Come one, come all! Free buffet for arthropods in the Athens, GA area!

Insects feeding on pollen, leaves, and other small arthropods living near Athens, Georgia have unlimited access to a free buffet at all times of the day, all days of the year at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia!

Joe and I took a short trip to Athens this past weekend and stopped by the gardens for a few hours -- we highly recommend it to those living in or near the Atlanta area!  Plus, it's free to the public!

Here are a few shots of insects feeding on pollen (and some others, including a shot of pitcher plants, which are just awesome).  Check out the little grasshopper buried inside a giant flower with pollen ALL OVER HIS FACE!  What a cutie pie. :)

King of Pops -- bringing people together through popsicles since 2008

Steven Carse and his two brothers took a trip to Central America several years ago and got to experience the deliciousness of many exotic fruits there (see here for part of a post devoted to fruits found in Costa Rica!) -- thus, a dream was born and fresh fruit ice pops were made!  Steven and his brother Nick jump-started King of Pops in Atlanta in 2008.  Losing his job at AIG in 2009 solidified his decision to follow his dream of opening up a shop selling refreshing paletas full time.

I think Joe and I started to see KoP carts with their iconic rainbow-colored umbrellas pop up around town around 2009.  The creative flavors and focus on using seasonal, organic fruit intrigued us.  As they grew, we began to see more and more carts at city festivals, various food truck parks, and at staple locations around Atlanta, including some grocery and convenience stores.  Of course, we instantly fell in love with the Georgia peach, and every year starting in late June, we scout out KoP carts.  Not surprisingly, peach is always one of the first flavors to sell out in the summer months!  

The most amazing appeal of the KoP product is not that it draws crowds wherever available, or that their popsicles are better than anything you could get anywhere else (because it's true, folks), but that there are few things more satisfying than enjoying a great popsicle with friends and/or family on a hot summer day.  I've never heard of someone sharing a conversation over a popsicle and not had a good time.  It's virtually impossible!  Popsicles promote love and happiness.  

This is how KoP has recently promoted love and happiness in our lives:

1. Joe and I had a few popsicles with my mom when she visited Atlanta over the fourth of July weekend.  We even got to try the Patriot Pop (a combination of strawberries, blueberries, and lime), which is not only a best-seller, but only available for about a week, around the fourth of July!

2. Joe and I cannot emphasize enough how much we enjoyed our wedding in Atlanta a few months ago.  We really saw it as a big reunion of sorts -- an opportunity for all of our closest family and friends (mostly in the US) to come together and celebrate with us as we committed our lives to each other.  As you all know, I strongly believe food brings everyone together, and popsicles are no exception to the rule.  We heard from several people after the wedding that the popsicles served as a bit of an ice-breaker during the cocktail hour, and allowed people to get to know each other a little better.  One of our all-time favorite pictures from the wedding was a group photo of all of our Emory friends enjoying pops with each other in the gardens.  Seeing it made us so happy!  

Photo credit: Yan Ping Qi

We are amazed and proud of how King of Pops has grown over the last several years.  They now sell popsicles in Charleston, Chattanooga, Savannah, Athens, Charlotte, and Richmond!  AND, they just bought a 68 acre plot of land to grow produce and herbs for their pops and to sell to the public!  We can't wait until it opens.

Joe's favorite flavors: blueberry cobbler, key lime pie, Georgia peach

Sharoda's favorite flavors: Georgia peach, orange basil, grapefruit mint

For a whole list of pop flavors, click here.