Pic Today 4/30/17

 

TOO MUCH RAIN

Way too much.

(I've never seen it rain this hard.)

  

Pic Today 4/28/17

 

STREET GRAFFITI

The streets of Bogotá

make street graffiti

an art form.

Students walking home

hardly noticing.

 

Pic Today 4/27/16

 

A BIRTHDAY CAKE

FOR PRINCE

My friend, bartender and 

horse trainer, Codi,

had a birthday carrot cake

baked for her horse, Prince.

A birthday party is scheduled

later today,

when Prince will be served

this giant carrot cake.

(Codi and Prince are 

championship barrel racers,)

Pic Today 4/26/17

 

TRIMMING AND PRUNING

Now's the time to trim and shape

your trees and shrubs.

A good haircut can make all the difference.

Pic Today 4/25/17

WHAT'S ALL THE BUZZ?

Now that our early Spring

has made our flowers grow,

it's good to see our local bees

back at work.

Pic Today 4/24/17

 

IRIS EMERGING

Now it's iris time.

Ultimate Spring perfection.

 

Pic Today 4/23/17

 

 

 

BEST PASTRIES IN TOWN

are found here

at Nathaniel Reed Bakery

in Kirkwood, Missouri.

His mouth-watering confections

include flaky, buttery croissants,

macarons, desserts, quiches

and daily sandwiches.

Nathaniel was recently named

one of the Top 10 Best Pastry Chefs

in the U.S.

We're glad he's settled down here.

 

Pic Today 4/22/17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDGAR DEGAS

AND THE PARIS MILLINERY

Come see the first-ever exploration

of Edgar Degas' fascination 

with high-fashion hats, and

the young women who made them.

The St. Louis Art Museum

is featuring the paintings and pastels

by Degas, never before exhibited

in the United States,

including an amazing collection

of period hats.

The museum gift shop is offering

reproductions of these period hats,

and the ladies are going wild for them.

(Advance ticket reservations

strongly recommended.)

 

Pic Today 4/21/17

 

APRIL SHOWERS

True to its reputation,

this month has been a wet one.

A good time to remember

your umbrella.

(Shot this on the colorful streets

of La Candelaria, Bogotá, Colombia.)

Pic Today 4/20/17

 

RED, WHITE & RADISH

   The perfect Spring salad . . . 

   Fresh picked chilled organic

     French Breakfast Radishes 

(washed and sliced)

 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

Chopped cilantro

Toss and serve.

Yum!

Pic Today 4/19/17

 

SOME DAYS

a stand of pink tulips

  is just enough . . . 

to remind us

how beautiful

Spring can be.

Pic Today 4/18/17

 

WHAT TO TAKE ON BOARD

Good advice

from one of my favorite poets,

Jerome Klapka Jerome . . .

The essentials of life.

Plus a little more than enough to drink.

 (For thirst is a dangerous thing.)

So true, so true.

Pic Today 4/17/17

ONE OF FOUR

COVERED BRIDGES

IN MISSOURI

Built in 1872,

the Sandy Creek covered bridge

has been restored to its original condition,

and is open to foot traffic only.

This truss bridge allowed passage

from Hillsboro to St. Louis,

and is one of only four  

covered bridges in Missouri.

Just an hour south of St. Louis,

on Hwy. 21, this site is worth a

day trip now that Spring is here.

Pic Today 4/16/17

 

COLORING EGGS

An Easter tradition.

Metta, Eli and Mom.

What fun!

(And if you hide 'em and hunt,

may you find ALL your eggs.)

 

Pic Today 4/15/17

 

HAIL

THE GREAT EGG

Happy Easter weekend!

 

Pic Today 4/14/17

 

SENTRIES

AT LEMP BREWERY

Two sentries, now in bloom,

standing guard on Lemp Avenue

beside the original silos

of Lemp Brewery.

Built in 1840,

Lemp was one of the first

and largest breweries in St. Louis,

until the Prohibition Act of 1919.

These magnificent brick silos 

still stand at the brewery which

continued operation as

Griesedieck and then

Falstaff Brewing Company.

The property remains idle today.

Pic Today 4/13/17

 

GREEN PASTURES

IN BLOOM

Rolling hills and fields

are filled with flowering color.

Missouri farms have benefited

from our warm days and

rainy nights.

Bees are happy!

Pic Today 4/12/17

 

VOILA!

Morel mushroom

(morchella esculanta)

Hand harvested, locally*

*(somewhere wild in central Missouri).

Fresh, plump, savory

and so delicious.

A beauty!

 

Pic Today 4/11/17

 

BEST PHO EVER

Cheers to the best Vietnamese lunch

  in St. Louis . . .

enjoying a bowl of pho,

outside table, beautiful day

at Mai Lee in Brentwood.

Spicy, healthy, fortifying,

so satisfying.

Pic Today 4/10/17

 

MAKE MINE PINK

Of all the flowering Spring trees,

my favorite has to be the

pink flowering dogwood.

So pretty in pink!

Pic Today 4/9/17

 

THE WOODS ARE BARKING

Wild dogwood trees are flowering now.

Perfect white blooms dot the woods

with Spring's subtle beauty.

Pink dogwoods bloom in the city. 

Only white dogwoods in the wild.

(Not sure I know why.)

Pic Today 4/8/17

 

GUESS WHAT I'LL

BE HUNTING FOR

THIS WEEKEND? 

Warm sunny weather

    following our recent heavy rains   

Should make for successful

morel mushroom hunting!

Don't you think? 

(Wish me luck.)

Pic Today 4/7/17

 

REDBUD CLUMPS

CLIMB UP THIS TREE 

The Eastern Redbud is a welcome

tree to the midwest woodlands.

It's red flowering flowers are

are more lavender pink than red.

Some years (like this one)

you'll find quirky bouquet clumps

growing and climbing up

its tree bark and branches.

Covering the Eastern Bedbud

from trunk to tip

in brilliant Spring color.

Amazing Spring color!

Pic Today 4/6/17

 

 

 FLOWERS IN THE RAIN

With all our continuing

recent rains,

the flowers are holding up.

And quite beautiful.

Wild dogwoods in their

dream-like misty beauty.

And tulips filling up

like wine glasses full of water.

Pic Today 4/5/17

 

THE CROWN JEWEL

OF FOREST PARK

Visitors to St. Louis

are always pleasantly surprised

to discover this Art Deco gem

in the center of Forest Park.

The Jewel Box, built in 1936,

is a cantilevered house of glass,

with towering 50-foot glass walls,

managed by the St. Louis Floral Conservatory. 

A grand greenhouse indeed, 

but now in demand as a wedding venue,

especially in the Spring,

with its grand tulip beds.

(Now in full bloom.)

Worth a visit.

($1 admission, at the door.) 

Pic Today 4/4/17

 

STANDING TALL

There's nothing that says Spring

like a stand of yellow tulips

in the morning sun. 

Makes for a stunning arrangment

in a tall glass vase.

5 or 7 single-stem tulips,

with foliage removed.

Add a copper coin*

 to the water.

*(Guaranteed to keep stems straight.)

Pic Today 4/3/17

 

FOUND MY FIRST ONE

With our recent rains and mild weather,

  anticipation has been growing . . .

Where are the morel mushrooms?

They're here.

The first one, tiny as it is,

is a fresh morel,

found in Des Peres (suburbs)

under an ash tree.

Let the hunt begin!

Pic Today 4/2/17

 

 

 

 

IT'S TULIP TIME

Now's a good time 

to tiptoe through the tulips. 

They're here! 

Pic Today 4/1/17

 

 

ALL THIS RAIN

 AND SUNSHINE 

brings us green, green grass

and the flowering trees

of Spring.

Happy April everyone.

(Time to gas up the lawn mower!)