Today, July 1, is the first day of my year-long quest to explore Tyler Arboretum. I plan to travel all the trails, take advantage of programs and events, and share my excitement for exploring the outdoors. I also plan on picking up as many facts as I can about Tyler and sharing them here on this blog. For example…
DID YOU KNOW… Between 1681 and 1944, the current arboretum property was a working farm owned by eight generations of the same Minshall/Painter/Tyler family!
And wouldn’t you know, my first day that I set out to start my Tyler exploration was clouded over with nonstop rain. As I have a degree in marine geology, a little water has never stopped me! I grabbed my umbrella and started a short stroll inside the fenced portion of the Arboretum. If you haven’t walked through Tyler in the rain, I strongly encourage you to do so. Not only is the landscape just as beautiful, but the sound of the rain falling through the overhead tree canopy was so peaceful and relaxing. I headed to the Pond to watch the raindrops fall on the water, and I was kept company by some of the Pond’s wildlife!
Some company in the rain at the Pond! The sign tells me these are Eastern Painted turtles.
I am looking forward to many, many more visits to Tyler – in the rain and in the sun! My challenge will be to decide what events to sign up for. Should I join the Mornings in the Fragrant Garden program on July 10, or tag along with one of the Summer Bird Walks that takes place every Wednesday, or challenge myself with a hike along the Painter (Red) Trail, or…. wow, so many options! I think I better bookmark the Events and Exhibitions page on the Tyler website to stay on top of everything.
Journeys of Dr. G at Tyler Arboretum 
July 2, 2013 at 2:20 AM
Tyler also smells great after a good rain!
August 2, 2013 at 7:42 PM
Hi – geocaching sounds interesting. I am 77 yrs old. Can I do this? Is there a local organization to contact? I don’t have a gps. I guess it’s too late to get involved with Tylers program. Please reply with information. Thank you.
August 5, 2013 at 11:57 PM
Hi Caroline, Thanks for checking out my blog! You must have seen my post with the Tyler Geocaching Challenge: https://journeysofdrgattyler.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/gps-challenge-1/ Anyone can search for those coordinates in Tyler with a handheld GPS, and there are even some apps you can download for a smartphone that allow one to navigate latitude and longitude coordinates. The other way to search for these spots would be to look up the coordinates in Google Earth (a free program available for download at http://earth.google.com/) and enter the coordinates. For example, for Location 1A, use this format: N 39 56′ 8.77″ W 75 26′ 18.00″ Then, once you have this mapped on your computer, you can walk to that spot on your next visit to Tyler and see what feature is at that spot! Good luck!