No Blues in St. Louis

Last November found us in St. Louis, directly underneath the Gateway Arch . . .

and then, of course, inside the Arch where, at the very top, we were . . .

yes, 630 feet above ground. I was happier with that fact than I was with the tram ride up, which rises and then moves sideways with a great clang and clatter to catch the next ratchet for another vertical rise. No, I was not a happy camper until I got off the tram and my valor was rewarded with these views:


After a harrowing tram ride down, a visit to the Budweiser brewery was a necessity. They've kept much of the old architecture, and the grounds are just beautiful . . .

as are the Clydesdales. Such gorgeous animals!

After lingering long to sample Budweiser products (they pour generously there!), we made our way to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens. I love this garden gate, topped with blown glass which looks like the rays of the sun.

The garden was breath-taking, in its Autumn colors:





This is a woven willow window (say that 3 times fast!) in the Japanese garden.

In Southeast Texas, we've lost so many of our trees to hurricanes. This tree was massive.
The garden's architecture is beautiful, especially accented with Autumn foliage.



And I love the kinetic sculptures, too.

So much to see! A rest on a bench, bedecked with golden gingko leaves, was welcome.

If I lived in St. Louis, I would have a difficult time staying out of the garden. I hope to return there this summer -- I'm sure it's a treat then,too! Thanks for traveling with me!

Springtime in my Texas neighborhood

Down the road a bit,

our neighbor's horse has a new little filly . . .

. . . all legs and cow-licked coat . . .

. . . and hungry! So cute!

This past autumn, Neely and I scattered bags of seeds, hoping for carpets of Texas wildflowers across our property this Spring. Well, not so much:

My sweet neighbor Diane drove by while I was taking these photos and asked what I was photographing. When I said "Wildflowers!", she looked quite puzzled and asked, "Umm -- where??" Well, never mind -- The ones that did germinate are beautiful:




Maybe they will reseed, and some day I will have carpets of wildflowers like this:
(*sigh* bluebonnet envy!)
And Spring always brings back the neighorhood Mexican freetail bats who live in our woods every summer. Time to break out the lawn chairs and margaritas and indulge in our favorite twilight activity -- watching the bats swoop for mosquitoes and then skim the pool for a drink. Our urbanite Chicago kids think it's hilarious that we spend our evenings watching bats, but that's just about as exciting as life gets here at sleepy Slipper Moon!
I love this time of year.

Isn't she lovely?

Forgive a doting grandmother, but this little redhead is so very beautiful to me!



She can't be anything but beautiful with a Mom this gorgeous . . .


. . . and a good-looking Dad! (She has his hair!)

You are much, much loved, pretty Arabella . . .

. . . right down to your sweet little toes!