#2075 feeling lucky and special

I went up to Red Butte Garden after work today. I almost didn't go. The air is very smoky and yucky, plus I had kind of a rough day at the office (my own fault). I thought that I might head home, but the temperature was a little cooler this evening - I think it was barely 90 degrees - and there was a breeze, so I decided to go record blooms and go home. I told myself I would absolutely NOT walk around the garden because I was tired and cranky and hangry. Then I got up there and all of that bullsh!t just faded away and I was swept up in the magic of the Garden.

Whenever I go to Red Butte Garden in the evening, I always think there should be more people there because the place is so magnificent as the day starts to wind down. Well, the place was crawling with people tonight. The Garden was hosting the final Monday Family Night program of the season, featuring performers from Africa. I didn't get to see them, but I could hear the performance. It sounded pretty cool. After the show, which lasted about an hour, lots of people decided to stroll around the Garden.

I did the bloom recording in the Children's Garden, then I started wandering. I chatted with a family from Michigan, telling them where they could see all the Lego sculptures. I must look official with my little name tag and the clipboard. (I'm too lazy to take the clipboard back to the visitor center, so I have to carry it around when I go for a walk.) Lots of people said hi as I passed by. Friendly place.

Did I tell you I was participating in an Instagram challenge? Today's word was SPACIOUS. I took several photos that I thought I could use to represent the word:

Here is the one I actually posted on IG:

See that little bright spot? That's the sun reflecting on the lake.

There were lots of birds out tonight: hummingbirds, quail, doves and as I was walking, I was pretty sure I heard hawks, too. I kept looking up for them and I saw them flying every once in awhile. Even though I told myself I wasn't going to do it, I found myself wandering up to the Water Conservation Garden. I'm glad I did. Not only is that where I took the sun photo, but the hawks decided to show themselves to me.

There were four of these red tail hawks flying around. These two stayed on the fence the longest, then the biggest one stayed for several minutes. I was looking around to see if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing. There was a man on the next level of the garden up from me and he was totally watching the birds and me. I was being so quiet and still (which is pretty amazing for me since I get really excited about stuff.) It was pure magic, friends. I felt so lucky that those magnificent birds let me take the photos. The memory of my crappy day melted away, at least for a few minutes.

What I learned today is to go with your gut. I was planning to skip garden time, but something told me to just get up there and do my volunteer work and everything would be okay and it totally was. Tomorrow is another day and I'm pretty sure I'll hear about how I screwed up, but I think it will be okay. I hope so anyway. At least I got a few minutes with the red tail hawks and a gorgeous sunset.