Fiery Searcher Beetle

We found this beautiful beetle outside today.  It eats caterpillars, mostly tent caterpillars, which I dislike.  

Midland Brown

Eckens  

Lined snakes and Midland Browns are secretive snakes that live underground.  We know all of their favorite places though and can find them easily.  

75% of the midland brown's diet is slugs and 25% is earthworms.  Almost 100% of the lined snakes diet is earthworms.  

Jasper has adopted a midland brown that he named Eckens.  Last night, Jasper fed him 8 slugs by hand.  He got quite plump.  When he eats worms, it is like watching Avery suck up a spaghetti noodle.

Polyphemus Moth

Our cocoon hatched!  Here is a Polyphemus Memory from way back.  Lovely to think about.  It was so incredible.  

This is his/her chrysalis.  We found it last fall and kept it under the porch all winter.

Strawberry harvest and hugelkultur update

We are harvesting strawberries now and the hugelkultur beds seem fine for them.

But not for the asparagus.  So sad...this is my second year planting.  I planted some asparagus in regular dirt for a control and it came up fine.  So there's my disappointing experiment.

I think the hugelkultur beds are best used for annuals until the wood starts to break down, which is already happening.
The peas, beans, cucumbers, and melons did great in the beds last year.  And planting something that puts nitrogen back into the soil helps, since during decomposition the wood needs nitrogen to break down.

Myron and Sonya Glasberg Conservation Area

We have been to the Myron and Sonya Glassberg Conservation Area several times this month.  It is only about an hour away and near LaBarque, another place we enjoy hiking.  

Sunny Glassberg is also the woman responsible for Turtle Park, which is across from our old house.

I think that's an interesting tidbit.  I am thankful for rich and generous people.  

It has a 3 mile loop, a fishing lake and several springs and creeks to explore.  There is a stunning overlook of the Meremec river valley about 1/2 way through the hike.

Broadhead Skink

?

Mama look!

Take a picture of him!

Isn't he cute?

I love him!

Bluebells

Northern Water Snake

Field of Sweet William

Wild Geranium

Western Painted turtle baby

...but he was dead.

Jacob's Ladder

Log balance training class

Miami Mist

Elsah in Fall and Farley's Music Hall

I just downloaded the pictures from my camera.  It has been a while!

Sometime in the fall, which was 2014, we had the opportunity to sing at Farley's Music Hall in Elsah, which is a small village up and across the river in Illinois.

Farley's Music Hall was built in 1885 and was recently restored.  It was a fantastic place to sing.

On our way home, we stopped by Confluence State Park.  This is where the Mighty Missouri river joins the Mightier Mississippi.  It is also where Lewis and Clark began their journey west.
It was eerie making our way down the trail in the dusky light.  But worth it.

Marilyn Mosby puts Bob McCulloch to Shame

Instead of making a decision in the Michael Brown case Bob McCulloch deflected responsibility. The entire St Louis region is still suffering because of this.
Yesterday, 2 men stood on the corner near our home with signs announcing St Louis riots were coming soon and we are on the brink of a civil war.  Nooses hung from the signs.  The men were wearing masks.

Thank goodness for Marilyn Mosby.  We all need this right now.