MADELEINE MONDAY

I have more pix from Garden Glow that are worth posting but I thought we needed a change. The Lou has had a dinky Winterfest in a plaza downtown for some years. There is a small ice rink set up through New Year's Day, a one-day Christmas market, a run somewhere in there, and three heated and insulated "igloos" for the you've-got-to-be kidding price of $250 for 90 minutes / 7 people, drinks and snacks extra. (Empty the whole time we were there.)

Still, the little rink was perfect for a nine year old with growing ice skills. Mrs. C and I were delighted by the look of joy on her face when she realized that she could get around on single-bladed skates and without the little training sled for the first time. Such confidence! Neither of us can skate and she did it all on her own.

One of our dear friends in Alabama might notice what is poking out of her coat.           

TUMBLE

This display is at Garden Glow every year. Rectangles tilted this way and that, which could be disorienting on a winter's night. The changing colors on good flat pavement guided this slightly gimpy photographer. You can see Henry Shaw's house at left center.        

HENRY SHAW'S HOUSE ON ACID

I mentioned Henry Shaw in yesterday's post, the founder of our botanical garden and the adjacent Tower Grove city park.  During Garden Glow, visitors are invited inside to see the 19th Century architecture and decoration in Christmas themes. Light projections on the outside change every year and I still don't know how it's done. Trippy, as we used to say.           

THE WATCHTOWER

Our botanical garden has an interesting history. It was established by an immigrant from Sheffield, England, Henry Shaw, whose family was in the metalwork and cutlery business the city is known for. He set up shop here and did quite well, retiring at 40. Shaw established an estate on land that was then in the countryside. In time, he bequeathed it for what became the garden and adjacent Tower Grove Park. The land was flat to gently rolling. Shaw could climb to the deck on this little building and view all of his estate.           

RED PATH

The Garden Glow at our botanical garden leads people through a specific route. Walking north along the east wall, visitors come across a brick walkway whose clay material favors light's longer wavelengths.  Nothing similar nearby in yellow. This isn't Kansas.               

WORMHOLE

Well, maybe. When you  come out the other end you are still in St. Louis. More from Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden.             

WELL, THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED

The entry building to our botanical garden, with its visitors center, shop, restaurant, meeting rooms and display space, along with the plaza opening behind it, are all new for this year. As you pass through the sliding glass doors into the garden proper you are confronted by this totem. Perhaps a statement of the obvious, but it prepares your mind and eyes for what lies ahead.