Thursday.....

I went to the National Portrait Gallery today. So many stories from so many painted portraits. I saw the portrait of Sir Hans Sloane who founded the Chelsea Physic Garden. His collection and library formed the heart of the British Museum. Or there was Robert Blakewell (1725-95) who was the "Father of Animal Husbandry". He worked on better breeding techniques for better livestock. It was quoted he said,"A sheep was a machine for turning grass into mutton." Interesting...... Sandy, you would have loved it here, it reminded me of all the stories in the archives...
Another day, another park..... This is St. James Park looking towards where they hold the Horse Guards parade. There are the Primula again..........




I spy the London Eye with Jimmy in St. James Park ..................... hehehe.
This is a Royal Park because it is bordered on it's sides by the Parliament buildings, the Wellington Barracks, and Buckingham Palace. It was originally a swamp that was flooded by the Tyburn stream which flows through a lake in the park. Charles the 2nd had a long canal built into the waterlogged land. He introduced geese, pelicans, and waterfowl which still exist in the park. In 1828 it was re-designed by John Nash in the English landscape style. It has naturalized bulbs everywhere and Platanus trees all throughout the park. These are the dominant trees in the city too. I asked if they were all Platanus x acerifolia (common name is London plane tree.)but there is some debate that it is another species possibly. There habit is much different and more graceful here. These are just some simple gates that enter into the neighboring park called Green Park. It is not planted as heavily but is equally beautiful.This is the Queen Victoria Memorial situated right next to Buckingham Palace in a round-a-bout.
The beautiful coat of arms of the United Kingdom. The crowned lion represents England, the unicorn represents Scotland. The free unicorn used to be considered a dangerous beast. The Guards Museum which is in front of the Wellington Barracks.
Here on the way home I thought I stumbled into a Dr. Seuss story but unfortunately that wasn't true. More severely pruned trees.... It does have a sculptural quality to it though doesn't it?