Eagle Watching

     Every winter bald eagles return to the middle Mississippi River valley. They migrate from the frozen waters of central Canada and the Great Lake states in search of more favorable conditions. A great place to view a part of this population is along Route 100, or The Great River Road, from Alton, Illinois to Grafton, Illinois. This past Saturday promised bearable temperatures and beautiful sunshine so we took a leisurely scenic drive and were rewarded with abundant opportunities for eagle and waterfowl viewing. The smaller birds and ducks are fascinating to observe in their natural icy habitat and over the countless years of January days spent eagle watching, the beauty and power of these magnificent birds never ceases to amaze.

An eagle family on an a floe ^

Male squawking at another that was hovering over his perch ^

Little ducks, maybe mergansers but not sure ^

A lone heron ^

I did not see the little bird when I was taking this shot! ^

An immature fellow ^

Majestic flight ^

Hot Sauce Shelf

     A few years ago, Pop started collecting hot sauces. We use two or three regularly but of course those are in the refrigerator - I guess the rest are just for show. When the lineup of bottles threatened to overtake the top of the cabinet, I demanded, I mean asked, Pop to build a shelf according to my specifications; he complied willingly but it was rough edged and unfinished. I took it down, puttied the plywood edges, sanded and painted it to match the newly finished cabinets (another story), and now it looks like part of the cabinetry. The shelf is just deep enough for the bottles and I do have to admit they look attractive in the bright kitchen. In addition, I understand there are health benefits to spicy foods. Chile or hot wings, anyone?

Snow Blanket

     The recent snow presented so many opportunities for interesting photographs. Obviously changing a viewpoint or depth of field sometimes makes all the difference between a good shot and a great one, but the snowfall changes an ordinary backyard into a wonderland.

Nikki is comfortable and thinks nothing of napping in the powdery stuff; the flakes that cover him confirm the notion of  a "blanket of snow".

Mega Hostess Cupcake

     It's Vinny's fourteenth birthday and he is too old for cutesy cakes but young enough to appreciate a little fun on his special day. We placed a candle in a Hostess cupcake for him, sang Happy Birthday and he made the obligatory wish as he blew out the little flame.

     After he ate the cupcake in two or three bites, we brought out the mega homemade cupcake (three layers of chocolate cake with vanilla filling in the center) and told him it was for the rest of us. His crestfallen look was hilarious but he enjoyed the joke (and the presents!)

The BIG Snow of 2011

      There are many parts of the world where snow is a common occurrence, where even lots and lots of snow is unremarkable, but here in my corner of the world anything more than an inch or two is uncommon and outrageously compromising. Schools close, offices are shuttered, streets become 'dangerous' and the public are urged to delay any travel plans. Yesterday we measured ten inches in the front yard so obviously it wasn't just a snow storm it was a snow outrage - St. Louis area residents had to struggle mightily.

     Nikki and I preferred to enjoy rather than battle. After shoveling and a little photography, we played tag and had a game of "catch the snowball midair". By then my fingers were positively numb so I had to bid my snowdog good-bye while I escaped indoors for some dry clothes and a cup of hot chocolate. He, of course, would have no part of absconding the outdoors so his parting look was quite wistful.

Not For Prime-Time Vegetable

     Okay so maybe it's just me but this carrot found in a bag from the local market has some anatomical issues. It was definitely a conversation piece until it started to, um, shrivel.

Breakfast Pizza

     Two sausage patties left over from yesterday weren't enough to warrant another scrambled egg breakfast today. However they were enough to make another of Pop's favorites - breakfast pizza. Although I knew he would have preferred double or even triple the amount of meat, it was pretty evident he was either very hungry or didn't mind the scant portion of sausage because in the time it took for me to grab my camera from another room, two pieces were already missing!

Last black and white - I promise

     This photo is perhaps seven years old but it's one of my favorites of the little (at the time) cousins. While Rissy is of purely European heritage and Lexi is a mix of European and African,  we never even consider the 'color' difference - to them it is certainly of no consequence - so the title of this post, while politically correct,  is genuinely inaccurate. Even their age disparity has never been an issue; to this day they remain best of friends.

Black on White - Again

     In my last post I mused about the stark contrast in a snowy scene. Today, passing this wall, I again was struck by the black-on-white theme: the matching frames on the white wall. (The photographs depict a study of Vinny watching the sky and holding an umbrella as a rainstorm arrives. The boy has been enamored of weather events since he was a toddler and he also has a sense of humor beyond his years. The heavy downpour and the gusty wind provided him with the perfect opportunity to mug for the camera.) I love the way the pictures are tied together by their story and by the frames. Vinny, who is thirteen now and quite grown up, is not so fond of them but his little sister adores the sequence.

Snow and Solitude

     There is nothing like the alabaster landscape of a new snowfall to emphasize the beauty of textures and patterns. The ugly grays and browns of winter disappear and the white that obscures them (and highlights the black)  is stunning in its simplicity - a whole new world arises, reinforcing also the beauty of solitude.

Season of the Soup

     The temperature dipped into single digits overnight and is struggling even now at lunchtime to rise much over twenty degrees. So glad that last night we had homemade soup and there are leftovers for lunch today. Great northern beans and ham, with carrots, celery and onions, spiced with a bay leaf, a spoonful of brown sugar and a dash of chipotle - all very filling and very warm (for the soul and for the hands if it is served in a large mug under the watchful eye of a husky!)

Deer Out of Hiding

     On our way to an evening of dinner and shopping recently, Pop and I took one of our scenic "shortcuts". (Pop was a mailman for years and knows the back way to any destination in the north metro St. Louis area - not always faster but always more interesting). This particular day we left home at dusk, actually some time after sundown, and preferring to avoid rush hour traffic on the highway, travelled instead southwest through the bottomland farms. Because this area is less than a mile from the Missouri River we often see deer grazing in the stubbly fields and alongside the road there is usually, sadly, the body of a deer who has met headlong with a car. But tonight we were amazed by the sheer number of animals foraging in the duskiness; there were nine separate herds of at least seven deer each. Possibly, probably, there were more that were not visible to us. Where did these deer come from and where and how did they spend the rest of their time? 

     People who live in non-urban areas probably take deer for granted and some municipalities in the suburban St. Louis area fight high populations of troublesome deer, but I am  fascinated with them, with their grace and beauty, and their wildness. When, shortly thereafter and purely by chance, I happened upon a book titled The Hidden Life of Deer, I thought I would find it mildly interesting, but it was actually fascinating. Aside from some political and ecological trumpeting, Elizabeth Marshall Thomas presents an absorbing tale of the habits, instincts and social customs of the beloved white-tail deer on her New Hampsire farm. Fun read!

Childhood 'Rememberies' (the Poetry Book and Charlotte, the Rag Doll)

     Following the thread of nostalgia from my last post, this small shelf that crowns the guest bedroom door displays some treasured gems. Not valuable in monetary worth, they are nonetheless priceless to me because they are mementos from my childhood. The Big Golden Book of Poetry was read countless times; my siblings and I adored the illustrations and can even now repeat some of the verses. The doll has more of a story. When I read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I fell in love with the life and the time that she lived. In one of my first remembered bursts of creative needlework, I was passionate to recreate Laura's ragdoll, Charlotte, right down to her yarn braids and red mouth. (I think too that I was affected by the fact that Laura's acceptance of a corncob doll as a loved plaything left her enraptured with the gift of a rag doll. Although packages were plentiful under our tree, none of my Christmas gifts had ever overwhelmed me in such a manner). Anyway, my Charlotte was completely hand stitched and assembled by my inexperienced fingers; afterwards I never played with her but she was lovingly cared for through the years.

Sewing Style

     Cleaning out boxes and file cabinets in the basement is usually not very inspiring, but today I happened upon a drawer full of patterns from my earlier sewing days (for a couple of decades, I was never without a sewing project. I made shirts, dresses, skirts, pants and shorts. Nowadays I'll whip up a doll dress, a pillow cover, or a set of curtains but for some reason I've just fallen away from making clothes). Anyway after sorting through my stockpile from Simplicity, McCalls, Vogue, etc. I happened to see this picture online at The Antique Photo Parlor; it is from an early McCalls magazine and the thought struck "How fashion has changed!" and then "What slaves we are to fashion!"

 

                                                                                                                                      

     The accompanying description of this particular style read, "Fashion in the period 1900-1909 in European and European-influenced countries continued the long elegant lines of the 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment of fashionable women."  Whew, so glad I don't have to bear, I mean wear, such couture!

     Below are just a couple of my own vintage (1970's) - restrictive undergarments practically nill here!

Cat in the Box

      It's New Year's Day, 2011, and time to put away at least some of the Christmas paraphernalia. I can't bear to be rid of the beautiful tree just yet so for today we started with everything around it. Since there were still a few gifts in the original packaging, that was the logical beginning point. The new margarita glasses found a home on the bar shelf in the kitchen and Miss Molly thought she found a new home in the box. However, to her chagrin, I think she may have forgotten it's been awhile since she was kitten-sized!

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