Murals
Winter with the snow on the ground.
The fire is necessary; faggots have been gathered; the animals are brought in for the winter food.
The time for spinning has arrived during the long winter evenings (considering the life of today this idea is almost obsolete).
Festivity - Winter strikes the strings of the harp and gaiety is about to glide forth.
The seasons are again suggested by names of the signs of the zodiac on the gateways,
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces.
Look thru the entrance into the Court of Palms at the Horticultural Palace across the way - a fine green and white picture.
Turn back into the Court of the Four Seasons and below the half dome will be seen Albert Jaeger’s
Nature (there is a great probability that this will not be placed).
Mother Earth, the great mother, sits in the center.
On the left, carrying the shell, is the Sea.
On the right, upholding the globe, is the Heavens.
Read the quotation from George Sterling’s “The Triumph of Bohemia” to make the connection with your Nature group:
“For lasting happiness we turn our eyes to one alone And she surrounds you now Great Nature, refuge of the weary heart, and only balm to breasts that have been bruised She hath cool hands for every fevered brow And gentlest silence for the troubled soul.”
Near by are August Jaeger’s figures of Abundance, four times repeated on each gateway; also his spandrel figures, still adding harvest thoughts.
Walk along the colonnade to the right -
As you pass the fountains, you will notice how the water slips its silvery pink reflection from the wall down the terraces into the pool below, producing almost a sunrise or a sunset effect.
The long hanging vine on the wall above is muhlenbeckia, the so-called maidenhair vine.
The shorter vine is lotus bertolletti, showing later its red claw-like flowers.