meet me in...

 Todd and I recently went away for a long weekend...

...to St. Louis!  Because I knew we were in for hot weather and lots of walking, I opted not to bring my good camera and had to rely solely on my terrible cell phone camera.  The pros outweighed the cons, though.

First, to Tower Grove, considered the largest 19th century "Gardenesque" park in the United States.  It was gorgeous, full of shady paths, lakes, and flowers.  I am a sucker for water lilies and lotuses.  It's always blooming around our anniversary and that makes them extra special.  

Keeping with the theme, we headed to the Botanical Garden next.  It was the Tower Grove Park, expanded!  So much to see.  

The next day, we hit up the Science Center and Planetarium...

...and headed over to the Anheuser-Busche factory for a long tour.  I'm not a beer person, but the factory was amazing!  The complex covered over 140 acres...beautiful brick buildings...

...the assembly lines, the Clydesdale stables, and the brewing area.  These tanks were massive...25 feet tall and wide, and over 60 feet long...and there are dozens and dozens of them!  

We had to squeeze in the zoo...of course.

We walked miles, ate tons, and enjoyed ourselves greatly!  It's only a 3.5 hour drive and I have a huge list of things that we didn't get to see.  I think we'll be going back again.

Have a great week!  

old roses and kitten reposes

 It's already September!  Even though there are plenty of signs, it's hard to believe.  

MORE turkeys.  They really ramp up their foraging in the fall.

Late-season roses already have a tinge of brown.

American lotus are blooming.  I'm not sentimental about romantic flowers...actually, I think it's kind of a generic cop-out as gift from a partner...but I do have a sentimental attachment to the American lotus.  They always are blooming on our late-summer anniversary.

More leaves changing too!

Todd has been helping me to tear down the early-blooming beds to get them ready for winter.

Not too much still blooming in the garden by the house, but we're leaving a lot of the dried plant stalks.  They're providing plenty of seeds for the birds!

The back garden is still "growing" crazy. 

The morning dew is so heavy that it weighs down the sunflower heads...another sign of fall.

Belatedly, Todd and I realized that there are actually ripe tomatoes in our caged-in tomato triangle, and we've been braving the jungle to rescue a few.

Note to self:  if you put chicken wire around tomato cages, you CANNOT reach through to pick tomatoes.  Next year will be better!

Ditto on the corn.  Oh well...despite the crows, I think we're going to get some good ears...plenty for decorating and then using next year for seed!

Grasshoppers are always most active in late summer.

Hot, dry temperatures, like the ones we've had for the past couple of weeks, means optimum conditions for grasshopper egg-laying.  I'm seeing more praying mantis oothecas too, even though I haven't seen many mantises.

Of course, this time of year cicadas are singing their hearts out!

I love the change of seasons and since fall is my favorite, I'm really eager for what comes next!  I'm ready to be done with the heat and humidity of summer.

Frances, however, doesn't agree.

Have a great week!