Summer Flowers

Last weekend, in kind of a post institute haze of exhaustion, we drove up to Naperville to Anderson's Bookshop so I could pick up my copy of Diana Gabaldon's new book, Written in My Own Heart's Blood.  On our way home, we swung by the Oak Park Conservatory to visit the flowers and birds there.  It is a lovely haven that always lifts my spirits. We ate our lunch on their outdoor terrace and then wandered in the conservatory.

This is actually a lemon, a Ponderosa Lemon.  There was a yellow one above it but I couldn't get a photo. They lemons are about the size of a softball (huge) and are used for lemon oil.

These leaves are all one plant--they change colors dramatically as they age.

View from the bench where we ate lunch.