Marian is spending the day at the Knitting and Stitching Show at the Alexandra Palace—aka Ally Pally, the People’s Palace. So what should I do all by myself today? While I was asleep, the Dodgers won. USC won. And Donald Trump didn’t start a war. Surely that calls for something celebratory?
Perhaps the Churchill war rooms, to prepare myself for when Trump does start a war? Hmmm. While I ponder this, here’s a selection of photos from our trip to Kew Gardens yesterday.
Crocuses on a field of fallen seed pods:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_crocuses_2.jpg)
Mushrooms:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_mushrooms.jpg)
A green parrot, photographed from the treetop walkway:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_green_parrot.jpg)
Some kind of gray/black bird, ditto. UPDATE: It’s a western jackdaw.
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_gray_bird.jpg)
A Gertrude Jekyll rose in its end-of-season final bloom in the rose garden:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_rose_gertrude_jekyll.jpg)
A field of daisies and other flowers planted English-garden style:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_daisies.jpg)
An “October Surprise” maple tree:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_maple_october_surprise.jpg)
Another mushroom:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_mushroom.jpg)
Finally, a toddler beginning a lifelong fascination with flowers:
![](https://preprod.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/blog_kew_baby.jpg)