FFTD Bonus Red Tailed Hawk 10-9-14

It is cool. It is raining. Fall is here. And right after the turkeys left ourresident red tailed hawk came to rest on his favorite perch - part of Russel Filippelo's Master's Project.

FFTD Bonus Five young Toms come 'a callin' 10-9-14

Five young wild Tom Turkeys came by for breakfast in the wildflower gardens this morning. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallapovo -Linneas 1758) are native to the Americas and are among the largest native birds. These young turkeys are without a wattle yet and were very busy scratching 

the ground for food. 

They moved gradually up the hill.

I was able to circle around to the front and move ahead of them sliding behind the trees. They were much more interested in feeding than in my feeble efforts to get close. I don't expect them to last too long around here if that continues.

They are awkwardly beautiful.

They just continued to move slowly as they fed,

and just disappeared regally at the far side of the Frank Lloyd Wright meadow.

FFTD Bonus: Elephant Rocks

Years ago our family would drive south from St. Louis to Elephant Rocks, a magical state Park one-half mile west of Graniteville, Missouri. We would scamper around the huge granite boulders breaking up into teams to play hide and seek "war games". After cooking hot dogs on the grill for lunch we would go for a swim in a quarry lake and come back home after dark. Often Jan's sisters family would join us for the fun.

Geologically the area is called a "tor" and consists of rounded weathered granite boulders sitting on bedrock granite. It is formed from an outcropping of granite in the St. Francois Mountains which is in a range of Pre Cambrian igneous rock rising over the Ozark Plateau.

It was formed by volcanic and intrusive activity 1.485 billion years ago. Compare this with the Appalchians formed 460 million years ago

and the Rocky Mountains formed 140 million years ago. These mountains have never been submerged existing as an island archipelago

in the Paleozoic seas. Alkaline granite here was formed in the Proterozoic period 1500 million years ago from a dome of molten magma.

Vertical fractures formed in the stone with cooling. The overlying strata were removed through erosion exposing the granite dome. Weather and erosion expanded the fracture joints and produced the rounded boulders of crystalline red granite or tors. The granite has been commercially quarried here since 1869.

It was interesting to see the changes in the many years since we were last here. It is now a more formalized state park with rules to decrease the freedoms we loved in the past. Trees are now growing from cracks in the granite but the amazing boulders cannot be ruined by the intrusion of the state. The tors are still huge and the opportunity for play is exciting still. The large quarry lake is off limits

to all I suspect except the locals.

 

 

In early July this year we came with Gordon and sons Blake, Adam, and Will who were all suitably impressed. They clambered around, over, under and between the rocks with abandon.

With his diminutive size Will could go anywhere in the granite labyrinth.

 

Blake was more into climbing the elevations.

 

Adam was everywhere.

 

About noon we decided it was time to go in search of lunch which we found surprisingly in a grocery store deli in Ironton.

 

Flower for the Day Chrysanthemum 10-8-14

Its a pretty little bouquet but it is my only remaining perennial cluster of chrysanthemums.I don't do well with so-called "hardy mums". Here in middle America they aren't so hardy.

Elephant Rocks

Years ago our family would drive south from St. Louis to Elephant Rocks, a magical state Park one-half mile west of Graniteville, Missouri. We would scamper around the huge granite boulders breaking up into teams to play hide and seek "war games". After cooking hot dogs on the grill for lunch we would go for a swim in a quarry lake and come back home after dark. Often Jan's sisters family would join us for the fun.

Geologically the area is called a "tor" and consists of rounded weathered granite boulders sitting on bedrock granite. It is formed from an outcropping of granite in the St. Francois Mountains which is in a range of Pre Cambrian igneous rock rising over the Ozark Plateau.

It was formed by volcanic and intrusive activity 1.485 billion years ago. Compare this with the Appalchians formed 460 million years agoand the Rocky Mountains formed 140 million years ago. These mountains have never been submerged existing as an island archipelagoin the Paleozoic seas. Alkaline granite here was formed in the Proterozoic period 1500 million years ago from a dome of molten magma.Vertical fractures formed in the stone with cooling. The overlying strata were removed through erosion exposing the granite dome. Weather and erosion expanded the fracture joints and produced the rounded boulders of crystalline red granite or tors. The granite has been commercially quarried here since 1869.

It was interesting to see the changes in the many years since we were last here. It is now a more formalized state park with rules to decrease the freedoms we loved in the past. Trees are now growing from cracks in the granite but the amazing boulders cannot be ruined by the intrusion of the state. The tors are still huge and the opportunity for play is exciting still. The large quarry lake is off limits to all I suspect except the locals.

In early July this year we came with Gordon and sons Blake, Adam, and Will who were all suitably excited. They clambered around, over, under and between the rocks with abandon.

With his diminutive size Will could go anywhere in the granite labyrinth.

Blake was more into climbing the elevations.

Adam was everywhere.

About noon we decided it was time to go in search of lunch which we found surprisingly in a grocery store deli in Ironton.

Flower for the Day Morning in all its Glory 10-6-14

I thought you would enjoy the Morning Glories which

continue to explode with the cool weather and morning sun.

And also the foreground chrysanthemums, dahlias, 

celosias, and asters producing a blaze of color.

 

Flower for the Day Dahlia 10-1-14

Its hard to believe that its October and the dahlias are just beginning to take off.They better hurry before the frost hits.

The Log Cabin at Innsbrook Missouri

Open this link to see an article I wrote for the Website Dwellable.com

https://www.dwellable.com/blog/Restoring-a-Slice-of-History-in-Innsbrook-Missouri

Flower for the Day Crepe Myrtle 9-29-14

Through the years I have had six crepe myrtles some of which have grown up to be tall trees (over 8 feet). Last winters severe weather essentially killed off all the woody components of all of the crepe myrtles. The four remaining "plants" have put up 3-4 feet green shoots. I had to cut out all the dead woody portions. After all spring and summer, last week I got one pretty if measly raspberry crepe myrtle blossom. So it goes.....

Flower for the Day Asters 9-26-14

This is aster time in the garden. Here are three different color asters. The first one is a light lavender color in the front garden growing in several stands.

This one is also in the front garden but is an orphan aster plant with a more pinkish tinge.

This aster is more purple and grows tall in the sunlit wildflower garden.