SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE

                

An order of nonconformists, to be sure. The sisters turn up at many events and I’ve photographed them lots of times. Their liturgy is a little, um, uncertain. I confess I don’t know exactly what they are doing at Earth Day,

Big annual photo op today if it doesn’t get rained out and my spine holds up.                 

DURABLE FLOWERS

Back at Earth Day. This woman’s creations were bright and cheerful, perhaps not natural flowers but made of durable cotton. I would have loved to buy some, but we’re in the phase of life when we are trying to have a lot less, not more, stuff in our home.                 

WELL, TOMORROW IS MAY DAY

The first of May is a celebration of workers in some countries. It was a big deal in the old Soviet Union but doesn’t go down quite like that in the U.S. This booth was in a section at Earth Day with a banner labeled social justice. The illustrated boot looks like it was made in a sophisticated factory. This kind of revolution isn’t coming here. Maybe another kind.                    

THEY LOVE BASEBALL IN JAPAN

The Japanese Society of St. Louis had a table at Earth Day. My granddaughter, of course, was attracted by the anime trinkets. The woman representing the society was wearing a stunning kimono, covered with emblems of our mediocre baseball team. Nobody says konichiwa! when you enter its stadium.                       

MADELEINE MONDAY

Haven’t had the kid on in some time. That’s her in the back of the canoe with her bestie in the middle, sampling what was on offer at Earth Day. No life jackets needed. Big Muddy is a name sometimes used for the Mississippi River.                   

EARTH DAY

The international celebration of Earth Day was, I believe, last Tuesday. Well, except maybe certain precincts in Washington. Many cities in the U.S. have large festivals on the following weekend. Ours is in Forest Park, our largest, and it is sprawling. The event brings out all sorts of interesting people. Tame chickens, too. This one was amazingly calm.                       

Send In The . . .

I could make so many terrible jokes about this - think about our election for starters - but they would make everyone groan. So, gentle reader, I will leave the pleasure to you. Leave suggestions in comments.                         

National Emblem

All Americans know that the magnificent bald eagle is a national emblem. A few of us know that it just barely won the contest. The much-respected Benjamin Franklin argued that our national bird should be the turkey. It's a good thing he lost the debate. Images of turkeys would be much less impressive on warplanes and tanks.                     

Watch The Beak

Another specimen brought out by the folks at the World Bird Sanctuary. I have only a basic idea of what vultures do for a living but we can assume that the beak is built for tearing flesh apart. Better to stay well away, IMHO.                  

Dumpster Diver

The same raven later in the day. Scroll down to understand its task. It not only snatches dollar bills but recycles aluminum as well.                

The Raven Works For Tips

There is a remarkable World Bird Sanctuary on the outskirts of our area. They always bring some flying wonders to Earth Day. Here we have a species of raven that is trained to take money from people's hands and drop it in the donation box. It does not get a percentage of the take. Pretty cool.

It can also fly around a larger area, take aluminum cans from people and drop them in a recycling bin. We'll get to that.   

If You Say So

We went to the Earth Day festival in Forest Park. It wasn't so great. It gets more and more crowded and commercial. All of the exhibitors are trying to sell or promote something. The entertainment, at least what we saw, ranged from tame to lame. There was, however, one very cool show by the Wild Bird Sanctuary outside of town, which we will get to.

Sorting your trash and recycling whatever possible is a very good thing to do, but if you think it's fun your life needs an upgrade.               

CDP Theme Day: Stylish

It's the first of the month, theme day on the City Daily Photo calendar. This month the topic is "stylish." That, thank heavens, rules out selfies on this blog.

Close call between these two recent pictures. The first was at Earth Day, the second at the People's Joy Parade. Fortunately for the ladies in the top photo it was a beautiful day. Imagine the outfit on the left in the rain. The one on the right could be a pretty good lightning rod. And as for the one below, well, puuuurrrrrr. 

Check out styles worldwide on other CDP members' blogs here.                        

What Do You Think?

This child I saw at the Earth Day Festival looked barely older than Madeleine, my 20 month old granddaughter. He (I think) was deeply into a video game on a smart phone, thumbs flying all over the screen. I don't think this is a good idea. It blocks out social development. Besides, he didn't see the remarkable vulture with an attendant in front of us.

Change of theme tomorrow. The People's Joy Parade and Cinco de Mayo festival are today on Cherokee Street.

                              

Enviornmentally Friendly

Not surprisingly, the Earth Day festival had a display of electric cars. Three of them were Teslas, the luxury rocket of no-emission vehicles. Note the storage space where the engine would normally be. My son had a chance to drive one once. He said it went from zero to OMG in near-complete silence. 

They make me drool but are a wee bit out of my price range.  So, back to my slightly worn but very well made Honda. Much more practical.                                     

Drum Major

                             

Rick Kramer, leader of Joia, seen many times before on these pages. They describe themselves as a world rhythm ensemble and turn up at all sorts of public celebrations. Rick certainly has a lot of flair.

It's hard to appreciate what they do without hearing them. Here's an audio clip from their performance at Earth Day. Crank up the volume.

Cluck

So, I ask myself, what would I do if confronted by a live chicken? Mrs. C, who dressed plenty of poultry on the family farm in Kansas, would know. Me, I'm a big city boy. I'd probably call for the animal control officer. 

This was in the children's area at Earth Day. There was a little boy just off camera to the right who found the bird entertaining. It was awfully calm. Personally, I think it was drugged.                  

Hug a tree. Save a whale.

Yesterday brought the annual Earth Day celebration in Forest Park. The weather was just perfect and the crowd was large.

I don't like the direction our festival is taking. It seems more corporate and tightly controlled. Much less wacky spontaneous activity. I remember seeing a powerful man in a silk suit doing tai chi with himself in a central area; young people performing capoeira, the Brazilian martial art/dance form, on the sidewalk; three young men playing banjo, guitar and fiddle, without authorization and just for fun; a woman in flowing robes standing by a sign that read "Free Hugs"; a veritable encampment of the faeries from the Renaissance Faire; a full service bar. Everything like this is gone.

Now we find booth after booth just trying to sell something or promote an organization. They have always been there but now there is little relief. Most of the entertainment is pretty tame. It has lost some of its fun and charm. Still, there are always interesting people.                        

Roundup

Last pictures from Earth Day: the food booth of a local hipster bar and grille. A group of high school thespians who perform a Shakespeare scene, soliloquy or sonnet based on the spin of the wheel of fortune. The last one, gentle reader, I leave to your own interpretation.

Chicago tomorrow.

More

More. It's the American credo. Here, it's just because I'm short on time and there are more Earth Day pix.

Above, yes, it's true. Anybody, but be careful. Below, the bikes are hooked up to small generators which are connected to a cell phone charging station. Is this energy efficient? Next, get yer Shiva tote bag. Bottom, well, it speaks for itself.