What is this St. Louis Landmark?

Obviously, the guest in front has spent too much time swimming in the ocean.

UNION STATION

Old Head Stones in Waterloo, Illinois

 
I photographed these two head stones in Waterloo, Illinois. They are both over 100 years old. I wondered what the IHS inscription within the cross meant. My research indicates that the IHS is a monogram representing iota-eta-sigma,the Greek word for Jesus.

What does it mean?

 
To me, this sculpture in downtown St. Louis evokes the same feelings in me as when I read the novel Atlas Shrugged - a very eerie feeling that I am living in a fallen and rusty world. (By the way, I do not feel that way about life.) What does it mean to you? That is the beauty or mystery of art. It evokes feelings of different shades and character in different people.

Deep Purple

 

The morning dew hangs on the leaf of this little violet flower found on banks of the Missouri River.

Proof of what you have always heard

 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Morning Light

 
I enjoy the beauty of the morning light as it filters into the forest. However, it is difficult to capture the image and feeling with the camera. It is one of those tricky high contrast photographs.

Swallows and their nest

 
These swallows have their unique nests hanging from the underside of the Highway 64/40 Boone Bridge crossing the Missouri River.

Another shot of the Turkey Vultures

 
These ugly creatures are scavengers and are frequently seen circling over and around the Boone Bridge that spans the Missouri River from St. Charles County in Chesterfield Valley. For those who are interested, this shot was with the long lens extended to 350mm,ISO 500, f5.6, 1/4000 sec shutter speed.

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes Aura)

 
On my Saturday morning trek along the Katy Trail, I came upon a group (flock)of Turkey Vultures sunning themselves. They were perched high up in limbs of a tall dead tree standing in the middle of the slough adjacent to the flooding Missouri River.

Rose Bush Twig

 
Rain drops remaining on the translucent leaves of the rose bush branch with some special color effects added created an interesting photograph.

Baby Robins

 

All week I have been photographing the goings on at the robin's nest near our porch. I spent a lot of time on Saturday to capture this photograph. The late afternoon sunlight made the colors just right. Unfortunately, Sunday morning the nest was empty. We can only assume that a predator found the nest during the night.

Mother Robin

 

I discovered that a robin has her nest in the tree in the front yard. Here is a close up photo of her on the nest taken with the long lens from the porch.

Clematis

 
This close up shot of a Clematis flower in our yard reveals its fascinating inner structure.

Look Out. That Critter Can Bite!

 

Our photo Trip

 
We had a great time with our cameras at the lake where we fed the geese and looked at the beautiful trees and flowers.

Well Taken Care Of

Tulip Art

 

The Tulip and dandelion, both out of focus,create a very unusual photograph. Almost all other background images were edited out of the photograph by simply using the "increase shadow" function in the Picasa editing program.

New Trail Discovered

Saturday I discovered a new area to visit. It is a .75 mile trail from the Duckett Water Treatment Plant to the Katy Trail in St. Charles County. It is a beautiful bicycle trail following Duckett Creek to the marsh/flood plain that is adjacent to the Missouri River, along which the old Katy Railroad Trail runs. This is one of the scenic locations for photographs along the trail.

Cherry Blossom

Another beautiful cherry pink blossom from the weeping cherry tree. This tree in full bloom fills our yard with a wonderful fragrance.

Dogwood Flower bud

This Easter Sunday, the pure white pear treeblossoms and the pink flowers on the fruitless cherry trees signal the advent of Spring in our part of Missouri. Then comes the beautiful Redbud Tree blossoms and our favorite white Dogwood Tree blossoms. We fell in love with Dogwood Trees in North Carolina. This photograph shows the early stage of a Dogwood blossom. You can see the mythical spots of blood beginning to develop on the upper and lower petals. Next Saturday should be the day for our annual outing into a Missouri forest to view and photograph these beautiful colors of Spring.

Happy Easter

A Dear Reflection

A reflection of a mother and grandmother as she fades with age.

Guess who appeared?

The bride, Emilee, and groom, Julian, enjoy a dip kiss. But, look who sneaked into the background of this wedding picture shot at the temple in Reno, Nevada.

El Hombre and the Moose

Photograph of grandson taken at the recent wedding breakfast of our niece. The location of the event in Reno, Nevada, had some very interesting decorations.

Art in Bloom at the St. Louis Art Museum

Art in Bloom at the St. Louis Art Museum is one of my favorite photography events each year. Each floral display is designed to mimic or complement the work of art it accompanies. The floral designs are ingenius and beautiful. They present a challenge to photograph since the museum prohibits the use of tripods and flash photography. Unfortunately, this year the Art Museum is undergoing some renovations that preclude this event.

Abandoned Factory

This old abandoned manufacturing facility in Granite City, Illinois looks like the job market - in tatters - to many discouraged unemployed persons. -