Before and After 2

4 years later...i still have the same shoes on.

Before and After 3

1 day later...his lion's mane is gone.

Before and After 4

Shorn

We Miss You Joumana!

Missouri Black Bear Project

I love this website. It talks about the ongoing bear study here in Missouri and allows you to track where all the bears go.

http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/mo_bear/

Balloon Glow 2011

I wouldn't go to the Balloon Glow if we had to drive. Justin and I don't appreciate slow-moving crowds and chaos. But we ride our bikes up and slip in and out with very little difficulty. Justin did have a glazed look in his eyes a couple times, but i held his hand and we got through it just fine. I kept whispering in his ear, "It's just like the grocery store..."

It really is pretty neat once you get down in between all the balloons and they fire up at the same time. The heat, noise and bright lights provide a sensory overload. It was sprinkling a bit, so it was nice and warm in the middle.

The next day continued in the sensory overload spirit. The Dogtown Street Musician Festival was going on, the Balloon Race took place, and the St. James Carnival ended the night. All fun fall things. I love our neighborhood.

Saying Goodbye To A Friend

A friend passed away on Friday. She leaves behind a family, including a 10 year-old girl we love dearly. We will miss you Jourmana...

Michigan

Thank you Mom for a lovely vacation . It was so much fun!!

Found In The Yard

It is neat to look at the dried up Autumn landscape and notice something that isn't usually there. On this surprisingly wet morning, this monarch chrysalis was hanging from an aster. They are beautifully decorated with golden polka-dots.

Watermelon

Windridge 2011

Least Skipper

Great Spangled Fritillary?

Painted Lady?

Spicebush Swallowtail

I recently went on a silent retreat and there were butterflies everywhere. I took 100 pictures and only a handful turned out. It is so disappointing. For whatever reason, it has always been hard to focus. Anyhow, when i am rich i will have a sweet camera.

We were surprised with a cooling rain shower that allowed me to take a nap outside. I almost didn't go at all, because i didn't want to "waste" my time on a retreat in the sweltering heat. It just reminded me that we cannot have everything planned out perfectly. And sometimes we are surprised by wonderful things.

Then the clouds politely cleared the sky for stargazing that night. It was delightful.

" The glory of God is a human being fully alive." -Irenaus of Lyons

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.