Pic Today 8/31/18

ROGUE DINING 70

The 70th Rogue

Underground Dining Society dinner

last night, at COCA St. Louis.

What a meal.

What lucky 24 guests.

Spectacular meal.

The theme . . .

Mothers of Invention!

Pics of each course

tomorrow.

Pic Today 8/30/18

FLOATING THE MERAMEC

Now that rains have cooled down

our recent hot weather,

and the Labor Day weekend is

fast approaching . . .

It's the perfect time

to grab some friends

and plan a peaceful float trip

down the beautiful Meramec River.

So peaceful.

So relaxing.

Float your troubles away.

Pic Today 8/29/18

THE SECRET LIFE

OF LEAVES

In my next profession,

I want to be a vascular specialist

for tropical plants.

Such great design,

such absolute beauty.

Pic Today 8/28/18

THE BEST OF AUGUST

Local markets save the

best for last.

Fresh picked eggplant,

and heirloom tomatoes.

Time for a big batch

of eggplant parmesan!

Yum.

Pic Today 8/27/18

NOT FAKE NEWS

Our administration favors

big oil and big coal producers,

at the expense of our planet.

Extreme weather is taking it's toll

on our green planet.

Heat-trapping greenhouse gasses

are the byproduct of the 

industries who continue to grow.

Trump is helping the bottom line

of the biggest polluters.

His values are measured

in dollars, not the environment.

We've got some voting to do!

Pic Today 8/26/18

A GRASS

OLDER THAN THE DINOSAURS

Horsetail grass grows

around Missouri's springs,

in wet sandy soil,

and has been on earth

for more than 350 million years.

It has no leaves or flowers,

and reproduces from spores.

It collects light from its 

hollow sections, and

is one of the few plants

whose stems produce silica,

the building block of sand.

So it is part plant, part mineral.

One of nature's oldest wonders.

Pic Today 8/25/18

INTO THE "WILD BLUE YONDER"

Whenever I fly,

I always request a window seat.

In case there's something

to photograph,

like the top of this storm cloud.

(I like seeing the tops of clouds.)

I'm back.

Pic Today 8/20/18

OUT OF TOWN

Gone this week,

be back Friday night.

Off to Chicago,

for job training.

Pic Today 8/19/18

ZEBRA SHADOWS

Nature is full

of great design.

These shadows

on zebra plant leaves

are today's proof.

Pic Today 8/18/18

PAW-PAW PATCH

AT THE SPRING

There's a thick patch

of paw-paw trees

'round the spring

this year.

I'll share pics

of our harvest

next month.

(Such a yummy treat.)

Pic Today 8/17/18

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Farewell Aretha Franklin.

What a voice.

What a career.

You were truly the

"Queen of Soul."

Pic Today 8/16/18

WHAT TO WEAR

TO THE ART MUSEUM

I believe

most visitors give a 

great deal of thought

to what they wear

to the Art Museum.

After all,

they become part of the show.

Pic Today 8/15/18

AUGUST GARDEN HARVEST

Vine-ripened tomatoes,

perfect eggplant

and very fresh basil.

And way-too-many

cherry tomatoes.

(I've got some

cooking to do!)

Pic Today 8/14/18

WHEN WORDS FAIL

A single note can say it all.

(Mr. Natural, as drawn by

underground comix artist,

R. Crumb.)

Pic Today 8/13/18

TIME TO START BALING

Missouri pasture lands are 

already starting to bale

hay for the winter.

Remember when hay bales

were smaller and square?

Pic Today 8/12/18

THE BEST TASTES

OF SUMMER

Heirloom tomatoes

and

corn on the cob.

Take your pick.

Buy 'em local,

eat 'em fresh.

Pic Today 8/11/18

METEOR SHOWER

THIS WEEKEND

Good weekend to watch

meteors in the night sky,

especially the next 3 nights.

It's the Perseids Meteor Shower.

And it's a "new moon" sky,

which means it will be extra dark.

NASA estimates there will be

100 per hour!

Here's hoping it's not going to

be cloudy where you live.

(Above Perseids shower photo:

courtesy NASA.)

Pic Today 8/10/18

RED BARN DOOR

STILL LIFE

I love finding old barns,

especially weathered

red ones.

In fact, century barns

weren't painted red at all.

They were stained

with iron oxide.

 (Cheaper than paint.)

Pic Today 8/9/18

A GOOD IDEA

PAVED OVER

St. Louis still has its

original paved streets

in historic neighborhoods.

100-years-old and more

these streets still hold up

better than most, year round.

No ruts, no mud, no dust.

They wear like, well,

"cobble stones."

Pic Today 8/8/18

WHAT THE ???

Now that Maggie has moved in

with me again . . .

I am finding strange new things

in the bathroom, and

especially in the fridge!

Including this bottle of

Coconut Aminos

 seasoning sauce.

(I didn't even know

 coconuts had aminos.)

Pic Today 8/7/18

SURPRISE

Tall stems.

Beautiful pink blooms.

But where are the leaves?

All over town,

these tall beauties

have sprouted up.

"Surprise Lilies"

are well named,

as they all pop up

at the same time in

our hot August weather.

They are actually 

Lycoris Squamigera

in the amaryllis family.

So pretty.

Pic Today 8/6/18

BUSY BEES

Love these summer

coneflowers (echinacea).

Not as much as our

busy honeybees!

Pic Today 8/5/18

ECKERT'S PEACHES

ARE HERE

Eckert's Orchards

are world famous for

hand-picked perfect peaches!

They're here now.

And they're perfect.

Look for them at local markets.

And next Saturday,

at Kirkwood Farmers Market.

(You can taste the difference.)

Pic Today 8/4/18

MY FAVORITE FLOWER

The sacred lotus,

rising from the muddy bottoms.

In summer,

always my favorite flower

to photograph.

From early buds

on angled stems,

to final seed pods.

Every moment of their

short lives

gives such pleasure

to compose and expose.

Especially in afternoon light,

as shadows make it fun

to see their form.

Pic Today 8/3/18

TIE DYE FRIDAY

Eli and Metta

show off their new

tie dye creations.

Eli is so proud of his

new t-shirt design.

Great art, kids.

And thanks for the

guidance and patience,

Maggie the mom.

Pic Today 8/2/18

VASCULAR BEAUTY

Want to understand the vascular

system of leaves?

Get under a large leaf,

on a sunny day,

And behold!

(Such great design.)

Pic Today 8/1/18

RAIN,  LOVELY RAIN

Gorgeous, cooling rain

to end the hot month of July.

Ready for my birthday month,

starting today.

Greetings fellow Leo's.