Mares eat oats, and does eat oats...but little lambs eat ivy!

(...continued from the Krohn Conservatory Winter Solstice posts.)

The lambs outside the stable at the live nativity at Krohn Conservatory were so sweet. They made the old song "Mairzy Doats" pop into my mind (which continued to run through my mind the entire day)...

Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
...If the words sound queer and funny to your ear,

...a little bit jumbled and jivey,
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.
A kid'll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"
(by Milton Drake, All Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston, 1943)

"Where's the ivy? Bahhh... All I have to eat is hay!"

I don't know what Cow-Lambs eat. Do you, Dad? ;-)

"Mmmm...ivy...eating ivy in my dreams..."

The stable with a live nativity at Krohn Conservatory.

Snow frosted trees and a view of Eden Park from the stable.

...and on the other side of the street in a hazy, snowy, river fog stands a beautiful Victorian-Eclectic building officially called the Eden Park Stand Pipe, often called the Eden Park Water Tower, and mostly called the Huge Red Brick Castle Tower Across from the Krohn Conservatory.

I looked it up and learned it was a stand pipe for the Cincinnati Water Works. Its period of significance was 1875-1899 and the architect was Samuel Hannaford & Sons. (Click here for more info on this historical building.)

Birds flock to huge tree at the Krohn Conservatory...

Regional variations are detected!

Holiday cheer abounds...

A beautiful Great Blue Heron hand painted by a local artist looks up trying to see the top of the towering tree. Note the soft pink highlights, which are a winter plumage variation only found in Cincinnati in December...and then again, only in Eden Park at the Krohn Conservatory!

Officials at the Krohn have put out bird houses to handle the influx of birds here for the Holiday Season. The houses are claimed quickly. Here a Forked-tail Spiky Red stakes out its territory. You can only find this variation in December in the towering pine in Eden Park.

Oops...not birds, but super cute. These two Christmas mice needed to be photographed.

A beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird sips nectar from an equally beautiful Morning Glory! In most cities with snow, the hummingbirds have long since headed south, but the Cincy variations are tough. Note the pronounced white-tipped feathers. This adaptation helps the bright beauties blend into the snow-covered branches in this microcosm of the north.

An Egret tries to hide behind a bright yellow garland made of dried Black-eyed Susans. I think if I could find a beautiful, bright garland of Black-eyed Susans I'd hide behind it too!

Two little Walnut Pixie Owls (another local variation) peep from their home. Let's hope the mice on the upper branches keep an eye out for these adorable, but efficient predators. Looks can be deceiving...

The gargantuan tree itself!

All the ornaments on the tree were handcrafted from natural materials--all made by volunteers.

Celebrating Winter Solstice at Krohn Conservatory

We've been celebrating Winter Solstice with my parents for a long time, usually with a relaxed dinner at my house that is quite and unhurried...and always lovely. It is a night to step back from the hustle and bustle and marvel at the pine boughs and the green tree sparkling with lights, but this year we decided to celebrate the day too. In Cincinnati, one of the most festive and beautiful places to go during the Christmas season is the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park. The "flower house" was completed in 1933 and has over 3,500 plants from around the world, all growing lush and green under the massive glass panes.

Matty and my parents, Jerry and Joni, stand outside the Krohn Conservatory. Tucked into Eden Park on a hillside that overlooks downtown Cincinnati, the Krohn Conservatory is a tiny gem that brightens many a grey winter's day in our town.

Christmas magic sparkles everywhere in our town, but it's especially manifest at the Krohn Conservatory. Where else can you find a towering poinsettia tree growing in natural splendor in the dead of winter?

Poinsettias of every color and style blanket the ground, looking especially festive under orange, kumquat, lemon and grapefruit citrus trees.

Matty in the desert room. When you're in the Krohn Conservatory you spend a lot of time looking up...and down...and around...there are so many unique plants and flowers to see.

Dad with his camera...gotcha!

Inside the glass and aluminum structure, cacti, succulents and other desert plants grow in warmth, while outside, snow falls. An empty picnic table at the base of a massive oak tree is beautiful surrounded by the stillness of a Winter Solstice snow...

Don't be fooled. They are smiling because visions of a Winter Solstice lunch at Maggiano's are going through their heads...

Mom wipes condensation from the glass to look out at a sparkling winter scene.

The conservatory looms behind a beautiful Nativity that has been a part of Cincinnati Christmases since 1939. Originally located in Lytle Park on Fourth Street in downtown Cincinnati, it was moved to the Krohn Conservatory in 1967.

More to come on the beauty of a Winter Solstice in Cincinnati...