Meanwhile, I’ve updated the Podcasts page with some of my “new” findings. Yes, I noticed it’s been a while, but always better late than never.

I made it to Top 50! #18 to be exact. I don’t know how I did it but somehow, I did.

Thanks to all my 13 followers on NetworkedBlogs who made this possible. If you’ve liked whatever you’ve read here so far, do consider following me on NetworkedBlogs to push me further up the list!

I quickly moved on from the Car Park Garden towards the section of the park known as Flora Fancy, where there are various display plots that showcase various garden designs, concepts, products and home gardening ideas. Among those on display were some playground setups, a scarecrow garden and an orchid garden. Interesting.

As I trudged along in the heat towards the Glasshouse Complex, I passed by the Tree Garden. Nothing too interesting to me, except for a unique looking piece of log. The Golden Garden looked quite cheery with its brilliant sea of yellow, but I only stopped for 1 quick “photo op“.

And here we are, the climax of my HortPark experience, the Glasshouse Complex. As the write-up describes, this complex consists of a collection of large and small glasshouses that are designed to simulate different growing conditions (temperature, humidity, etc) of different climates and geographical regions. Contained within the complex was a plethora of various species of flowers and shrubs. The interior of the glasshouses was not accessible to members of the public, so I could only take pictures from outside, through the glass. Since it was a bright and sunny day, reflections were aplenty. Hence if you spot a green shadow “lurking” among the flowers, it’s probably my reflection.

Not only was there a breathtaking variety of beautiful flowers in the glasshouses, there were also beautiful flowers in the outdoor compounds of the complex.

After almost half an hour, I finally managed to tear myself away from the beautiful flowers in the Glasshouse Complex, and started making my way back to the Visitor Center. Along the way I passed by some interesting topiary. There were 2 pairs of dragon topiary, a tiger topiary and a pair of Merlion topiary. I think there was a chicken topiary too, but I didn’t take a photo of that.

I also passed by the Herb & Spice Garden as well as the Bamboo Labyrinth. I stopped for a couple of quick shots.

On my way back to the Visitor Center, I also passed by the Silver Garden, which features a collection of silver, grey and white hued plants set against a backdrop of green dominated landscape. I appreciated the serenity this section of the park offered. Despite all the greyness, I still managed to find bits of color hiding in little corners, and I marveled at the genius of the Creator, and the creativity of the landscape designer.

Finally back at the Visitor Center, I stopped for a breather and a quick drink. Before long, I picked myself up and made my way out of HortPark and towards my next destination, the Forest Walk. The Forest Walk consists of an Elevated Walkway and an Earth Trail. Originally, I wanted to try the Elevated Walkway, but it was a little too elevated for my comfort. (Have I ever mentioned that I’m afraid of heights?) I only managed to cover probably 1% of the entire distance, before I quickly (and carefully) scampered down one of the exit stairways (complete with cold sweat and shaking legs, no doubt). The Earth Trail is quite rugged and seemed rather deserted since most of the visitors chose to take the Elevated Walkway, so I give up on taking the Forest Walk. However, I did venture back up on the Elevated Walkway via another entrance where the height of the walkway didn’t seem so intimidating. I spotted a pair of monkeys, probably mother and child, but they ran off before I could even whip out my camera phone. Ultimately, I had to end my Forest Walk midway as it was already getting late, and I didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the forest alone. I did take some pictures, just so that I can tell my friends “yup, been there, done that“. Maybe if I can find someone to accompany me in future, I’ll try to complete the Forest Walk.

There are still other attractions on the Southern Ridges, which HortPark, Alexandra Arch and Forest Walk are a part of. I definitely will find time to visit  the other attractions when I get a chance to. And you’ll definitely updated when I do. Meanwhile, for more photos of my little date with nature, as well as my other photos, please visit the Photos page on this blog.

This comes a little late, but since it was the beginning of the new year, there was a pile of work sitting on my desk, waiting to be cleared. As this post comes with photos, I had to spend a little more time than usual to select and arrange the contents, so please forgive me. The entire post is a little long, so I’m going to break it up into parts. Here’s the first part, while I continue working on completing the rest.

I was given the afternoon from work on New Year’s Eve. Rather than join the crowd who have gathered for the various countdown activities in and around town, I decided visit HortPark, the up-and-coming gardening hub in Singapore, which happens to be just 3 bus-stops away from my office.

It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for taking a walk in the park and taking pictures. Although it threatened to rain a couple of times while I was in HortPark, eventually the weather turned out fine. Armed with my camera phone, some maps and a bottle of water, I happily hopped on the bus that brought me to the footsteps of Alexandra Arch, the uniquely architectured bridge that links the HortPark and the Forest Walk. My journey begins here.

I crossed the leaf-shaped structure and arrived at the entrance of HortPark and started my trail through Floral Walk. I was greeted by a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. Some of them are quite commonly seen along the roadside, some are more rare. Apparently, not all of them were in bloom, which was quite unfortunate, but it was still a beautiful sight nonetheless.

After a short walk, I soon reached the Visitor Center of HortPark. It was obviously decorated for the festive season. I didn’t stay here for too long since I wanted to quickly visit the other attractions in the park. Just outside of the Visitor Center is the the Water Garden, a beautiful pond with an interesting collection of aquatic plants potted in specially designed geometric-shaped containers. Oh, and did I mention there was FISH in the pond? Cool!

Beyond the Water Garden was the Car Park Garden. Imagine parking your car in a garden filled with various beautiful flowers and trees. Thankfully the car park was pretty much empty, so I could easily snap snap snap with my trusty SE K800i, without causing too much inconvenience to the car park users.

to be continued…

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

I’ll also like to say sorry for being on hiatus for so long. Work has really been piling up as we’re starting on a new project and our team is pretty short-handed. It’s also the year-end peak season for program updates, enquiries, bugs, etc. So there’s hardly any chances to prepare a decently-length post.

Please be assured that I will be back. I may not be doing a “full-length” post anytime soon, but I will try to find time for it. Meanwhile, I’ll try to drop a couple of short posts to let y’all know that I’m still pretty much alive and kicking.

Yup, this kitty is finally on Google Wave!

“Wave” me at nekogal [at] googlewave [dot] com !

Please note that you can only submit the nomination form ONCE. The same show is not to be nominated for multiple categories within the same submission. Get more details at Podcast.Awards.com.

P.S.: If you’re a supporter of SQPN, I suggest you wait for Father Roderick’s “official” suggested nominations list. Meanwhile, let’s work together to try and bring this to Father’s attention. The poor padre is so loaded with work that I think he missed my plurk last night.

This one is not exactly *NEW* new, but it is one of the recent additions to the big family of SQPN. If you like food, and hopefully like Catholicism too, you’ll probably like The Catholic Foodie podcast (rss). Join Jeff Young on his foodie adventures where he talks about faith and food.

Another new member of SQPN is the In Between Sundays podcast (rss), a podcast that gives you the essentials to live in the world outside of church. Join Nick & Pat Padley where they talk about life as Catholic young adults, ways to grow in faith including specific prayers, websites to visit and practices. They believe that being people of faith requires more than just one hour on Sunday, and we all know that they’re not the only ones who believe that. By helping you develop your body, mind, soul and emotions, the Padley brothers hope to help you become the best person you can be.

As its name suggests, the Among Women podcast (rss) is specially created to celebrate the beauty and grace of Catholic Faith and Life among women. Join Pat Gohn as she does some faith sharing, teaching, and conversation woman to woman. I’ve just started listening to this podcast after it recently the SQPN family, and I’m already hooked by Pat’s beautiful “radio DJ” voice.

Thanks to Lisa Hendey’s mention on her Catholic Moments podcast (rss), I was made aware of the Marian Cenacle Rosary Podcast (rss) by Susan Bailey. If you’re a frequent listener to the Catholic Music Express (rss) podcast or the Catholic Rockers podcast (rss), or if you’re familiar with the Catholic music scene in general, I’m sure you’ll be familiar as Susan as singer, as well as the person behind GrapeVine Online ministry and the GrapeVine News Minute podcast. Susan is also the author and composer of a Catholic book and CD, Mary, Queen of Peace Meditation Guide & Sung Rosary, which this podcast is based on. The Marian Cenacle Rosary Podcast now has a new supplement known as “How Can I Keep from Singing,” a faith-in-action podcast with personal sharing from Susan on how praying the rosary, studying the word of God and other spiritual exercises has nourished her faith and kept her strong in the midst of trials.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably also know that Deacon Tom Fox, who does the Deacon Moments section on the Catholic Moments podcast has started a new podcast with his lovely wife, Dee Fox. The Catholic Vitamins podcast (rss) is dedicated to helping you find the right nutrients that can add a lift and just the right amount of ‘zest’ to your faith practice.

SQPN’s official shwag guy Jeff Nielsen has finally caught the bug and started his own podcast, Catholic Pilot (rss). Jeff talks about his adventures as a commercial air pilot.

If you like reading, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the Catholic Book Club podcast (rss). Join Katherine Barren from Catholics in a Small Town as she interviews a series of noted Catholic new media personalities and others to talk about the book, Choosing Beauty by Gina Loehr, and how choosing beauty can affect our lives in profound ways.

We’ve had quite a few podcasts for and by women in this post. If you’re a man looking for some inspiration and spiritual guidance, you might be interested in the  Catholic Men’s Podcasts sponsored by the National Fellowship of Catholic Men and the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Pittsburgh PA. There are 2 channels. Channel 1 (rss) is an ongoing weekly audio reflection of the upcoming Sunday Mass Readings from the perspective of Catholic male spirituality. Channel 2 (rss) is a compilation of hundreds of hours of various audio presentations geared toward Catholic masculine spirituality, inspiration, and general faith formation.

Last year was the Year of St Paul, so for those of you seeking to study the life and teachings of St Paul, you might want to listen to the Catholic Perspective on Paul podcast (rss). Created by Taylor Marshall, this podcast is an outgrowth of his book, The Catholic Perspective on Paul, which is set to be released in summer of 2010.

If you find some of the descriptions I’ve given above look familiar, let me admit that I’ve been a little lazy, and have “lift” most of the descriptions right from the related websites themselves.

Whew! That was quite a long list!

For links to these and other fine podcasts, please hop over to my Podcasts page.