Don's Blog Halloween Surprise 10-31-24

For years we have been visited at Halloween by this outrageously spooky

but frightening form in our window. 

Now in her golden years she has been transformed into the beautiful Queen

that was aways there.

But do not confuse this Halloween Queen with my two real Queens.

Flower for the Day Indian Summer Action 10-30-24

Here is what is growing now.

Indian paintbrush just keeps plugging away - rain or no rain. The canary colored finches love the seeds on the coneflower heads.

Here is the fruit of the trumpet vine. Its huge.

The most prolific plants these days are the dahlias.

They grow quite tall.

Flower for the Day Miniature Bouquets 10-28-24

I am so fortunate to have Jan Sessions the Artist to create miniature bouquets of 

flowers for our continued pleasure. Here are a few examples.

These bouquets show up every where.

The Bell and the Blackbird

The sound of a bell 

Still reverberating, 

or a blackbird calling from a corner of the field,

asking you to wake into this life,

or inviting you deeper into the one that waits.

Either way takes courage, either way wants

you to be nothing but that self that is no self at all, 

wants you to walk to the place where you find 

you already know how to give every last thing away.

The approach that is also the meeting itself, 

without any meeting at all.

That radiance you have always carried with you 

as you walk both alone and completely accompanied

in friendship by every corner of the world crying

Allelujah. 

David Whyte

Flower for the Day Moon Flower 10-24-24

The moon vine continues to produce miracle flowers.

Flower for the Day Fading Zinnias 10-25-24

The zinnias are fading in color and vitality. 

They are interesting when they drop their petals.

And they continue to grow tall.

         Zinnias

zinnias zig zag
red-yellow flower power
heads turned toward sun

 

 Amanda Massingill 

Don's Blog A note from G. Arch 10-21-24

Dear Friends,

Thanks for coming by today. This note is to remind you that although you do not visit often I love seeing

 you and actually was wondering if you knew I was still here. You may remember that my grounds began as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in 1935 but after I was created between 1961 and 1965 I have become the Gateway Arch National Park. I remember clearly that when my final section at the top was being constructed that the fellow in the red hat was in resident training down the road at Barnes Hospital. I remember you saying you could follow that "capping" from the hospital. When I was completed I may have been shorter than the Eiffel Tower but I am way taller than the Statue of Liberty. I am the tallest Arch in the world.

I remember being visited at the top by all of you pictured in the image at various times in the past (except the young lady in the black shirt). We have experienced that uncanny feeling of movement when we are looking out the windows.  I know that in the early days a few planes flew through me and intrepid climbers have made incredible adventures on my walls but the truth is I just like to Be. With my extraordinary symmetry and architectural beauty I don't need to Do anything. What makes me happy is when a visiting tourist from Hanover, Germany can take an image of me and a group like yours today.

Look, I know its hard to park near here but its worth it to make the effort to see me again. I know through

the years we have had great fun together - the concerts, the picnics, and most of all the Fourth of July fireworks

are unmatched. What if there were a few thousand folks here -they were all in a festive mood right?

And today with perfect weather you have enjoyed the grounds almost to your selves. You know its one of the best places to enjoy 'The River'. Remember when we welcomed your eldest son who had started canoeing down the river at its origin, Lake Itaska in Minnesota. We loved greeting you all at the bottom of the steps and then seeing them off 10 days later on their journey to the Gulf.

I know that you think of me often especially since you can see me from Kirkwood - you told me that if you paused 'on'

the railroad tracks on a clear day at Geyer and Big Bend and looked directly down the tracks that you cold see me. 

Even if you don't look when you go through that intersection I know that you think about me every time. We love our little secrets don't we.

I remember when you all went to the east side to see the fireworks with me in the background. You had to admit it was more fun being on this side with me. Look I don't take it personal that you don't visit me regularly, but you have to admit there is an incandescent feeling when we are together. But then life intervenes and you forget me.  This is just a nudge - you do not have to have out of town guests to come down here so we can be together. You know as well as I do that when we get together there is an undeniable warm feeling  of community. Thanks for coming by. I really miss you.

Your friend,

Gateway Arch

Don' Blog Painted Lady

This amazing butterfly, a Painted Lady, ate for a long time on the orange dahlia.

It is also called a cosmopolitan.

It allowed me up close for an image of it consuming nectar.

Halloween Flag 10-23-24

Here is our Halloween flag. It is very mature.

Here you see the tall dahlias.

Pre- Halloween Flag 1021024

Here is our Pre-Halloween flag in all its glory.

You can see a moon flower on the vine to the left.

The orange flowers are tall dahlias.

Senior Tax Freeze

St. Louis County Senior Real PropertyTax Freeze: An adventure. This is the skinny. Required - you must be 62, live in the house, and have certain documents. You cannot do it online despite rumors. You must go to a STL County tax office -North, West, South or Clayton. Clayton requires an appointment while the others take walk-ins. They are closed for lunch from 12:00-12:30 and stop admitting people at 4:00. Everyone is congenial. Take a lawn chair in case there is a line. Google sent me to the West county office. Going south on Clarkson you turn on a marked road but the first turn right is NOT marked. This takes you in the back way into a shopping center with the tiny office. The door is locked. Inside there are six chairs for seniors, four workers at desks, a nice Greeter, and a superviser who takes money if you need to pay for a Title ($4). The workers are friendly. You must have Original Documents: Drivers License, Locator Number (from the computer or your tax bill), Deed, and Trust (and ammendments there to). They take your Deed and print you out a Title and keep a copy for the application. They take the trust apart and copy the required pages and put the trust back together. You sign the application which has print that is too small to read. They return your papers and a copy of your application which shows a website to follow the process.
You get to re-apply yearly for five years after which the program might be changed or even discontinued.
When I came to the office last week I did not have my original Trust documents so I had the opportunity to return for a second time. I arrived then at five minutes to noon and got to stand in line for 35 minutes with a great group of very nice folks.

Flower for the Day Oriental Ladies Thumb 1-22-24

If you walk in the meadow in October and look closely there are tiny pink flowers on stalks. These are called  oriental ladies thumb (Persicaria longiseta), also known as smartweed and knotweed, in the buckwheat family. For years I wondered what it was. Now we know. More than 65 species of birds and mammals eat its seeds.

     Autumn Thoughts

‍On endless mountains, fresh rain has passed,

the sensation of coolness shakes the tall pines.

The migrating geese cannot forget the North,

the river flows always toward the East.

My feeling as a stranger is indifference

like the smooth autumn current.

In my dream of returning home,

the smartweed blossoms are red.

At day's ending the floating clouds scatter.

Softly humming, I stand in the evening wind.

 

—Chang Ch'ung-ho

Translated by Hans H. Frankel and Ian Boyden

Don's Blog Comet 10-20-24

This weekend was glorious. Family from Denver was visiting for Kelli's birthday and we went

to the Lake House in Warren County. At 9:00 PM my son Gordon  and I went to the Aspen Lake dam

in total darkness. We could see nothing in the clear sky. We pointed our cameras due west and up about 25 degrees from the horizon. I came up with nothing but Gordon got a great shot of the comet in the west. The comet is called

C/2023AG Tschinshan-ATLAS. Here is a spectacular image of it.

We were lucky as it is not scheduled to return for 

80,000 years.

Flower for the Day Goldenrod 10-17-24

Tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima)) begins to appear in late summer and early fall.  It displays small, bright yellow flowers in dense clusters on top of tall stems.

Solidago, is Latin for Solidus and means" to make whole." This references the plant's healing properties. Native Americans used this plant for medicinal purposes.

Lately I have enjoyed Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis). Its name comes from its stems which seem to 

zigzag from the leaves.

 It is a very forgiving plant and tolerates poor, dry soils, clay, and drought. 

 

Goldenrod

If I don't say it

someone will: the wind

blows through the goldenrod

like death flows through a crowd.

I watch it from a distance

as the whole field lifts and stirs.

Close up, it holds the promise

of a less than perfect world.

I knew the thing

before I knew its name.

Now all I know

is what the name infers:

a life of pure sensation

or the rod some angel brings—

announcing a momentous

death or birth, each face

expectant, brightly-lit.

I say the name and what it means

until the meaning blurs.

The wind blows through the goldenrod

like death flows through a crowd.

Nothing is accomplished

and the world is changed by it.

Ian Parks

Don's Blog Great Blue Heron 10-16-24

Recently I was at our lake house in Warren County. I was standing on our back deck

when a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) waded by our beach. His very majesty took my breath away.

Great blue herons are the largest of the North American herons. They eat fish that they see. This heron

kept on walking until he was out of sight. He may be still walking. Seeing this magnificent bird created 

one of those  miracles that are constantly available in nature.

This experience is described in a recent blog from a friend.

"We are starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem.Why

do we go? Because there is a greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self.

—John Piper

In such moments of splendor in nature there is a healing that occurs. Healing is from the German "Heilen" which is to make whole. In these moments we are made whole and the self actually disappears. This oneness of being whole, being one, is why these moments  are meaningful to us.

Flower for the Day Tatarian Aster 10-15-24

The Tatarian Aster (Aster tataricus) is my favorite field aster. It naturally grows to more than 

five feet tall and draws butterflies. Lately the deer have been eating them like salad and very few have survived.

They are still beautiful when they bloom even at 1.5 feet tall.

Wild lavender aster

Bending in the wind 

Keeping an anxious eye out for the deer

Don's Blog Mushroom 10-14-24 -Revised

Sorry - too many text errors.

Here are mushrooms (Agaricaceae) which appeared on the trail near the creek bed behind our place.

They are also known as Agaricus and True Mushrooms. They are solid and spongy and had some tooth marks.

This will give you an idea of the size of the larger one.

I do not eat wild mushrooms.

Don's Blog Mushroom 10-14-24

Here are mushrooms (Agaricaceae) which appeared on the trail near the creek bed behind our place.

They are also known as Agaricus and True Mushrooms. They are solid and spongy and had some tooth marks.

This will give you an idea of the size of the larger one.

I do not eat wild mushrooms.

Flower for the Day Globe amaranth 10-9-24

I have previously shown my purple globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa). I have never had a different color 

but recently a white one has appeared. It is quite delicate and gorgeous.

The Amaranth

Ah, in the night, all music haunts me here. . . .
Is it for naught high Heaven cracks and yawns
And the tremendous Amaranth descends
Sweet with the glory of ten thousand dawns?

Does it not mean my God would have me say: —
"Whether you will or no, O city young,
Heaven will bloom like one great flower for you,
Flash and loom greatly all your marts among?"

Friends, I will not cease hoping though you weep.
Such things I see, and some of them shall come
Though now our streets are harsh and ashen-gray,
Though our strong youths are strident now, or dumb.
Friends, that sweet torn, that wonder-town, shall rise.
Naught can delay it. Though it may not be
Just as I dream, it comes at last I know
With streets like channels of an incense-sea.

Vachel Lindsay

1879 –1931

Flower for the Day Chrysanthemum 10-7-24

When all else is turning drab this time of year we can count on the outrageous yellow 

colors of the chrysanthemum. The mum dates from the 15 century BCE. Its name is from the Greek

for gold flower. They are spectacular. I have been unable to grow them so that they return the next year

so I love them in containers.

And if you want know what deer eat when they are thirsty here is your answer.

Yes the same deer that are so cute.

       Before the yellow chrysanthemum

       Scissors hesitate 

       A moment

       Yosa Buson  (1716-1783)

Don's Bog Buck Fever 9-25-24

We have had a rare occurrence the last few days in our back yard meadow and in the field behind the

Frank Lloyd Wright House (our neighbor). As you know seeing a white tail buck is rare so when we saw two

it was amazing. That is the FLW House in the background.

The next evening they showed up a little to the south but now there were four -

way off the charts.

As they moved out to the field two got ready to go at it with their antlers.

And then they went for it briefly. 

After this play they went into the field and posed.

Special.