Too green?

Almost the last photos from my trip to USA. I intend to post one more post on birds. I know there are people among my blog visitors who are interested in birds and in plants. But if you aren't just let your eyes bask in the green. It's good for you.

 This time I payed a visit to the Garfield park plant conservatory. 

 The desert room was ...like this big. I am showing the size with my arms now...

 Everything was so tidy.

 The philodendron section. And some people grow these giants at home. I myself have two. But much much smaller species.

 And again-a fern room! This one even more impressive than the one in Lincoln park.

 Could it be the mosquito fern? Every inch of surface was covered with it.

 The playground fro children. I would definitely let my children hang out in a place like this one!

 Various blossoming hoyas.

Curious birds

Birds of Lincoln park zoo. 

These were amazing! Very curious and not afraid to come really close.

Why would they have that white mustache?

 And the mustache is placed in the perfect position! I guess the facial jewelry has been traveling around the birds head during the long years of evolution. Here's an idea of where it might have been. 

 Some birds were shielded from the viewers. It's nesting time.
Move further away from the monitor and squint to see the bird better.

 This one was trying to get as close as it's courage allowed. To take a look at my camera or something...
There are peculiar things on it's chest. A runaway mustache perhaps?

 Take me with you, please...

Life outside the walls of the aviary. A blackbird on a perch. 
I am not sure which one is here now. The female or the male. Let's say, one is in place, waiting.

 The female's posture says, get over with it already! But no hurry, the male has to do his impressive mating dance. 
A fun detail, the bodies of the two birds were bending the opposite ways. 

 OK, OK, here it is.

The female is left behind. But just for a short moment. She joins the mate in a crack in the wall of the aviary.

The Victorian house

My friends  live in an original Victorian house in a small town in the state of Missouri. It looks very nice on the outside, but the inside is even more special.
I don't know when was it last renovated inside, but it's noticeable the last owners did their best to preserve the mood. 
Lots of details are left in place. 

The furniture is collected in various antic shops.

Some other friends were a bit scared of the house when they were staying over a while ago.
One girl had to gather all her courage to go to toilet at night. It's easy to believe the house is haunted.
Lots of dark corners. Ventilation openings (you never know when a pair of eyes might look up at you. Many old house sounds.
But I felt very comfortable there. I was told there was no violent history here. So why should there be any ghosts?

It was very cool inside. I had to go out and warm myself now and then. The dog did exactly the same, just even more frequently.
A very welcoming feature for a house in the Midwest.

A huge and cozy kitchen. With a metal sheet ceiling.

The Lincoln park plant conservatory

 Fern ferns ferns!!!! I was ecstatic! All the places I've visited had orchids, palms, all kinds of tropical plants, but this was beyond my expectations! 
I post just a tiny bit of that fairy tale like place.
I am going to post more ferns from another conservatory in Chicago. Americans love ferns. I even got myself a second hand book about them! 

 On the right-the sausage tree. There was a sign warning not to touch the fruits as they are very fragile. No meat ???

Some take photos... Others draw.
There were quite a few students drawing. I guess some people just like to come here and draw. 

 It felt as if a dinosaur will jump out of the fern bushes any minute now!

 The ultimate wishlist wall! Lecanopteris mirabilis and Lecanopteris curtisii among others.

 The flower room. Lots of older ladies sitting and enjoying the company of each other and flowers.

 A small orchid section. Just a few blooms, but so cramped, that it was fun to look for special plants.

 There were so many tillandsias! And just these here in bloom.

 The orchid/bromeliad display. There's a pond, full of big carps there as well.

 The tillandsia tree.

 On the left-the ravioli plant. On the right-a funny smelling Crib of Venus orchid (Anguloa ruckeri).

 The dinosaurs have finally showed themselves!

 A fern.

More bromelias and orchids. 
More coming soon.