Monday, March 18, 2024

GETTING A HEAD START

I've been shooting our St. Patrick's Day for years and have often mentioned the amount of alcohol sloshing around ante meridian. More than once, I've noted that St. Louis loves an excuse to drink in public. In the hi res version of this pic, you can see that the bottles between the two men are vodka and Bloody Mary mix. Reminds me of a picture I took at the parade 15 years ago (see below).

I accidentally shot this picture at f 9, probably my arthritic fingers knocking the aperture ring on the lens. The background was much too busy so I tried Photoshop's new Blur Background tool. I think I overdid it.


                     

Sunday, March 17, 2024

HO, HO, HUH?

St. Patrick's Day in St. Louis. The parade on the Saturday before the date is a really big deal. The weather yesterday was simply perfect and the crowd was huge. I worked the staging area, which was enough for my creaky spine. This thing was odd but the joke was obvious. 

Granddaughter Ellie walked with the Clark School of Irish Dance, more about which later. Travel day Tuesday and then a change of theme.            

Saturday, March 16, 2024

SPRINGTIME CARPET

Not a lot blooming in our botanical garden yet - it's still officially winter - but since real winter is becoming just a memory there are early signs of spring. I'm no horticulturalist; my native ground covering was cement and asphalt so I can't identify the violet ground covering here. Still, with the hard shadow of a tree not yet in leaf, the pattern got my attention.       

Our huge St. Patrick's Day parade is today. Granddaughter Ellie is marching so I'll be there with my camera as long as my back holds out.

Friday, March 15, 2024

SPRING IN THE MIDWEST

I intended to go to shoot some of our 314 Day events yesterday. Nature intervened. We've had a mild winter and very early spring. Here in the Midwest that means it's time for violent thunderstorms and some tornadoes. When I was getting ready to leave in the afternoon my phone began to blare severe weather warnings and the radar looked ominous. A blast drove through soon thereafter, ripping off a large part of the tree in the foreground onto our front steps, seconds before Mrs. C was about to walk in the door. This was followed by a strange orange sunset over our street.            

Thursday, March 14, 2024

NOT AT ALL BOTANICAL

When I got to the botanical garden on Monday, I took a seat in the cafe and ordered some lunch. It is in the new-ish main entry and visitors center.  These windows face south and do a good job of filtering the sun while bringing in plenty of light. But it's just so rectilinear, in contrast to all the plant life outside.

Today, 3/14 in American date notation, is Pi Day in some parts of the world. Around here it's just plain 314 Day, that being the telephone area code for the center of our region. I think there will be something to photograph on the theme.              

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

WATER AND GEOMETRY

Yesterday was unseasonably warm (what else is new). I went to our wonderful botanical garden for a walk with my camera. Despite the very warm winter, there was not yet much blooming. The garden has a large geodesic dome known as the Climatron, with four distinct climactic zones controlled by complex air systems, so I went inside. The sky was blue, the water reflected the sky and the aquaculture was happy.                    

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

IT WILL BE OUR LITTLE SECRET


Another odd wall painting in Cantado Mexican restaurant. The women's shirts resemble Cardinals baseball uniforms, appropriate since the stadium is across the street. I'm not sure what the number 13 on the earring means, other that it was the uniform number of a popular player who retired a couple of years ago. The place serves excellent margaritas in jars such as the one pictured.

The woman on the left seems to be whispering something. Does she have inside information about the team's chances this year with the season starting later this month? The Cardinals finished last in 2023 so they can't get any worse.