Christmas Lights at Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Tower Hill was busy this afternoon.  When I arrived about an hour before sunset, cars were lined up outside the entrance in both directions, waiting to get in.  

I looked for birds while I waited for sunset to arrive and the Christmas lights to turn on.  It was a long, chilly wait!

The sky was beautiful as the sun went down.

 European Starling

American Robin

 Eastern Bluebird

Black-Capped Chickadee

 I had to go inside to warm up a bit.  I was glad I did so that I didn't miss this beautiful Christmas tree.

Rumor had it that the Christmas lights were on sensors and would only come on when it was sufficiently dark.  Trees and shrubs were lighting up one at a time, so that made sense.  Otherwise, I would have expected someone to flip a switch and light them all at once.  The whole left side of the gardens lit up while the right side remained unlit.  I could hear people commenting on it and questioning it.  I just kept waiting for it to get darker until finally, they were all lit.

What a lovely light show!  Considering it was in the high 30s, it was nice weather to be outdoors, too!