Farm Scenery

Some of the best scenery here is in hilly country where the road is two lanes with drop-offs on each side and I can't get out to take a photo. So I haven't shown you very many pictures of the genuine farms that remain here in the valleys and floodplains: dairy cows, corn, soy, sod, hay (pictured), and almost a pig farm. The neighbors organized because the proposed 200-acre pig farm was partly in the LaBarque Creek watershed, and the pig farmer decided to settle elsewhere.

Living in the Moment

Frenchman's Bluff, a 120-foot-high cliff of limestone, overlooks the Cuivre River (pronounced "Quiver") Valley near Troy, Missouri, in the Cuivre River State Park. The Frenchman's Bluff trail, a 1.5 mile hike, runs first along the lovely Geode Creek inside the woods, and then emerges to this vista from the cliff top. Right now, bluebells and yellow bellworts in full bloom decorate the trail. The Cuivre River is about 40 miles long and empties into the Missouri River.

After a difficult week (for all of us; suffering seems epidemic) I've been doing my best to "live in the moment," just be alive and appreciate all I have and the human and natural beauty around me. It's hard, I complained to a more spiritual friend. She said, "Living in the moment is easy. It really is. It's just that we're doing all this multitasking and thinking ahead about what needs to be done and where we need to be next, and we've programmed our brains that way, and we have to re-program them to live in the moment. That's why it seems hard at first, but keep trying."

The Wide Missouri

Joined the local "Let's Hike" Meetup club to discover new trails, and they're all in my area. The group has many members  and usually about 10-20 people on every hike. They all come with many hiking tastes and paces and kinds of equipment. This photo was taken on the invigorating five-mile Clark Trail at the 7000-acre (no typo) Weldon Spring Conservation Area in St. Charles County, MO, about 24 miles from my home. Lots of persimmon trees! The river is the wide Missouri.

Two Brothers

Had some city guests out on the property today. Their boys went right for the firearms -- and we shot .22s practically all day. They'd never done it before, and were hooked. But their parents did prevail upon them long enough to take a walk with us through the autumn woods, and here they are, Steven, 11, and Jackson, 12.

Late Summer Blues

Sorry to see this beautiful summer go -- along with my hummingbirds, who left Sept. 12 -- I am looking for beauty wherever I can -- in this case in a floodplain. Farming, like fishing, is about hope...

Japanese Print

After 2.5 inches of rain in the last few days, there's fog in the early morning. This morning's eastern sky looked like this; ink on paper. Exactly like this, colors and all. There was no photoshopping.

There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town

Taken in Bourbon, MO. There's another one, too, in case this one runs out.

Did We Dream This?

Took this at 9:00 a.m. 100 yards up the road.