Pic Today 4/17/11

EVOLUTION CONNECTION

Zoos get better, more relevant,

when they let captured animals

feel free, live in their natural environment . . .

like the ape and chimpanzee "outside space"

at the St. Louis Zoo.

Here, visitors can "get close"

to their genetic ancestral connections . . .

where we get to study primates up close,

or vice versa!

Who's studying whom?

Pic Today 4/16/11

ALL HAIL BROKE OUT

So "planting day" came, April 15 . . .

the day it's officially "safe to plant our gardens."

(In this climate zone, anyway.)

A light rain . . . mild temperatures . . . and then

WHOOSH . . . tornado warnings were posted . . .

the sky went dark, and a big storm moved through

and "all hail broke loose", literally!

Hail fell from the sky in torrents.

Huge amounts of the stuff.

It hurt to be outside. (Ouch.)

An hour later the sun shined through.

(Watch out: crazy Spring weather is here.)

Pic Today 4/15/11

CROOKED HOUSE ADDITION

(Residence: Kirkwood, Missouri)

One of two things here:

1. The architect got some crooked plans

for the new addition to the house, or

2. This is the most amazing room on

the inside, and such fun to decorate.

(I wonder if everything slides down to one side.)

Pic Today 4/14/11

HIDDEN HOUSES

Some choose to build their homes

deep in the forest, surrounded by trees,

so they can become part of the woods.

Big houses, small houses, even little tree houses;

mostly wood, camouflaged, with lots of windows.

To be private, in a silent place;

and soon, as leaves fill the trees,

to disappear.

Pic Today 4/13/11

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

The dogwood trees are next to bloom.

The flowering dogwood is the state tree of Missouri,

even though it is found in most parts of the U.S.

The wild flowering dogwood grows throughout

Missouri's wilderness and national park areas,

and always shows white flowers (with red tips on its 4 petals.)

But dogwood varieties have been cultivated

in shades of pink and red for domestic use,

and is more common in city and park plantings.

The variations of pink-red-and-white are amazing.

The wood of mature dogwood trees is highly prized

for its tight grain and hardness, and is used for

tool handles, walking canes, golf club heads,

long bows, loom shuttles and dulcimers.