Pic Today 3/5/12

SPRING EMERGING

The first day 0f Spring is 2 weeks away.

(Just don't tell the trees and flowers.)

They're already busy bursting with buds.

Our warm winter has moved the season ahead.

We're in store for some chilly days and nights,

to be sure, but "welcome Spring."

You're lookin' good.

Pic Today 3/4/12

RESCUING THREE MONKEYS

Look what I found in the dumpster?

(People throw out the most amazing things.)

It's the "three wise monkeys."

(See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.)

A rotating table base.

It's huge. It's heavy. It's mine.

Not sure where it's going . . .

maybe at the front door . . .

to give it a spin as I come and go.

These famous monkeys are hugely popular

in Japanese culture and religion (Koshin folk rite),

and symbolize the value of "being of good mind."

Interestingly, western culture has a different take

on this monkey business . . .

a way to deal with impropriety

by looking the other way.

I say let's keep things positive,

and be of good mind.

(Or at least try.)

Pic Today 3/3/12

A TIME FOR EAGLES

Now is the time

when bald eagles gather

along the Mississippi River,

just north of St. Louis.

This is the season

when these magnificent birds

perch on shoreline branches,

and grab their river catch.

There's no mistaking a bald eagle in flight.

Is there a more majestic bird?

Before the start of each Spring,

a most dependable show.

Soon they'll be gone.

(It's good luck to find an eagle feather.)

Pic Today 3/2/12

ROUTE 66 BRIDGE

STILL TAKES PEOPLE ACROSS

THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI

In 1929, the "Chain of Rocks" bridge

took cars across the Mississippi

on U.S. Route 66.

The bridge, with its famous 22-degree bend

in the middle of the crossing, became unsafe

(and "way too narrow" for 2-way auto traffic)

and so was closed in 1970.

After years of avoiding demolition,

the bridge has been renovated for pedestrian

and bicycle use, and is a popular trail today

for hikers and bikers.

The original pavement of concrete aggregate

is still in use from the 1929 construction.

The St. Louis Gateway arch and city skyline

are visible downriver, and immediately downstream

from the bridge are two water intakes

for the St. Louis Waterworks.

(Gothic and Roman style architecture.)

Pic Today 3/1/12

THE GREAT RIVER EXPEDITION

OF LEWIS & CLARK STARTED HERE

. . . at the confluence of the Missouri River

and the mighty Mississippi.

Where these two great rivers meet

is the launching point of the historic

Lewis & Clark expedition of 1804.

Through unchartered territories,

from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean,

Lewis & Clark endured weather, wilderness

and native Indian tribes (picking up Shoshone

interpreter, Sacajawea, along the way),

and reached their destination in Oregon

2 years and 4 months later.

And they did it going up stream,

against the Missouri's mighty currents.

Today, you can climb 150-feet to the top

of the Lewis & Clark tower, and witness

the exact launch point of the expedition,

where the Missouri meets the Mississippi River.