Gold Finch Buffet

Sunflowers are their favorite item to eat, although they munch on the zinnias as well. And i don't mind that they ravage them to bits. It is nice to have the pretty little birds around.

Bifur

The play was super and we are proud of Bifur. One more weekend to go!

Amidon Conservation Area/Castor River Shut-ins

We have ventured here a few times lately. Just about the same distance away as the more popular Johnson Shut-ins, but less busy. Too pleasantly preoccupied to take many pictures. This is the only one i got.

From MDC's website:

"The Castor River Shut-Ins is Missouri’s only known pink granite shut-ins. This picturesque pinkish granite is from the Breadtray formation, an igneous rock formation that is 1.5 billion years old. Most of the exposed igneous rocks of the St. Francois Mountains region are rhyolite rather than granite. Igneous rocks are formed from volcanic activity. Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock formed from magma that cooled underground and was later exposed. By contrast, rhyolite is formed when magma is cooled above ground. Shut-ins occur where a broader stream is “shut in” to a narrow canyon-like valley. Shut-ins typically occur in Missouri where streams flow through softer sedimentary bedrock materials such as dolomite or sandstone and then encounter the more resistant igneous rock.

The rocky slopes and outcrops above the Castor River support igneous glade natural communities. These areas have widely scattered shortleaf pine, blackjack oak and farkleberry in between which are found large areas of mosses and lichens. Where some soil has developed in cracks and fissures in the rock you can find lance-leaf coreopsis, fame flower, prickly pear cactus, pine-weed, and little bluestem.

Castor River flows through the area with pools, riffles, the shut-in, and small waterfalls. Downstream of the shut-ins you might spot colorful small fishes such as the Ozark minnow, bleeding shiner, rainbow darter, and striped fantail darter. Anglers might get lucky and catch a smallmouth bass, shadow bass (goggle-eye), or longear sunfish. The stream itself can be a welcome relief on a hot summer day and makes for good wading. Downstream of the natural area is the site of the Hahn’s gristmill which operated in the 1870s."

We tried to hike to the old site of the gristmill, but the trail is no longer maintained, and we didn't locate it. Maybe next time. A wonderful day trip from St. Louis.

Final - CCT, The Hobbit, 2011 - preview trailer.mp4

The Hobbit

Tullaia has the privilege of participating in Clayton Community Theatre's production of The Hobbit. She is Bifur, a dwarf. She will be in prosthetic facial features and beard so you can find her onstage by her blue, velvet cape.
Here is the website for anyone interested in ordering tickets. The performance will be the last 2 weekends in July.
http://www.placeseveryone.org/
After months of hard work and late-night practices, we are so excited to see the finished product!

Pipe-Vine Swallowtail Chrysalis

So...Justin was right and the caterpillar was getting ready to bed down. Or perhaps he was so stressed without his only source of food that he decided to go early?

I wish i had gotten a chance to take a picture of him as a caterpillar since they are so unique looking. If you look closely, you can see the silk holding him on top.

Apparently, it will only take a few weeks for him to emerge.

Oh, i am so excited!

How can we ever doubt the existence or goodness of God when we have something like metamorphosis?

Eagle Hurst Ranch

13 year Periodical Cicada Skin

this is Jasper's bossy face

http://eaglehurstranch.com/

We had an enjoyable time here with some folks from our church. Laid-back and lovely. The Huzzah (is it a creek or river?) is so pretty.

The only down-side was no pets allowed. But we were helped out by a good friend, and later, by a good sister when we didn't feel like rushing home. The dogs didn't seem to miss us at all.

There were so many dead Luna moths. I saw one fresh out of it's chrysalis, but when we went back to look more closely, it had been dismembered and only it's wings were left.

Tullaia was brave and went on a horseback ride. She said, "Mama, i am just like Almanzo! I love horses." (Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

I was also brave and went with her. The last time i remember riding a horse, it coughed green stuff all over my arms and went sprinting with me on it's back.

We took home an interesting looking caterpillar. It is a pipe-vine swallowtail and it only eats...pipe-vines. Well, we don't have pipe-vine and i was gonna go searching for some in Forest Park today, but i am pretty sure it is already bedding down for the month. If that is the case, we will have a gorgeous, big butterfly in a while. I think i will plant some pipe-vine for future beauties.

Candy Cane Stripe Zinnia

Country Roads

New Corn Rows

Road Shot

2 Types of Maure Spreaders

Arrowhead Search

Sweet Baby Cow

Memorial Day is always a nice time to go back home to Iowa. The mosquitoes are not out yet and we are not held hostage by them and the bug spray.

On the day we left, we looked for and found arrowheads within the first few minutes we inspected the freshly tilled field. As much as we love the city, it is always hard to head back after a country weekend.

Being Neighborly

Sometimes being neighborly means not shooting your neighbors.

This gal and her babies (hanging off her back on the other side) are just house-sitting the vacant house behind us. I think she is blind because she is out at all hours just wandering in unsafe places. I really wanted to get a picture of the babies, but she caught my scent and waddled away each time i got close. Eventually she climbed up the tree and slid into the whole in the roof.

I know the neighborhood tribe of wild cats lives there too. I wonder how compatible they are? Or perhaps one group takes the first floor and the other species takes the second floor.

I think possums are so gross. But our van is gross too. And the sliding door is broken and it takes great effort to get it closed, so often it is left open. One morning, our neighbor came to tell us her dog chased a possum up the sidewalk and it jumped in our van.

Check-Up

Buford Mountain Conservation Area

Indian Paintbrush

Lady's Slipper Orchid (I think)

12 Turkey Eggs

My friend took her birthday celebration out to the Buford Mountain Conservation Area. We began the 10 mile loop in a pleasant drizzle. Not sure what happened, but we blazed our own trail and got done in half the time it normally takes. We were all confused when we ended up back at the trail-head.

It was an adventure, and i look forward to going again and doing the real trail. Once again, not sure what "trail" we hiked.

We also stopped off at St. Francois State Park and hiked the 3 mile Moonshiners Loop. The turkey nest was discovered by Michelle on a rock outcrop with 12 eggs in it. That is a lot of eggs.

Happy birthday Brandy!

Photos By A 3 Year-Old

Fairy Table Setting

Avery used the camera and took 50 or so pictures. These are a few that didn't go to the trash. My butt is eye level to him, so...
The fairy table is set with various items on a regular basis. Wild strawberries are a mainstay, but i see that the fairies are having cheerios on this particular morning.

Clematis Time

Broken Honey-Comb

The comb had larvae of various sizes, pollen, nectar and honey. They continued retrieving the nectar for a few days, while it sat on the table.

The shape is still unbelievable to me. They form it perfectly with their little bee mouths.

Strawberry Harvest

Iris Blooms

Smells like subtle cotton candy. Is beautiful under the spell of raindrops. Maybe my favorite flower.

Home

Twilight Apple Blossom

Number 33

The cows were having babies and they are super cute. Big eyes and lashes. So sweet and cute. The apple blossoms are also sweet but they smell it. The baby cows don't. One pooped on Dad's hand as he tried to keep it from running off when we were petting it. Mama cow was mad at us. But she was eating and only glared at us over the trough.

Dad brought the cows out to pasture, so only the pregnant Moms were left. More cute babies on the way!

Tulip Time

This is a serious Dutch celebration and it is the first i have been to since high-school. It is also why i always disliked tulips. But i have since changed my mind about that.

Oh my, I saw my 4th grade teacher, a girl i ran away with, old friends, the vacant lot where my high-school was, a long-ago babysitter (my friend Jessica and I dumped buckets of water in her car...brats).

It was fun.

Bee Swarm

Well, the bee saga continues. The first bought batch left. We are not sure what happened. Perhaps they were too upset to stay after all the disturbance? But after inspection of the hive, we know they were happy enough to make a considerable amount of comb and there was also larva present.

So we ordered some more bees.

A few days later, a friend was informed of a swarm not far from here. They had taken up residence in a local parking lot. He contacted Justin and they went and got them. It is possible they are our runaways.

But our new batch arrived the next day. Justin constructed a new top bar hive and they were doing well. Until they left a week later. And so it goes.

So we have another vacancy.

Bees

10,000 Bees

Their New Home

Justin drove 4 hours with 10,000 bees in the car this weekend. They bee-haved themselves.

He managed to get them in the hive without getting stung.

And he didn't get stung after he had to take the queen out the next day and take the tab off of the case she is in. And also when he got back in the following night to fix something. And then again later that night to pick up the queen covered in bees after she dropped to the bottom of the hive and put her back up top. No one has been stung and i am surprised.

Learning curve and the bees have been gracious with all our mistakes.

Knob Lick Lookout Tower

Vulture Print

Glowing Happy Pirate

Jasper And A Friend

Not far from Pickle Springs is an old fire watch tower. It offers excellent views of the St. Francois Mountains. The area below the tower is a glade and lizards are abundant. Broken glass is also plentiful, hinting at this area's life after dark. I cannot imagine the tower being a fun place to go drinking, but teenagers do a lot of dumb things.

Speaking of the tower, Justin and I both had a fair amount of anxiety up there. Not sure if it was the high winds blowing in with the storm or the patchwork of chain link, but it felt very unsafe. Nevertheless, we were glad to see the expansive view. And glad to get down again.

Pickle Springs

Dome Rock Overlook

Tullaia And Double Arch

Pickle Spring (A tiny gurgle underneath the waterfall)

Tuckered Out

Pickle Springs is only 4 miles down the road from Hawn State Park, one of our favorite campgrounds. And that is only an hour and 15 minutes from home. It is a marvelous day trip!

It is a 2 mile loop of fascinating geological features. A 16 page trail guide highlights the rock formations, canyons, waterfalls, caves, arches, bluffs, and hoodoos.

I am envious of William Pickles, the man that settled this land in 1848. Although it is said he was murdered about Sam Hidlebrand and a bunch of renegades during the Civil War. (Justin's former boss' Great Grandfather) Either way, he had a sweet place to live and we are fortunate enough to enjoy it.