooming brightly.

Giant pads and egret.

The garden's early closing time left sufficient light for another photo expedition, so we went to Newnan's Lake on the east side of Gainesville to watch the sunset. Neither of us had been there before.

Now, finally, the light was excellent, as seen illuminating these cypress trees.

And as the sun sinks slowly in the west... an alligator floats by, looking for dinner. Soon dusk encroached upon our day, and we made our way to Reggae Shack Cafe for a yummy meal, topped off with vegan carrot cake!

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