Pic Today 9/26/11

TAJ MAHAL AT WILDWOOD SPRINGS

A "dream concert" come true.

Legendary blues aritst, Taj Mahal,

played the Missouri Ozarks this past weekend

at the rustic Wildwood Springs Lodge

in Steeleville, Missouri.

The 90-year-old historic lodge

booked Taj to play their intimate "living room"

which seats only 200+ guests,

many with cushioned arm chairs

for his 2-hour show.

Wildwood Springs Lodge may be

tucked away in the Ozark wilderness,

in the middle of the "you can't get there from here"

Show Me State, but is quickly gaining fame

as THE place to see legendary musicians

in intimate splendor!

www.wildwoodspringslodge.com

Pic Today 9/25/11

SCENES FROM ACROSS

"THE WIDE MISSOURI"

River scenes from "across the wide Missouri"

as trees turn . . . hay is brought in for the winter . . .

"Indian corn" and pumpkins are harvested . . .

and winter wheat is planted along the flood plain.

The river runs calm

as the nights turn cool, and the days get shorter.

Roadside stands are open along small river towns,

selling new crop cider and fire cooked apple butter.

Time for fresh baked cornbread and hot mulled cider.

Yum!

Pic Today 9/24/11

HERE'S HOPING

OUR BIG SATELLITE

DOESN'T LAND ON TOP OF YOU

A large* retired NASA satellite is due

to crash into our planet sometime today.

(*This satellite is really large, too . . .

at 6.5-tons, the size of a school bus.)

Most of it will burn upon re-entering the atmosphere,

but some very sizable chunks are predicted to hit.

Just where they hit is uncertain.

Irish book makers are taking bets

on where the big pieces land.

Here are the latest odds:

Africa - 9 to 4

South America - 11 to 4

North America & Asia - 3 to 1

Ireland - 66 to 1

Pacific Ocean - likely

Here's hoping all the pieces

miss you and yours!

(Photos/Illustrations: Courtesy of NASA)

Pic Today 9/23/11

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL

It's official . . . today is the first day of fall.

The autumnal equinox* occurs precisely

at 09:05 GMT, September 23, 2011.

*Autumnal equinox is defined

when there are exactly 12-hours of daytime

and 12-hours of nighttime,

even though the angle of the sun is lessened.

(Please consult the above chart.)

For those of you in the southern hemisphere,

it's the vernal equinox.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Any questions?

(Never mind the chart.

The leaves are pretty, aren't they?)

Pic Today 9/22/11

SASSAFRAS:

THE AUTUMN TREE OF COLOR & FLAVOR

The Missouri sassafras tree has an important place in history.

Its bark and roots have long been used by Indian tribes

in medicinal teas and salves; and its boiled roots

used by modern man as the original flavoring of root beer.

Sassafras leaves are the first to show fall colors in the woods,

and a sure sign that autumn weather is "around the corner."

Sassafras leaves are easy to identify with their "mitten" lobes,

which have one, two or three "fingers."

Rub green sassafras leaves between your fingers

and you smell the sweet fragrance of lemons.

There are still several brands of natural root beers

that use sassafras roots as their natural flavoring.