My visits to four of the the world's great botanical gardens in the past two months ...

Life as BHL Program Director is not always windowless conference rooms in Natural History museums. Though there are plenty of those (as well as exciting tours through the nooks and crannies of those same museums), in the past few months I've had the great pleasure of seeing four of the world's great botanical gardens (and their libraries). I just missed on a fifth, the Royal Botanic Gardens (Melbourne) because of a packed schedule, but had see that a few years earlier.

This week I was at the Missouri Botanical Garden (pictures below). It was a very rainy couple of days (with some tornadoes thrown in), some my Garden time was mostly in the Climatron dome!

So, in order of visits, here they are:

Singapore Botanical Garden.
Beautiful location and lovely facilities.



Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Luckily, the rain held off for my visit and I had a great stroll all the way across the garden.



New York Botanical Garden.
My first visit to the NYBG! Had a surprise snowstorm that made the grounds charming.



Missouri Botanical Garden.
Rainy days and thunderstorms, so not much outside strolling.



I should also through in here some pictures of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, the amazing botanical garden in Cape Town, South Africa, that I visited in 2012:



And, some pictures from the Royal Botanic Gardens (Melbourne) from a 2010 visit:

June presentations: 5 presentations, 4 cities, 3 countries, death by PowerPoint!

June was a busy month for presentations. Final tally ended up being 5 presentations (at least one a pinch hit for the sidelined Chris Freeland); 4 different cities (Berlin, Pretoria, Cape Town, Anaheim); 3 continents (Europe, Africa, Asia); 3 countries (Germany, South Africa, USA); 2 time zones (Central Europe, Pacific); and 1 ... uh, can't think of the one!

• Thinking of Linking: A random series of ideas, concepts, Platonic ideals, a yeoman's miscellany, and nonesuch guide to Linked Data, especially as it relates to libraries, archives, and museums. Martin R. Kalfatovic. American Library Association Annual Meeting. Anaheim, CA. 23 June 2012.
• The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Origin | Growth | Partnerships. Martin R. Kalfatovic. Biodiversity Heritage Library Organization and Planning Meeting. Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. 14 June 2012.
• A Vast Library of Life: The Biodiversity Heritage Library as a window to the living world. Martin R. Kalfatovic. Mae Jemison Science Reading Room. Pretoria, South Africa. 11 June 2012.
• The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Since we last met in November 2011. Martin R. Kalfatovic. 3rd Global BHL Meeting. Museum für Naturkunde. Berlin, Germany. 7 June 02012.
• The Biodiversity Heritage Library: From Local to Global. Martin R. Kalfatovic. BHL Europe Final Events and Review. Berlin, Germany. 5 June 2012.

Team BHL Classic, South Africa contingent, in the mountains outside Cape Town

Team BHL South Africa branch makes a stop (in the Ceres Mountain Fynbos Nature Reserve) on the way from Cape Town to the private game reserve of Inverdoorn.

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time / You understand now why you came this way

A little hard to see in this picture, but here indeed is the Southern Cross. When I was in Australia, I didn't get a chance to look up on a clear night, so I'll consider this my first viewing of the constellation.

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small
But it's as big as the promise, the promise of a comin' day
So I'm sailing for tomorrow, my dreams are a dyin'
And my love is an anchor tied to you, tied with a silver chain
I have my ship, and all her flags are a flyin'
She is all that I have left, and music is her name
And you know it will
So we cheated and we lied and we tested
And we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do
You will survive being bested
Somebody fine will come along
Make me forget about loving you
And the Southern Cross

- Steven Stills

Dazzle Proper Autumn Make Peaceful

Had our last Constantia Valley dinner before heading out to the bush. We decided to eat at Wasabi again (second time). It was good, so worth a return visit.

Each of our menus had a single word on it; reading clockwise from my corner of the table, we were:

Dazzle Proper Autumn Make Peaceful

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First menu I've seen with binomial taxonomic names,

For my first meal in Cape Town, we went to Belthazar Restaurant on the V&A Waterfront (thanks Steve and Amy at the US Embassy in Pretoria for the recommendation!).

This was the first time I've ever seen binomial names included on a menu! Three of us got the "Game Kebob" with included:

• Wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)
• Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)
• Eland (Taurotragus oryx)
• Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis)

The fourth just stuck with basic ostrich (Struthio camelus)! We added a tasty side of mashed peas, rice and some bread. Topped off with a Bon Courage Inkara Shiraz.

To be honest, if you didn't tell me it was Kudu, I'd have guessed beef.

BHL Africa meeting concludes with action items and an energy for going forwards!

BHL Africa governance discussion, Cape Town, SA

My phone keeps insisting I'm in New Orleans,

Presentation: Biodiversity Heritage Library Organization and Planning Meeting. Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa #BHLib

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Origin | Growth | Partnerships. Martin R. Kalfatovic. Biodiversity Heritage Library Organization and Planning Meeting. Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. 14 June 2012.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Origin | Growth | Partnerships

View more PowerPoint from Martin Kalfatovic

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Needless to say, the spectacular views from the conference room were a potential distraction for my audience. Luckily (!?) we closed all the blinds an made everyone look the opposite the windows.

Presentation: 3rd Global BHL Meeting, Berlin, German #BHLib

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Since we last met in November 2011. Martin R. Kalfatovic. 3rd Global BHL Meeting. Museum für Naturkunde. Berlin, Germany. 7 June 02012.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library: Since we last met in November 2011

View more presentations from Martin Kalfatovic

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@WUlate presenting on Global BHL at BHL Africa meeting, Cape Town

Spectacular conference room view for BHL Africa meeting, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

Starting to think Cape Town is the most beautifully situate city in the world

Of the places I've been, San Francisco might still be number one, but Cape Town is simply stunning. The clouds over Table Mountain, the clarity of the air, the ocean.

Simply stunning.

Add to that the gardens and vineyards on and around Table Mountain and you get a very Bay Area feel.

Anne-Lisse Fournier talking about #BHLib