Looking at the above grid of photos as a whole, one might conclude they were taken in a tropical jungle environment. Not so. The Farm sits in the middle of an arid, semi-desert l landscape, with massive artificial irrigation from water in the adjoining Deer Creek.

I enjoy wandering about and observing flowers, but I'm no kind of botanist or gardener. So most of the photos here depict things that caught my eye, but about which I know zip. So most of the photos here are identified only with a number. Any input identifying the subject matter would be welcome. Those photos about which I have some knowledge are listed below.

Photo 136: Jenny's "mascot" creature is the butterfly, so one of the first areas we visited was the butterfly enclosure. This was sort of a greenhouse of clear plastic over wire framing, planted with butterfly-friendly plants. Here's one feeding from a cup of something they like. Photos 131 through 135 were also taken within the butterfly enclosure.

Photos 139 - 141: Lilacs, with 139 an informational placard. When I toured England in 2003, we saw some commercial lilac farms. There, entire fields were solid purple (or white, or pink, depending upon the species), whereas in Colorado, the individual plants are widely spaces with bare ground between them. I'm guessing it was due to more favorable rain and/or soil conditions in England.

Photo 146: Informational placard about windmills.

Photo 147: The windmill described in photo 146 is in the background, but what interested me was the device in the foreground, about which there was no information given. But the engineer in me led me to ponder the purpose of the foreground device. I postulate it was some sort of automatic seeder, with the seeds put into the two yellow cylindrical containers at the top, and released in a controlled fashion by a device driven by a chain attached to the axle of the wheels. There appeared to be a plow-like device to open a furrow in front of the seeder, and then a pair of rotating disks driven by the edges of the disks being set slightly below ground level closed the loose dirt brought up by the plowshare back over the seeds to cover them.

Photo 149: Sunflowers. That much botany I know.

Photo 152: A child's playhouse. I don't know when it was constructed, but it looks rather recent. Which leads me to the conclusion that it was built by the Parks department for use by the children of the patrons.

Photos 153 and 154: An intriguing, and rather lovely bit of sculpture/artwork and a placard with details about it.

Photo 155: Shown only to demonstrate the size of the flowerpot behind Jenny.

This excursion took place in high summer of the hottest year in human records for the Earth. It was freakin' hot! Temperatures were crowding 100°F, and there was precious little shade. The altitude of around 5,500 feet didn't hold a candle to that of Mt. Evans, but it was still a lot higher than what I was used to. I was feeling the effects in no time. We had been there no more than an hour or an hour and a half when I was ready to quit. Which was also just about the time when I realized we were lost. The paths on the farm wound artfully though the property in a manner pleasing to the eye, but confusing to the brain. We had a map, which somehow did not prove very informative. But eventually, with the help of some passers by, found our way back to the car with its blessed air conditioning.

We headed back to the Enterprise Car Rental office to return, where I was presented with a nasty surprise. Upon inspection of the car, the Enterprise agent found damage in the form of a number of very minor dents in the roof, hood, and fenders, seemingly caused by hailstones. That hailstorm that I had found so entertaining Sunday afternoon had come back to bite me. The "damage" was undoubtedly there, although discernible only if viewed at the right angle with a magnifying glass of sufficient power. One could feel it more readily than see it. I certainly hadn't noticed it until it was pointed out to me by the rental agent. I defy anyone to find any damage on the photos above provided to me by Enterprise, along with a repair estimate that totaled $3,909.50. Oh, well. It's covered by my auto insurance, although I will have to pay the deductible. I would bet the whole $3,909.50 that they just pocketed the payment, and continued to rent the car in its present condition.

Faithful John Licht met us at the rental place, and ferried us back to the Best Western, where we were to spend our last night in Denver before our rail journey. When we finally settled in, I said to Jenny, "What I could really use at this moment is some ice cream." "What a good idea!" she replied with a big smile. The big question was where. We went down to the main desk and asked the clerk if there was any place within walking distance where we could obtain ice cream. That led to a lot of pondering and head-scratching, and consulting with staff. The best bet they could suggest was the Red Robin, a restaurant a couple of blocks away. We walked there, and found it was more like a pub than a restaurant, with loud music, too much air conditioning, and no ice cream on the menu. Very disappointing. The bartender said, "Wait a minute," and went off to inspect the bottom of some freezer in the back. He returned with a glass with two spoons, and two scoops of vanilla ice cream that had been sitting in that freezer since the Boer War. No charge. I thanked the man profusely, tipped him equally profusely, and we headed back outside to the relative quiet and more comfortable temperature in the approaching dusk. We sat on the curb, and ate our crunchy ice cream in companionable silence. I returned the glass and tableware, and we headed back to the hotel for an early bed and an early rise the next morning.