Japanese Garden

Last weekend, Bryan and I went and hung out at the Japanese Garden for awhile. The Japanese Garden is near the Chinese Garden. Both are on islands, and they're connected by bridges. We walked through the Chinese Garden on our way, and found this little sculpture garden that we hadn't seen before. It had statues of all of the Chinese zodiac animals, and we walked around and found our own zodiac symbols. I was born in 1984, the year of the rat. According to the Chinese astrology, those born in the year of the rat are energetic, talkative, charming, witty, curious, and perceptive about social situations. Also, rats are supposedly prone to aggression. I don't really buy into astrology (at all), so I'll let you decide if you think the description suits me. The picture below is me pretending to be a rat : )

Bryan was born in 1975, the year of the rabbit. Rabbits are thought to be sensitive, creative, compassionate, friendly, stylish, and non-confrontational. I think the stylish part is particularly humorous, considering the tattered cut-off jean shorts Bryan is wearing in this picture, haha. Rabbits are also described as outgoing, while Bryan is more of an introvert. Apparently Bryan doesn't fit the mold of the typical rabbit, but he is very creative and compassionate. Below is Bryan with the cute bunny statue.When we crossed into the Japanese Garden, we found a picturesque little pond with a lot of pink and purple water lilies growing in it. They were very pretty, and they reminded me a lot of the Boundary Waters, which made me smile. It's hard to believe that I had just left the Boundary Waters at this time last year! It seems like a lifetime ago.
Then we found turtles!! There are three of them sitting on the rock in the water. These little ponds are everywhere throughout both of the gardens, and they're all full of wildlife- turtles, koi fish, and all sorts of fun stuff. I liked this pond because it was surrounded by these big boulders and there was a bright red bridge that went across the middle of it.And finally, we stopped by yet another lovely pond to read for awhile, and Bryan sneaked a couple of photos of me being nerdy. We didn't read for long- we kept getting distracted by the pond's wildlife- dragonflies landing on my toes, a turtle poking its head out of the water near us, and fish darting in and out of sight. All in all, it was a very peaceful afternoon.