Floriade 2015

We decided that we would learn Arabella about garden flowers by taking her to Floriade today.  There was an initial risk of rain, but that had passed quite early in the morning giving clear skies which made this building in Civic look quite interesting.
 Getting close to Floriade I thought these flags looked interesting.
Then, when editing the photo 8 hours later, I looked more closely at the bird overflying the left hand clump.  It is a White-bellied Sea-Eagle, which I regard as quite unusual in Canberra!

Note also that the flags are waving in the wind which was very strong by this time.

On into the event site where herself was equipped with an armband including my mobile number in case she escaped.  In fact the crowd was so sparse she wouldn't get displaced too quickly.
Perhaps the wind had driven people away or perhaps the Abbott-led informal recession was leading the hordes from interstate not to travel?  If the latter, then the events of yesterday evening should have a mass migration underway by next weekend!

The theme of the event this year is reflection on WW1.
It was rather difficult to pick out the designs as the beds were not sloped that well and there seemed to be no 'stands' to get a view from above.  This one is a two-up game with the orange being the kip and the yellow and red circles being the pennies.
 The music side of things was various school bands playing on Stage 88.  This tuba player was giving his sheek muscles some exercise!
The reduced number of punters was reflected in a very low gnome population.   This is a reflection on military service created by Jerrabomberra Primary.
As well as the flower beds of annuals there are some perennials: magnolias ...
 .. and rhodedendrons.
We have often come across petting zoos and wondered about their appeal.  We wonder no more, as Arabella had a great time once she stopped looking at the camera.
 In fact, at times she combined looking at the camera with goat grooming.
 Cow caring required more attention.
There was quite a pusher-jam outside the tent.  What this would be like when there are 4x as many people around is not something I wish to think about!
This tunnel is clearly set up for the after-dark element but looked very impressive in the daytime.
All in all another very successful outing.

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