Hawks In The Morning

When I first started my walks I quickly discovered there were many things worthy of taking a picture so you can imagine how excited I was to buy a tiny pocket camera.  It has taken a year to finally capture the hawks.  They don't spook too easily, but you also can't get very close and they are masters of disguise.  Getting pictures of them is usually a blurred mess.

I saw this couple the day before.  Honestly, I don't think it's a mated pair, but mother and child.  It looks a lot like momma is teaching baby to hunt and stalk.  The whiter, fluffier of the two also squeaks like a baby.

She sat on top of the tallest fence behind the baseball diamond closely watching me, while Junior nervously teetered on a distance fence by the bleachers. 

I love how the colors of the rising sun reflect off momma's feathers.  It brings out her reddish brown colors.

Bees In A Sign

Like I said last week, I have a few nature shots that I need to share.  These are bees that took up residence in a sign at the beginning of the path I walk every morning. 

Uh yeah, those walks aren't happening with as much frequency as they should.  I missed nearly two months because of the excessive heat.  It's totally screwed up that at 6am it's so freaking hot that when you open the front door the heat billows in at you as if you opened an oven door.  I don't have asthma, but earlier this summer I started wheezing after my walks and I can only assume it had to do with the heat and the humidity.  So I stayed on the couch for my health! 

So now the heat has dissipated I need to get back into the swing of taking my walks.  I'm not back into it every day, but getting closer.  Today I took off work and slept in.  I could still get out there hike around the park, but I think I would rather catch up on my blogging friends.

Here are the bees...

I have no idea how many bees... I'm sorry, I guess I should properly call them yellow jackets... are crowded into that tiny spot.  By the way, I did not get very close for these shots - thank God for zoom.

Sunday In My City - August 29, 2010

The St. Louis Valley Scottish Rite Temple is very large and the inside is absolutely gorgeous.  It was built in the 1920's and many of the fixtures are original.

It's impressive during a large event with voices carrying down the long hallways and heels clicking on the marble floors.  To stand in that building with just a handful of people?  Downright spooky.

Our small group was treated to a tour of the facilities that went behind the stage, up in the rafters where we got to look out of a tiny window to see Lindell Boulevard below and St. Louis University across the street.  There is a very large pipe organ (that sounds eerie as hell) with a full room of pipes.  There are dusty back stairwells with antique schoolroom desks and closets filled with strange costumes. 

Most awesome (for me) was the library.  Actually, they'll open the library if you just call ahead of time.  I had no idea this even existed.  It's filled with all sorts of Missouri masonic history, but also artifacts from and around St. Louis.

This was the perfect venue for teenaged girls to hold a slumber party.  I attended 3 different slumber parties here and each one was a blast.  At the first one we arranged with the building manager to come back around midnight to mysteriously close doors, flip lights, pull stage curtains closed and play the spooky organ.  He scared the living hell out of those girls.  Later that night the stupid heating unit banged against the walls sending spooky echoes down the hallways and kept me awake.

At the other parties we played games like hide and seek, freeze tag, and held a scavenger hunt.

We even played musical chairs!  This shot happened to be double exposed, but it makes it look very haunted and quite appropriate for the evening.

The last party had over 50 girls in attendance.

I count myself as lucky to have been able to see this beautiful building from its many aspects.  Because I've run down its halls barefoot and stood sentry in a dark corner I feel intimately tied to it.  If ever you drive down Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis Missouri, look up and know that little ol me got to peek out of an obscure attic window.

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Friday Fragments - August 27, 2010

Welcome to Friday Fragments where we get to unload all of the bits and pieces of our lives...

*Saturday night we went to see a cover band and had a really good time.  Nothing like reliving the 80's!  There were even people trying to crowd surf.  The surfing was definitely not my cup of tea, but it was entertaining to see.  The first band was really good and played a whole array of 80's metal.  The second one was all Van Halen and was so so.

*Last night I attended a completely different type of concert.  It was more folksy - all acoustic.  Not quite the headbanging experience, but it kept my foot tapping.

*Twice this week I suffered TWO gall bladder attacks.  I have a doctor appointment on Monday and hopefully I can avert surgery by seriously modifying my diet.

*My lovely daughter just landed her first "big girl" job.  It's a full time position with benefits.  Not quite in her degree field, but we all have to start somewhere.  I'm very proud of her.

*My walks lately have garnered several pictures of wildlife.  I'll post more this next week.  I think I have enough to fill several days.  Did you see the alligator fungus or the butterfly sex I posted earlier this week?  I'm quite impressed with myself.

Open Windows

YAY!  We were finally able to open the windows after weeks upon weeks upon weeks of oppressive temperatures.  This morning's walk was DEE-lightful.

I have oodles more to say but I'll save it for tomorrow's Fragments.

Alligator Fungus

I captured this shot during the butterfly sex trip that I posted yesterday

It's at the base of an oak tree - can you see the acorn?  I hesitated taking this picture because it just looked like a blob from my perspective.  I didn't even see the alligator until I downloaded the pictures!

Butterfly Sex

OMG!  Yesterday I ventured out to snap pictures of flowers and ended up stalking butterflies.  There was one that sat still for several shots but above her was another more annoying one that kept fluttering in and out and around like a damn bee.  Turns out I was witnessing a mating ritual.  AND I CAUGHT THEM IN THE ACT!  I mean with an extended penis and I got it on film.  How cool is that?

I can't decide if I feel more like a scientist bug person or a really cool photographer.  Whatever.  So far this is one of the coolest things I've ever captured.

Sunday In My City - August 22, 2010

Today is going to be GROSS CRITTER edition.

When I moved to St. Louis at 13 I was introduced to a new world of critters. I came from a land filled with scorpions and rattle snakes and jack rabbits and moved into one with lightning bugs (fireflies) and cicadas. The summer air was filled with tons of different sounds making a new symphony that I couldn't discern. It was much more than crickets. There were tree frogs and evidently there's a shitload of them around here. But behind it all was a constant electric buzz. "Oh that's the cicadas".

Never heard OF them before. Never HEARD them before. And they are LOUD. There are times it's almost impossible to hold a conversation over the racket - and I've lived near an airport with descending airplanes!

Around this time of the year the noise is constant from morning until late at night.

Soon the tree trunks and sides of the houses will be littered with the disgusting shells as they molt like snakes. Stupid little boys will pluck them from their resting spot and chase around those of us less thrilled.

I was camping one year and had one LAND ON MY FUCKING HEAD. I thought it was something else as there was a huge infusion of pretty butterflies on the campground. But when I put my hand on my head to pluck off the critter stomping around I was grossly surprised. It screamed and I screamed.

Most of these shots were taken from my dining room window as one plowed into the glass.  We spent quite some time saying back and forth "what was that?" it sounded like someone throwing rocks at the window.  Eventually it tangled itself into a spider web.  That was one excited little spider!  But the cicada gradually pulled himself loose and left my windowsill of doom to haunt someone else.

PS. I do not like bugs. Especially crunchy bugs. And I really do not like bugs that scream louder than I do.

That's the exciting thing around St. Louis Missouri these days.  Check out everyone else sharing their locality with Unknown Mami's Sundays In My City...

A Night Out With Friends

Just got home from seeing a concert. It was two 80's cover bands. The first one, Metal Studz, was FABUOUS! They played a whole array of 80's metal and were really good. The second band, the one we went to see, was so so. They are a Van Halen cover band. "Eh" was the consensus.

At what point does someone declare "I've got blond hair and I think I should grow it out and act like David Lee Roth?" It's one thing for David Lee Roth to bounce around the stage like an idiot, it's something else when someone tries to imitate him. Professionally. I don't get it. I guess it's part of the show. Whatever. I've seen David Lee Roth in person and he really didn't impress me so maybe I don't appreciate ANYONE acting like David Lee Roth - even David Lee Roth.

It was amazing how many people brought their children. Even the lead singer brought out his grandson! Holy moly are we that old? I guess we are.

But overall everyone had a good time and that's all that counts. My beer fingers are making this a difficult post to compose so I'll sign off until the morning.

Ciao babies!

Friday Fragments - August 20, 2010

Whoa Buddy do I have a lot to unload in today's Friday Fragments!

Again, we had a weekend not panning out as planned.  This is getting frustrating and yet, I'm managing to get a lot accomplished.

•Friday was TRULY Friday The Thirteenth. Ugh, what a horrible day.  I was in a bad mood and there was a huge fight and it was hot outside and dinner sucked.  Good bye and good riddance Friday!

•Saturday I attended a bridal shower for a coworker.  The house was FILLED!  She is definitely loved. She's venturing into matrimonial land with a well-equipped kitchen, that's for sure.  Back when I first got married, I also received a butt-load of kitchen and dining pieces, many of which I still use.  I think what floored me were the number of serving pieces and platters and bowls I received.  As if I would be hosting a lot of dinner parties.  I certainly use these dishes a lot, but I have yet to host a dinner party outside of Thanksgiving.  What was your shower haul like?  How much do you still have and use?  What surprised you the most?  And yes, how many toasters did you receive?  I got three.

•The refrigeration work is finally done on our pizza truck.  Now we're ready for inspections.  Keep your fingers crossed.

•At work we're diving into the first phases of a database rebuild.  It's one of those tasks that can be so big that no one knows where to begin.  Oddly enough ideas are flowing in and some exciting possibilities are coming to the surface.  My inner geek is soaking all of this up.

•My west coast trip has been canceled.  Sometimes we don't see the wisdom of a setback like this, but with our business finally ready to open it would be really bad for me to leave town for a week.  I was going to join my step-mother in spreading my dad's ashes, but she says he's content to sit on her dresser.  I took that as she finds peace with him near her and that's good enough for me.

•My mother-in-law has pulled up roots and ran off to join the circus.  Or move in with her youngest daughter to help with the baby who is always getting sick at daycare.  It was an abrupt move that has turned the family on its ear.  She gave everyone two weeks notice, packed her bags, left a house key with her sister and moved to North Carolina.  Clearly her help is needed and the three adult-sized children left in her wake are more than able to take care of themselves, but there seems to be a feeling of abandonment.

•School has started and we are getting back into a regular routine of chores, homework, morning alarms, and vying for the shower.  I've missed Ian this summer.  He spent most of the time with his dad so it's nice to have him home and get back into familiar territory.  It's hard to believe he's already in eighth grade.  I think the hardest years (academically) are behind us.  He's starting this year with a sense of confidence.  I'm starting to smell a little responsibility coming from him that I suspected was going to come out this year.


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Cousins

Digging through my old pictures again!  I kept coming back to this set of pictures.  It's my mom and her cousin.  Right up until my mom got married these two were thick as thieves.  My grandmother and her sister raised their daughters side by side and their photo albums are a testement to that.  I love how chummy and close they are in practically every shot.  When they get together now it's the same thing - they sit side by side, arm in arm, and easily slip into uncontrollable giggles.  In just a few weeks my mom will be headed to California for a class reunion and I'm quite sure she will be searching out her little cousin.

First Day of School 2010

I really never put much thought into snapping a picture every year, but I should have.  This year my youngest is starting eighth grade.  EIGHTH GRADE!  Just not possible.  Wasn't it just yesterday he was starting fifth grade?

?????

He slid out the door before I thought to pull out the camera so we'll have to relive years gone by.

Both "ends" of the cirlce of life

Sitting at work I get the message that my daughter's friend had her baby!  YAY!  Please keep them in your prayers, momma has low blood pressure so they're keeping an eye on her.

And then, the other end of the spectrum, sad news came across Facebook - a schoolmate died over the weekend.  My graduating class has already suffered a couple of deaths.  The first one was Eileen who died in college after dental work.  I'm not sure of the details around Brian's death, but it's rattling all of us pretty bad.  He was one of the popular NICE guys.  Everyone loved him.  Even his ex-wife had nice things to say.

So while you have the prayer box open, please put Brian's family in the mix.

Catching Up On Old Movies

Evidently Netflix is one of the things White People Like.  I don't know why that such a big thing with one particular group, but little lemming me is certainly on board.

We signed up for Netflix at the beginning last summer.  I was skeptical that it would be more convenient than running to the store whenever the mood struck.  Well, we aren't banned from running to the store and a couple of times we have done just that.  But the convenience to pull up our queue as soon as we see a commercial and say "oh we should rent that" is the best.  We have over thirty movies scheduled to trickle in over the next several months.

When we walk into a store suddenly those lists of recent releases and oscar picks slide right out of my brain.  And all of the boxes that dazzle me for future trips stay in my head right up until I get into my car.  Finally I'm able to catch up on all of the movies I said I would like to see.  Finally I'm able to participate in conversations about movies I missed for whatever reason. 

This weekend I watched Hot Tub Time Machine (funny), Sleepers (provoking), and Brokeback Mountain (...um).  Granted I'm late to the conversation on any of these topics, but now I get it.  Let's chat.

A few years ago I compiled a list of every movie nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.  I mark each one when I see it.  Only through a vehicle like Netflix do I have any chance of ever seeing the super old ones and many of the more recent ones.  I'm slowly getting there.  Precious won't be arriving for several months, but I can wait.

Even without the Instant option, receiving a new DVD every two to three days has developed a new type of date night.  We gather more frequently as a family to watch certain movies.  The guys tolerate more chick flicks than they normally would.

Ah, yes, how to handle the dicey situation of chick flicks?  I am Goddess of the Queue and I play fair.  Husband and Son bark out movies they want added to the list and I dutifully click on each.  Then I intersperse my "crap" movies so every third movie is something off my list.  While they sit politely through many of the movies, I know which ones will be the most unbearable and save those for the mornings when neither one is up (I own the TV before 9am).  I was surprised by the vocal backlash over Where The Wild Things Are.  What total butts, that was a CUTE movie.  It lacked enough shooting, fast driving, death and destruction - I KNOW, IT'S A KID'S MOVIE.  "Well it sucked".  If they don't shut up about it I'm going to make them sit through Sense and Sensibility next week!

We're also reliving old TV shows like Gilligan's Island and I'm catching up on recent shows like True Blood.  Again, I spread these multi-disk shows out with other selections.  A few years ago I watched The Sopranos by renting several DVD's at a time and watching them marathon style.  By the time I returned the DVD's I was ready to pop a cap in someone's ass.  By spacing out the episodes I will be less likely to rattle on and on about coconut radios and my desire to smack a little buddy with my hat.

Sunday In My City - August 15, 2010

Last week I had to run an errand for work - a chance to drive around ALL BY MYSELF.  Clearly I don't get that opportunity much any more since I live basically spitting distance from work.

A few sites caught my eye

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