Pic Today 9/27/12

THE SHOW HAS BEGUN

"Autumn is a second Spring

    when every leaf is a flower."

                      -- Albert Camus

Pic Today 9/26/12

TROPICAL DRAGONS

IN RED AND YELLOW

When I first tried a pitaya fruit

(at the market, while living in Colombia),

I fell in love with its sweet, exotic flavor,

its meaty texture and crunchy seeds.

This bright yellow fruit grows on cactus

and is an excellent digestive aid.

(But "don't eat too much", I was warned,

"too many seeds can be toxic.")

So I ate one a day, and never had a digestive problem.

My trail snacks, before hiking anywhere,

were always the same . . .

pitaya, passion fruit and dark chocolate!

It seems pitaya and dragon fruit, its look-alike

red cousin, are "one and the same."

Red dragon fruits, marketed in the U.S.,

are actually less sweet than the yellow Colombian pitaya,

and suffer from the delay and refrigeration

of mass market distribution.

If you ever have the chance to try either one,

enjoy it fresh, at room temperature.

Just slice it in half, and eat by the spoonful.

But not too much . . .

Pic Today 9/25/12

BIG TIME POLITICS

COMES TO KIRKWOOD

Republican "big guns" came to Kirkwood

to help support a controversial U.S. Senate

candidate, Todd Akin.

Ex-Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich,

stopped off at the Kirkwood Train Station

to make a media visit in support of the

troubled Todd Akin campaign.

Akin has drawn recent national criticism

and appeals to drop-out of the senate seat race,

especially for his misplaced quotes

against women's health, and calling student loans

a "stage 3 cancer of socialism."

When is "too much politics" 

too much for Kirkwood?

Right now!

Pic Today 9/24/12

PROUD HARVEST

Local growers and farmers

bring their finest pick and canned goods

to the Tower Grove Farmer's Market.

Hungry visitors get to enjoy

hot specialty sandwiches, too.

Perfect, organic foods

grown, prepared and sold

locally!

Pic Today 9/23/12

THERE'S A LOT GOING ON

IN TOWER GROVE PARK

(Saturday morning, first day of Fall.)

This St. Louis park is not the biggest,

but it is full of splendid Victorian era

architecture and design features.

And on Saturday mornings,

there's free yoga sessions,

great acoustic live music,

one of the city's best Farmer's Markets,

the most eclectic, friendly neighbors

and some of their dogs.

Even some of the Tower Grove trees

merit their own marker.

(Tomorrow's post will show off

the market's local fresh produce

and seasonal specialties.)