Let’s have a show of hands: who here is absolutely done, over it, with this endless winter?  ((raises hand))

I generally don’t mind winter.  I like outdoor winter sports – skiing, ice skating – and I think snow is pretty, and there is absolutely a place for cozy days spent curled up under a blanket with a good book and a cup of tea.  I’m usually not tired of winter until March, when what I call “ugly winter” takes over – you know, the stretch of days when there’s no more fresh snow to cover the dirty piles by the side of the road and the sky is just grey for days and days.  But this winter started too early – “Snowvember” feels like it was ages ago now – and I’m tired of fighting through the ice to get to work every day, tired of the slushy sidewalks, and especially tired of the biting cold.  For the past few weeks it’s actually been too cold to leave the house – other than to go to work and school, which we have to do.  But all weekend outings were suspended until the temperatures were at least in the positive degrees.  It hasn’t made for much of a fun life lately, I can tell you.

This weekend, though, was a marked improvement over what we’ve had recently.  The temperatures were in the twenties, which felt downright balmy compared to the frigid -30 RealFeel temps we’d been experiencing.  So we took advantage of the warmer weather and got out of the house twice over the weekend!  Look at us go!  On Sunday we actually got out for a hike – more about that coming later this week – but first things first: on Saturday we visited one of our winter happy places, the Buffalo Botanical Gardens.

If you were reading last year, you may remember that we went to the Botanical Gardens several times and Peanut developed a deep and abiding love for the koi pond.  We didn’t go over the summer and fall because the weather was nice enough to allow for more outdoor activities, so we saved the Botanical Gardens for the colder months, when we knew we would desperately need those hours of warmth and green.  Daddy took Peanut there on New Year’s Eve and they had a marvelous time – I didn’t get to go, because I was working.  Daddy reported that Peanut was initially a bit apprehensive about her old BFFs in the koi pond, but she warmed up to them quickly.

This time, she warmed up even faster.  In fact, she basically charged past the reception desk shouting “Fishies!  See the fishies!” while I tried to restrain her long enough for hubby to purchase a family membership for the year.  (We’re apparently on a membership-buying kick.)  We barely got her coat off before she was rocketing through the palm court on her way to visit her aquatic besties.

I’d say she was pretty excited.  The dimple was out in full force and she was practically hyperventilating with glee at seeing these fellas again.

The koi room is the place to be if you are a toddler at the Botanical Gardens.  Not only is there a POND with FISH, but there’s a wooden bridge and a set of stairs that seems to attract every toddler in the place.  Peanut made a new friend her age and the two of them walked the bridge and stairs for a good twenty minutes, which is an eternity in toddlerdom.

Walking the bridge and stairs was a favorite activity last year, too.  It’s nice to see that some things don’t change all that quickly!

(Well, what did change was Peanut’s competence at the activity.  She’s getting really good at stairs.)

After almost half an hour spent in the koi room – between bridge/stair walking and fish watching – we decided it was time to move on and see some of the other sights.  Peanut was filled with baby rage at being dragged away from her beloved pond and bridge, but she quickly got over her fury when she met this guy:

There were paper dragons hanging all throughout one of the greenhouses, in celebration of the Chinese New Year.  Peanut enjoyed exploring the dragon from her safe spot in Daddy’s arms.  She only ripped one of the dragons’ beards off.

Then it was time to move on again.  We quickly herded Peanut through the desert room – it’s one of my favorite greenhouses, but there are too many prickly things to allow a toddler to loiter there – and on to the Wegmans Family Garden.  It happened to be Family Day at the Botanical Gardens and there were volunteers set up at tables throughout the greenhouses with various activities for the little ones.  We begged off making a strawberry with crepe paper and glue because I had visions of crepe paper glued to Peanut, and Peanut wasn’t interested in making rubber stamps out of fruit.  But she did make and then taste some fresh squeezed orange juice, which was delicious.

Most of the time spent in the Family Garden, though, was devoted to reading books…

And playing in the sandbox.  Peanut is crazy for this sandbox and loves to test out the toys.  She kept her feet on the ground at first, but when another little girl climbed in, Peanut clambered in after her (while I cringed and wondered how much of the sandbox would be coming home with us).

Ah, well, sometimes Mom just needs to relax and let go of worrying about things like sand in the car.  They’re only little once, right?  Plus, it will be good practice for the beach this summer.

Peanut had a ball, anyway.  As did we all.  It was refreshing to wander through the greenhouses, breathing in the scents of the flowers and enjoying the warmth and the abundant greenery.  You can almost forget that it’s below freezing outside.  I think we’ll be back a few more times before spring.

Do you have Botanical Gardens in your city?  What is your favorite winter survival trick?