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This past weekend, Norm and I made our annual winter retreat to Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, Illinois, on the Illinois River just above its confluence with the mighty Mississippi. We enjoy the restored WPA-era stone lodge set in the midst of a natural wonderland. One of our reasons for the trip is to see eagles, which winter along the Mississippi and its tributaries. We weren't disappointed.
We woke up on Friday morning to a clear day and we spotted the eagle resting in a tree not far from the lodge. He or she was resting from an early morning fishing trip. After I got too close with the camera, the bird took flight (above) for the other side of the river, though. Although I tried to take a lot of eagle pictures the next day, these two turned out the best. You can just see the white head on the black body of the perching bird, if you look VERY closely.
The lodge itself was built in the 1930s and renovated in the 1990s. More work was being done while we were there, including refinishing the plank and peg pine floors in the dining room and replacing the log ends on the attic beams, among other projects. There are plans to upgrade the rooms in the coming year to bow to 21st century demands--like in-room microwaves and high speed internet access. Norm and I were returning from a midday walk in the woods to look for songbirds when I took this picture--he is keeping warm in his Florida Gulf Coast University hoodie.
As Friday waned, we went back to the river where we had spotted the eagle in the morning. The sunset began to color the hill to the east, above the migratory bird wildlife sanctuary. We startled a heron, and saw some amazing flight maneuvers by gulls, but no eagles this evening.
Just this magnificent sunset over the water of the Illinois River, still open to barge traffic at this time of the winter. During our stay we saw a lot of damaged trees from the ice storms at the end of November and again in mid-January. Nature has a lot of mending to do.
After two days and nights at Pere Marquette, we packed and headed home. It's only a 45-minute drive, so we stopped at the Riverlands Wildlife Sanctuary and Migratory Bird Refuge just west of the Alton bridge over the Mississippi. Barely into Missouri, this is one of the happenin' places for eagle watching this winter. The refuge biologists had counted 85 eagles the day we were there. The refuge comprises several ponds and marshes, along with some grassland, along the Mississippi just above the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. I counted some 40 roosting eagles, such as these in some trees above a freshwater pond. Although it was midday, the eagles were active--swooping down to the water to catch fish and circling overhead. Once in a while they would vie for a roosting spot or chase another eagle to try to steal a catch. It was windy and tooth-chattering cold, but we spent about an hour watching their antics, until we finally gave up and came home. We felt exhilarated and exhausted. The eagles should stay through February, so we hope to visit their winter haunt again before they head north in the spring.
Sunday, January 21--Norm gave me a bouquet of stunning pink roses for my birthday, and they were the talk of the town at book club yesterday. This morning they are still bright and cheery. I received many cards, e-mails, and calls to wish me well on turning 64. Thanks to everyone! 
We anxiously waited last evening for the beginning of a promised 4 to 8-inch snowfall. It finally started about 9:30 p.m. as our friends were leaving the house. When I was little, I would wish for snow on my birthday so I could ride my Western Flyer sled. In Oklahoma, a January "snow" was usually a couple of inches of sleet, which made for adventurous sledding.
Overnight it snowed heavily at times, but this morning we had only about two inches of wet snow on the ground. It wasn't all that picturesque, but I took this to prove to the guys in Florida that I'm not making up a snow story for my birthday. At right, the daffodils that started emerging back in our warmer-than-usual December are peeking through the snow, promise of spring flowers to come.
Out on the plains, Norm's family reports about three feet of snow on the ground in Colby, and the local paper quotes someone there as saying it will probably still be around in March. This snow won't last that long here, but who knows what the next weather system will bring? At least the climate here is never boring.
Saturday, January 20--We were host for the Compton Heights Christian Church Book Circle on Saturday morning. We meet once a month and discuss books and life. This month we read The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Norm and I fixed a brunch of egg, sausage and cheese casserole, bran muffins and apricot scones. In the picture with Norm are Marsha, Shannon, Kathy, Sarah, Melissa and Madeline. It's fun to have company!
In late afternoon we went out to dinner at Fuentes Mexican Restaurant with our friends Mike and Sandy Dixon. They have a knack for finding really good, reasonable places to eat that are easy to get to and an enjoyable place to spend an evening. The Dixons have a new Town and Country minivan; we got to ride in the back seat and help break it in! The van is named Skye. (Yes, the Dixons also name their cars. I heard someone say on a radio program recently that some 20 percent of Americans name their vehicles, so they and we are part of an elite minority.) After dinner we came back to our house for chocolate birthday cake. Yum. It was a great evening and a great way to celebrate my birthday.
After writing about our narrow escape from the ice last weekend, I heard from most of the family and decided they all deserve an update. This is the front yard of my cousins--Mike & Debi--in Sperry, Oklahoma. They didn't have much ice on trees nor did they lose their power, but this white stuff is all sleet, frozen solid. Their street is out there, someplace. Mike had a fall on Monday, and hurt his wrist and shoulder. Then on Wednesday night, driving home after his 3-11 hospital work shift, he lost control on the icy interstate and the car had to be towed home. It hasn't been a very good week for them!
All of Norm's siblings have checked in--Walt and Carol say they were mostly housebound in Irving but did get out to run some errands. Walt was working in his shop today since it was up to 39 degrees! Over in MIneral Wells, Maxine and Roy had lots of ice and about an inch of snow, and finally got out to do errands on Thursday. They stocked up for the next storm, and have been enjoying their fireplace and thankful to have electricity. In easter Kansas, Evelyn reported by phone to Carol that she had been snowed in until yesterday but has power and is OK. In Garden City, Don says the ice from the Dec. 29/30 storm is mostly melted although it is cold there. Their power is on, but they have friends who are farmers who still don't have electricity and may not get any for 3-4 weeks more. He and Kay are plotting for the reunion in June, which they will host. Out in Colby, Larry and Delores are snug with their wood-burning stove. Harold reports that they still have about two feet of snow in the yard, but the city streets are finally clearing up, and he and Jan are doing OK. At least everyone kept their power on and stayed warm through this past episode of Winter.
Times like these, it is great to have phones and e-mail and the Internet to keep in touch. Back in the 1940s, my Dad was stranded in Dallas for a week by an ice storm similar to the ones we had recently, while my mother and I camped out in a powerless home using gas stoves for heat. Phone lines were down and there was no way to know for sure when he would be able to drive his bus North and come home.
This weekend, more ice and sleet is spreading over Texas, and some snow is in Kansas and heading for Oklahoma and Missouri. Some of us may see 4 to 8 inches of the white stuff. It's winter, still. Although today in St. Louis it was clear and sunny for the first time in about 10 days, and Norm and I were astonished to see that it's still light at 5:20 in the evening. The days are getting longer, even when we couldn't see it. Stay well and warm, everyone.
Our ice storm was mostly a freezing drizzle event on Saturday, and the threatened heavy freezing rain on Sunday attacked our neighbors to the west while a slight warmup (to 36 degrees!) melted most of the ice that accumulated in Round I. We were thankful to retain our heat and light, and mindful of those without.
We have been cleaning house, putting away holiday clutter, and I've been getting ready for teaching this spring semester. I have one class in Feature Writing that meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the first session is tomorrow. So far I have 21 students enrolled, and the department let me have a private office, so I'm all set to begin.
The photo is of Doug's amaryllis--an offspring of mom Linville's plant. It started blooming on Epiphany and the second stalk of it looks like it will open this weekend...just in time for someone's birthday. Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?
Saturday, Jan. 13, 2 p.m.--Well, the first phase of the Great 2007 Ice Storm, freezing rain last night, is over. In our part of the metro area, we have 1/4 inch or less on trees or power lines, and we still have power. The outage had reached 117,000 "customers"--households or businesses--by noon today. We are thankful. This is Lois' redbud tree in our front yard.
All of the bird feeders were mobbed this morning and birds were looking for open water, too. These gold finches in winter drab were sipping on thistle seeds by the study window. We saw lots of sparrows, finches, starlings, doves, and cardinals...also a red-bellied woodpecker, and lots of squirrels. The freezing drizzle has returned this afternoon, and feeders are quiet.
The forecast is for another wave of freezing rain overnight tonight, rain tomorrow, and a final blast of freezing rain on Sunday night, before the whole thing leaves in a snow flurry on Monday. These branches of the maple tree out back, over our power, phone and cable lines, are only lightly coated with ice right now. We have a plan for dealing with the refrigerator and freezer contents if power goes off, and we have a small sterno stove for heating soup and water. We have cleaned and filled and tested our trusty Kero-Sun stove that we used back in the 1970s during extra cold winters at our previous house, and we will try that as a heat source if we lose power. If there is an extended outage, friends have offered us a warm bed--assuming that THEIR power stays on, of course. At least they have gas logs at their place! We pray for the safety of all the travelers, and anyone in the cold and dark right now, or soon to be.
No pretty pictures to post tonight...just the news that St. Louis metro is under an Ice Storm Warning from this afternoon until Sunday night. Three different low pressure areas are to pass by south of us, sending moisture up and over the arctic air mass that is settling in from the north. We have been getting freezing rain, rain, freezing rain, fog, freezing rain since about nightfall. There is a possibility of up to an inch of ice in some of these parts when all is said and done on Sunday night. Ugh. Widespread power outages are anticipated. I'll post updates as I am able.
We know this storm has already pounded Oklahoma, affecting Judi's cousins Mike and Debi there, and some other friends and relatives as well. It has also affected other family in Kansas and friends in southwest and central Missouri. We pray for everyone's safety and warmth, including our neighbor Barb, who is traveling in some of the affected area and expected home on Sunday. Take care, all.
Friday, Dec. 29, 2006--Our trip to Florida had three objectives: Celebrate Christmas with Doug and Matt; go to the beach; and assist with their move from a two-bedroom apartment in Villa Grande (above, second floor) to their newly purchased three-bedroom and den condominium at Jonathan's Bay, a new development off US Highway 41 in the south part of Ft. Myers. The trusty Dodge Caliber that we rented (copper, or orange, in the foreground) turned out to be very handy for the move, as we transported some objects deemed too fragile or too unwieldy to entrust to the professional movers.
All of the units at Jonathan's Bay (at right) back up to a long pond that is aerated by three fountains. The fountains are illuminated at night and provide a "white noise" barrier that keeps at bay the sound from the nearby highway. The small palms will grow to be as tall or taller than the buildings in time. There is no sign warning of alligators in the lake (as there was at the old place) but one probably wouldn't want to get too close to the bank with a small black dog. The "canvas" texture in the photo is from the screen surrounding the lanai, which is where Norm and I spent a lot of time the last two days of our trip, when we weren't helping with the unpacking, that is.
On Saturday morning I walked out of the guest bedroom and was entranced by this sight of sunlight streaming in the uncurtained sliding glass doors between the lanai and the great room. By now those book shelves are filled, the rest of the living room furniture is arranged, the dishes and pans are in their places, and two separate offices have been set up for these work-at-home residents. Sam has learned not to always bark when a neighbor comes out on an adjacent lanai or children dash to the edge of the pond to examine a turtle. The high-speed internet access is up and running. Doug is getting ready to meet his spring semester classes for the first time next week. Visitors will come frequently to stay with them, and enjoy the climate, and keep close the ties of friendship and kinship that can be stretched by long distance, but never broken. By Saturday evening we were on a plane headed back to St. Louis, in plenty of time to see the New Year in from our own front porch. May this be a home for Doug and Matt, and a year for us all, that is blessed with good times, laughter, accomplishment and love.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006--After lunch, we stopped at the visitor center for the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which takes up half of the acreage of Sanibel Island. This refuge is part of the system of refuges located along migration routes, and it has both year-round and winter visitors. Like everything else we have seen in Florida, it is more water than land. Large lakes, inlets, bayous and canals provide all kinds of habitat for winged and other creatures. We took pictures mostly of birds, but we also saw some mischievous raccoons, several skinks (small lizards) and (maybe) an alligator.
Egrets are a staple of shallow ponds and ditches all over the Ft. Myers area, but at the refuge we saw both the Great Egret (foreground) and the Snowy Egret, which is smaller and has a black bill and bright yellow legs and feet, although you can't tell that from this picture, since the bird is wading in the murky water. How they found fish to catch, only they know.
As one drives through the refuge on a one-way road, people frequently pull over to see various birds that have been sighted. At right is a female Anhinga, sunning itself on a tangle of mangrove roots. These very long-necked birds swim under water to catch fish, then climb out to spread their wings, preen and dry off before going fishing again. Later we saw a male anhinga, which is black all over, with white stripes on its wings.
Not far from the Anhinga, we spotted this large white bird sunning itself as well. A tram full of sightseers drove by without ever realizing that we were looking at an endangered species, a Wood Stork. It had its beak tucked in its neck feathers and was hard to identify until I noted in the field guide that this bird has bubble-gum pink feet. Unfortunately, the resolution on the photo isn't good enough to show that, but they were Pink. I swear.
This Yellow-Crowned Night Heron was one of several birds stalking in a large bay off the road to the left of our car. During this drive we also saw a flock of Roseate Spoonbills, several Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons, Gulls, White Ibis, various Sandpipers, Brown Pelicans and White Pelicans.
Ubiquitous throughout the refuge, as well as the beach and even in domestic plantings on the island and in Ft. Myers is a wiry, woody, viny plant called the Sea Grape. A guide to the beach noted that it is planted to curtail beach erosion. It seems to be doing its job!
Our Sanibel trip was a wonderful experience of nature and shore, and we saw and talked with interesting people at both the island visitor center and the nature preserve. Our trip became more of an adventure as we tried to get back to Ft. Myers. We ran over some kind of object that embedded itself in our left front tire, but with luck we found an open filling station where a young man pulled and plugged it and made it good as new. We also spent one hour going five miles in the legendary island traffic, but even that was not enough to spoil memories of lighthouses, beaches, shelling, and marvelous wildlife.
Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006--Finally a bright and sunny day in Florida, after a rainy Christmas. We took a day off from packing Doug and Matt's belongings for their move, and headed for Sanibel Island, a barrier island off the Gulf Coast that is a tourist destination.
Our first stop was the historic Sanibel Lighthouse, above. The keeper's house and surroundings are maintained by the local island government, and the light is still operated by the Coast Guard. It is not open for tours, but the Sanibel Chamber of Commerce had decorated it for Christmas.
Then Norm and I joined the people who were shelling on the beach. It was a rare noon low tide, and there were lots of lovely shells to pick up. Norm found one that is unusual, and I just picked up the pretty purple and yellow ones!
Also living on the beach was this pair of ospreys, who were nesting and apparently feeding some young at the top of a tall platform near the lighthouse.
At the "point" of Sanibel, just beyond the lighthouse itself, I observed the tide coming in at a 90-degree angle from both the left and right. I have no idea if this is unique to Sanibel, if it is rare or if it happens at all islands, but it seemed noteworthy. Ft. Myers is in the distance.
After shelling on the beach, in a very brisk and cool wind, we set out to find lunch and ate at a place called the Hungry Heron, aptly named. We would recommend it. Once full, we were ready to head for the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, to see what else we could see.
Before the Christmas holiday, and before we left on the Florida trip, I was busy trying to finish a king-sized quilt for Doug and Matt that had been in the works for a long time. At left, I'm taking the last few stitches in the label on Dec. 23, before our flight. 
The quilt, at right, is a Trip Around the World pattern that I learned in a class in 1990 or so. The top sat around for a long time until I decided in 2002 to add a border and present it to Doug when he finished his PhD. Hand quilting takes a long time, and I was still working on it when he graduated this spring. But it is now in Florida, where I hope he and Matt will enjoy it.
The week before Christmas we had amaryllis blooms upstairs and down. The plant at right was in our South window in the upstairs bedroom. The one below was in the dining room and came from the "mother plant" bulb and some bulblets. There were four stalks from three bulbs when we left. We also left behind two other pots full of plants loaded with buds that have probably bloomed while we were here. 
Tuesday and today we have helped with packing and pre-moving activities. On Wednesday we spent the entire day on Sanibel Island, an hours' drive over and two hours back, given the traffic at this popular place. I need to crop and adjust our pictures from that adventure, so I'll post about Sanibel after we return home on Saturday. Tomorrow (Friday) is Moving Day.
A blessed Christmas is our wish for all of you reading this blog today or in the future. We sent part of our cards before Christmas, and the others will be going to the post office tomorrow and Wednesday. Our Christmas tree at home glowed with holiday anticipation all last week, and Norm and I celebrated "Little Christmas Eve on the 22nd by exchanging some gifts before leaving for Florida on the 23rd.
We flew to Ft. Myers and were welcomed by Doug, Matt and Sam the poodle. On Christmas Eve morning we attended church at First Christian Church of Lehigh Acres, a community about 10 miles from where they live. It is an Open and Affirming Disciples Church and is distinguished by some unusual architecture.
As you can see, Norm and I were claimed quickly by Sam, who found a space on my lap. We got up on Christmas morning to a lovely brunch cooked by Doug and Matt. We took a long walk around the apartment complex where they live. We tried to go to a movie, the opening of The Good Shepherd, but the theater had oversold the tickets. So we had a nice drive to Naples instead...a place we will enjoy seeing more of one of these days. The rain is supposed to end tomorrow, and be sunny and a bit cooler. We will be helping pack this week for their move to the new condo on Friday, but with luck, we may get away to the beach for some shelling and bird watching, too. Stay tuned.
I'm a Christmas light addict. From toddlerhood on, my favorite holiday activity was to drive around the nicer parts of town to look at the Christmas light displays. Tulsa had some spectacular ones when I was a kid. Here in St. Louis, we often make a ritual of driving around on Christmas night to enjoy all of the neighborhood displays. But if it's mild, as it has been this week, we often just walk around our village and look at lights on foot, which gives us a chance to admire them up close. We did that last Friday night and enjoyed it. Of course, it's not fair to look without contributing. Since we lack outdoor electrical outlets, we have to settle for letting our inside tree be seen through the front porch French doors. And since we often use our back door for entry, and guests do too, Norm always drapes the fence along the driveway with swags of evergreen, white lights and red bows. At night (see below) it's an arresting sight. Even more so with snow on them. He is able to use an outlet in the garage for these lights.
We have been busy with Advent activities. A week or so ago, our church was able to reach a milestone in its accessibility campaign. Members have raised over $105,000, more than 87 percent of the goal for the project, so we should be able to begin construction early in 2007. That's one of the projects Norm and I have worked on most intensively this year and the response has been...miraculous. Our reading group discussed the memoir Mixed by Angela Nissel and it was especially poignant since one member has a mixed race grandchild, one member is in a mixed marriage, and another member has nieces who are of mixed race. And then there was the young woman with a Nigerian father and a white mother who saw our book club notice in a bookstore, called one of the members and showed up at the coffee house for our meeting, bringing many more experiences for us to share. On Saturday our pastor held an open house which we enjoyed immensely. It was so warm, many of us gathered on the patio out back around the copper fire pit...all that was missing was some marshmallows and sticks to roast them on. Sunday we had a carry-in dinner after church, with lots of visiting and informal caroling. I was knitting furiously to finish a scarf for the Tree of Warmth that benefits clients of our family crisis ministry, Isaiah 58. I managed to finish it just after dessert! I'm still not sure when the Christmas letter will be written or the cards sent. We have plans to do some traveling during the holidays, so our big party and communication season may be Epiphany this year. Whatever your holiday plans or preparations, we wish you the merriest. Please do drop us a line or comment and let us know what you are doing.
The reports are coming in....Linville amaryllis (amarylli?) are indeed blooming! A few years ago, Kay sent me an email: The Amaryllis is blooming! I think hers may be the early bird of the family, although if that's not right, someone will let me know.
Tonight Kay and Don sent an e-mail with these three photos attached. Don reports that they have 4 bulbs in one pot, producing 6 stalks among them. Last year, they saved seeds from one of the blooms (how they manage to pollinate, indoors, is an untold story) and started some baby plants from seed--there are 10 in the pot below. An amaryllis nursery?
Thanks, Don and Kay, for the photos, and also for reading the blog. I wish someone in the family knew the story of how Mom Linville came to have this amaryllis in the first place. Does anyone remember?
One sure sign of the coming holidays is the appearance of stalks on the amaryllis. Our bulbs are offspring that Norm's mother gave us years ago, descended from the plant that Norm remembers blooming in winter on the farm when he was a boy. Many of us-- daughter, daughters-in-law, granddaughters and even a couple of guys-- have one of these amaryllis now. If your amaryllis is blooming, send me an e-mail and if possible, a picture. When this one blooms, which should be by the end of the week for the tallest stalk, I'll put it online. Right now, there are four bulbs in the pot (amaryllis like to be crowded) and three of them have sent up stalks, looking a bit like those processions of the Magi that appear on Christmas cards. And we have two more bulbs upstairs with buds on them, too. It promises to be a wonderful blooming holiday, thanks to Mom Linville. And if you are without an amaryllis and would like one, let us know that, too. Come summer, we'll deliver.
It has been a while since I have written, but maybe this post will explain. The end of November brought some lovely weather and we did as much as we could in the yard to clean up leaves, mulch the perennials and bulbs, and enjoy the birds. On Tuesday, November 28, the campus, and then our neighborhood was visited by a huge flock of migrating Robins. The weather service had been warning us for a week about a winter storm that would hit around the 29th or 30th, so when I saw about 200 Robins stripping the red fruit off the ornamental trees outside the gym where I exercise, I figured a weather change was near. On Wednesday the 29th, we had a high of 75 degrees. A wind blew away the plastic birdbath and this robin perched on the rim, looking at us as if to ask what we had done with his swimming pool.
Early Thursday morning, the bottom fell out of the atmosphere and everything headed South. We woke to freezing rain, which turned to sleet, which turned back to freezing rain. Norm went to volunteer at the food pantry, I went to exercise and got my hair cut, and by 2 p.m. the ground was showing white. We listened with foreboding as weather cast after weather cast warned of heavy ice accumulating on power lines and tree limbs, and possible power failures. We had gathered provisions and spare batteries, but that wouldn't be enough. On Thursday night about 11 p.m. I was checking my email when everything went dark. Our power was off, and so was our heat, since the gas boiler for our hot water system has electronic ignition and thermostat and pump. We went to bed and listened to the sleet hitting the awnings. The whole neighborhood was dark, and quiet. We awoke to a house that was at 59 degrees and falling, and to a world outside that was 22 degrees and glittering. This view (above) across our neighbor's back yard told the story. 
Even on Saturday morning, after a low of 11 degrees, the house was holding at 48 degrees inside. Outside, the world was still a Winter Wonderland. The drive beside the Normandie Golf Course was striking in its stark beauty. This frigid view is from the entrance to Bel Nor from Greendale, looking south. As you can see, street crews had been busy. The only positive thing about this storm is that we didn't get the 8 to 10 inches of snow originally forecast...the bad news was, most of that moisture came down as rain and froze instead.
We had no idea how cold the house could get with no heat, and we didn't want to test it out, so we accepted an invitation from church friends to stay with them starting on Friday night. We made daily trips to our house to see how the temperature was holding; we didn't want to drain the heating system and the pipes unless we absolutely had to!
Jan and Larry Krueger's home on Flora Place became our home away from home for the next few days.
One of their two cats, Coal, developed an affinity for us. So did their calico cat, Sneakers, but she was too shy to be captured on camera.
The power returned late on Saturday afternoon. We moved back home after church on Sunday (the Kruegers live just a few blocks from Compton Heights) and found a warming house. Although we were cozy, comfortable and grateful at the Kruegers', our own bed felt so wonderful. At the height of the outage, 515,000 customers of our utility were without power. Tonight, Monday Dec. 4, 180,000 are still out, despite the help of 7000 electrical line crewpeople from 14 different states who have poured in to help. It's supposed to reach 45 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday before we get another cold front. We pray the crews will be successful in getting everyone back on line, and that they will all be safe.
On Thanks- giving morning, while some people were watching the Macy's parade or the St. Louis parade on TV, I was dabbling in the kitchen, making pies for our Thanksgiving feast at the Myers' house later in the day. I miscalculated and tried to take a shortcut, using frozen piecrust. The pans are always too shallow for my recipes, so I had some of each mixture left over. The pecan mix bubbled to a hard ball candy stage in the small glass dish. I tried using a thawed out frozen biscuit in place of piecrust for the small pumpkin pie. (It wasn't all that tasty when Norm and I tried it later.) Anyway, the pecan was especially a hit and not a crumb was left. The white flower in the picture is our late-blooming chrysanthemum, still going strong at the end of November. Plants can amaze you.
These blooms in my upstairs closet window like having sunny days. The geranium cuttings are struggling, even with rooting hormone, and I think they are not going to make it. Meanwhile, the plants I took the cuttings from are still alive on the front porch, even after one 28-degree night a week ago. Maybe I'll just bring them in later in the week instead! The African Violets really like this spot and have bloomed almost continuously. The three spider plant babies are almost ready for a new home...maybe someplace semi tropical?
When a freeze threatened about a month ago, we moved all of the houseplants in from the front porch, where they had spent the summer. The north light in the dining room is one of the best spots downstairs for green plants, although it's not great for bloomers. Most striking is how much the rubber plant that Doug gave us about 3 years ago has grown. This was its first summer to go outside; I had been worried about wind or insect damage, but finally gave in and sent it out with the others. It grew an additional foot tall, with huge leaves.
Also spending every summer outside are the Christmas cacti, a white one we received as a gift one Christmas, and the pink one at left that grew from a sprig Aunt Doris Linville gave us eons ago. This year, both plants had set buds by the time we brought them inside and the white one bloomed for Halloween. The pink one will still be in bloom for Thanksgiving. So much for Christmas this year. We can always hope for one of the amaryllis to mark the holidays.
This has been a busy week. Norm had his eye checkup at UMSL Optometry Clinic, and although they are still checking him for glaucoma, he doesn't need to start any drops yet. When he went to volunteer at the food bank on Thursday, he was kept busy breaking down boxes from the huge amount of food donation that was coming in prior to next week's Thanksgiving distribution. I worked at the sewing machine on Thursday to catch up with "block a month" projects for quilt guild and made it--just under the wire. I didn't get any pictures taken of them, but I'll try to remember next time. On Monday afternoon and on Wednesday evening we visited in the homes of a couple of Compton members about the accessibility fundraising campaign. Far from being a chore, these visits help us to learn more about the history of the church and of the people involved.
Last night we had a bon voyage dinner for Matt and Sam, as they left by car this morning for Florida. Matt's parents and grandma joined us for another adventure in Judi's Daredevil Cuisine--my habit of trying out new recipes on unsuspecting guests. The greek-style lasagna was a hit, along with the greek salad and some purchased baklava! We pray for safe travel for our "boys" as they finally get reunited with Doug in Ft. Myers. This morning Norm and I enjoyed meeting with Compton Heights book circle to discuss A History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Neither of us is finished with it yet, but we had a good time anyway. A total of 8 readers met at the Thurman Cafe, a neighborhood eatery at the corner of Thurman and Shenandoah in South St. Louis, not far from Missouri Botanical Garden. They have wonderful breakfasts, scones, muffins, cinnamon rolls and coffee! (No we didn't have all of that at once, but we did bring extras home for tomorrow.) We'll be back!
Yesterday noon it was 72 degrees and I sat on the porch reading the mail, knowing that the warmth wouldn't last. The weather forecasts all predicted a sharp cold front, rain and possibly even snow flurries overnight. As I came back around the house I saw a flock of sparrows at the bird feeder and then a small gray-on-top, white-underneath nervous bird landed on the garage roof, flashing white on its tail as it hopped. Yes, Virginia, the Juncos have arrived. It can freeze and snow now.
The rain last night did turn to snow flurries around 10:30 p.m. Norm and I were standing on the driveway with our huge flashlight scanning the electric lines leading to and from our pole to see if there was any clue to the power outage that had just struck, and the tiny snow crystals stung our faces. We didn't find anything amiss with our power lines, and a call to the electric company informed us via an automated voice that some 1,000 people were affected by this outage, and that crews expected to have power restored shortly after midnight. So, we went to bed, along with Sam the poodle who is visiting us for the last time before he moves to Florida. And this morning, as promised, the power was on and the house was warm. But outside it was gray and cold, and winter seems to be with us. The Juncos say so.
In Thursday's Child, the companion blog to this one, I've posted a few thoughts about yesterday's election and the genesis of my obsession with staying up late for election returns. The link to Thursday's Child is to the right, below my profile.
On additional note: I wonder if finally the fascination of political campaign planners with the negative ad will wane. It seems to me we have hit new lows in willingness to attack the other person's age, gender, religion, financial status and family members instead of vigorously critiquing a candidate's public record of accomplishments or lack thereof. We received calls that all but threatened the apocalypse if the candidate who "was wrong" for Missouri and "didn't share our values" was elected. We also received calls that warned of a complete dissolution of American democracy if the other candidate won. None of these claims were true, and all of them had one basic appeal: fear. Maybe if anything has been learned through this process, it is that the age of selling fear is over. One can only hope.
Some time back, I wrote that frost was coming, and one of our chrysanthemum plants still hadn't bloomed. This hardy little late bloomer finally opened last weekend. It looks for all the world like a shasta daisy, but it's a mum, no doubt about it. Doug gave the plant to us about three or four years ago, and it persists, if on its own schedule. Since today is Doug's birthday, this bouquet is for him.
One last autumn glory picture is of the euonymous, or burning bushes, along our fence by the driveway. Before last weekend's rains came, I caught them on a peak day. Soon, maybe Norm will haul out the garland and white lights to adorn the fence for the holidays. Last week he cleaned out the bird feeders, outfitted the poles with new squirrel guards, and filled the tubes with seed. One with a sunflower mix is in the back border, and one with thistle seed is just outside the office window. The sparrows have already found the mixed seed one. Any day now, the purple finches and the gold finches should try out the thistle. We will know that the winter season is truly here when the juncos arrive--so far, no sign of them. Last weekend we had one last migratory visitor. Two small, plump golden birds, about junco size, were flitting from branch to branch in the maple. I couldn't positively identify them, but they seemed to be warblers of some sort. It was kind of late for such visitors to be coming through, and I had never in my life seen this species before!
Our week has been pretty routine since Halloween. We spent a quiet weekend, had a man come and vacuum up leaves, watched our neighbor's house and collected her mail because she was on a business trip. We went to exercise and took some walks. Norm did some sorting in the basement, and I did some sorting in the upstairs office, unpacking boxes of files and books and "things" I brought home from my University office last spring. They sat dormant over the summer, while we concentrated on family reunion, knee rehab, and travels. We went to the grocery store and paid the November bills--more of them online than by writing checks any more. Our printer/scanner/copier quit working in the midst of a printing job for a church project, but Epson is going to repair it for free and pay the shipping--we just have to figure out how to pack the thing securely. Today I went to a meeting to see what the benefits changes for University retirees will be in 2007. I'm thankful for a pension, for health benefits, for bills to pay, possessions to repair and projects to plan. For freedom and the ballot box, which we can exercise tomorrow. For life and friendship and love.
This past weekend, Norm and I made our annual winter retreat to Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, Illinois, on the Illinois River just above its confluence with the mighty Mississippi. We enjoy the restored WPA-era stone lodge set in the midst of a natural wonderland. One of our reasons for the trip is to see eagles, which winter along the Mississippi and its tributaries. We weren't disappointed.
The lodge itself was built in the 1930s and renovated in the 1990s. More work was being done while we were there, including refinishing the plank and peg pine floors in the dining room and replacing the log ends on the attic beams, among other projects. There are plans to upgrade the rooms in the coming year to bow to 21st century demands--like in-room microwaves and high speed internet access. Norm and I were returning from a midday walk in the woods to look for songbirds when I took this picture--he is keeping warm in his Florida Gulf Coast University hoodie.
As Friday waned, we went back to the river where we had spotted the eagle in the morning. The sunset began to color the hill to the east, above the migratory bird wildlife sanctuary. We startled a heron, and saw some amazing flight maneuvers by gulls, but no eagles this evening.
Just this magnificent sunset over the water of the Illinois River, still open to barge traffic at this time of the winter. During our stay we saw a lot of damaged trees from the ice storms at the end of November and again in mid-January. Nature has a lot of mending to do.
After two days and nights at Pere Marquette, we packed and headed home. It's only a 45-minute drive, so we stopped at the Riverlands Wildlife Sanctuary and Migratory Bird Refuge just west of the Alton bridge over the Mississippi. Barely into Missouri, this is one of the happenin' places for eagle watching this winter. The refuge biologists had counted 85 eagles the day we were there. The refuge comprises several ponds and marshes, along with some grassland, along the Mississippi just above the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. I counted some 40 roosting eagles, such as these in some trees above a freshwater pond. Although it was midday, the eagles were active--swooping down to the water to catch fish and circling overhead. Once in a while they would vie for a roosting spot or chase another eagle to try to steal a catch. It was windy and tooth-chattering cold, but we spent about an hour watching their antics, until we finally gave up and came home. We felt exhilarated and exhausted. The eagles should stay through February, so we hope to visit their winter haunt again before they head north in the spring.
