DAFFODILS IN FOREST PARK

 

First signs on a gray day. The trees are confused. Our temperatures have been zooming up and down, summer hot one day and need a coat on the next. It has not been as extreme as some  parts of the country but many plants don’t know which way to go.                    

FIRST BUDS IN DRIZZLE

 

Long, tedious drive home yesterday from Kansas City, with an awful lot of construction on I 70. So, I thought I'd post something spring-like from Forest Park.                      

LIVE FREE OR DIE

I think the motto dates to our revolutionary war, and is also seen on the license plates of the State of New Hampshire. If the guns and bullets aren't enough, the place also sells cigars. And if you don't have the courage to go in and check out the wares, there is a liquor store immediately to the left.

 

Found in Shawnee, Kansas, in suburban Kansas City where we are staying. Home today.         

 

STL DPB'S 19TH ANNIVERSARY

 

Today is St. Louis Daily Photo's 19th anniversary, having first appeared on March 22, 2007. 6,831 posts to date. Hooda thunk. Most of the pictures are from St. Louis, but there are others from Tibet to Patagonia. So how much longer?                 

in Just-

 

in Just- 

spring          when the world is mud- 

luscious the little 

lame balloonman 

whistles          far          and wee 

and eddieandbill come 

running from marbles and 

piracies and it's 

spring 

when the world is puddle-wonderful 

the queer 

old balloonman whistles 

far          and             wee 

and bettyandisbel come dancing 

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and 

it's 

spring 

and 

         the 

                  goat-footed 

balloonMan          whistles 

far 

and 

wee

          e e cummings

TOWARD THE END OF THE DAY

 

A photography teacher once told me that outdoor light was good enough to shoot if the angle of the top of an object to the tip of its shadow was at least 45 degrees. That's surely the case here, winding up our trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We question when or if we will be back. We're getting old and physical activities are becoming a challenge. The arthritis in my lumbar spine is worse, and I needed a bunch of airport wheelchairs last weekend. Having a super duper pain management procedure that has helped before, but it's not for three weeks.

So I need to search for something new. Suburban Kansas City this weekend for a family event.                

LAS CARRETERAS NICARAGUENSES Y EL ARBOL DE LA BASURA

 

I mentioned that I would show something about Nicaraguan roads, generally better than Costa Rica although CR is much more prosperous. All Chinese foreign aid. (Someone still believes in soft power.) What's notable is the tree-like thing in the center. They are all over the place, maybe 15 meters tall, brightly colored and splashed with LEDs at night. The government calls the design Tree of Life. The locals call it Tree of Garbage. Chinese designed and manufactured, but built at great cost to the Nicaraguan state. What could the money have done for education or health care?