IDOLATRY

The very peak of the old building that houses the City Museum, perhaps 15 stories over the street. I suppose that's a praying mantis on top, perhaps beseeching the gods to find the Cardinals some pitchers who can throw strikes. You can reach the top of this dome by one of the museum's innumerable climbing tubes but there is also a ramp that comes up from the back.That's son Andy standing  in the center, holding grandson Atlas. Daughter-in-law Claire is to Andy's left. No idea who that guy is waving at the world.                            

DOWN ON THE FARM

 

 

For no apparent reason, the City Museum has added a small tractor to one of its open spaces since my last visit. Children like to sit on it and work the wheels and levers. Ellie seems to be taking this seriously. After all, one of her grandmothers grew up on a farm. While Audrey shares the same heritage, she would rather climb on all the protrusions for the fun of it.             

                

BETWEEN THE STORMS

Thunderstorms passed through the area off and on all weekend while the Michigan division of our family was here to visit. One evening Mrs. C and I watched the kids while our son and his wife went to dinner with an old friend. Another line of storms blew across, leaving this view from their Air BnB apartment when the sun returned.         

IDENTICAL COUSINS

Television viewers of a certain age (well, candidly, old Americans) may remember The Patty Duke show from the 60s. The premise was that the daughters of identical twin brothers were, well, identical cousins. https://youtu.be/qQTqKcojrVY  MICrowe Audrey and MOCrowe Ellie aren't quite identical, although Audrey's mother bought them matching dresses. They are almost exactly two years apart in age but Ellie is only a little taller and they are the best of friends. They favor the same hairstyle. Here they are patiently waiting to board the  Ferris wheel on the roof of the City Museum.                

 

GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

My son and his family live in central Michigan, a 10 hour drive from here with gas and kid breaks. We don't get to see them enough but they made the long trip down here this weekend. The postal abbreviation for Michigan is MI. It's MO for Missouri. Clever Andy refers to his division as MICrowes and ours as MOCrowes.

So we all went to the Magic House, STL's children's museum yesterday morning. OMG was it crowded. At some point part of the family made it to their Van der Graff generator. MICrowe Audrey, almost 6, had no fear. https://youtu.be/PIb6AZdTr-A Great phone cam shot by daughter Emily.

The first time we saw a Van der Graff generator was at the Deutches Muzeum in Munich, at least 30 years ago. We expect to be there in September but, with the passage of time, I don't have enough hair to be worth a try.           

SLOW PROGRESS

This patio is a few steps away from Nature Playscape we've seen lately. It's at the back of a hilltop pavillion that's been preserved from the 1904 World's Fair. (We also had the Olympics that year. We used to be somebody.) The turtle hasn't made any progress that I've noticed. It was designed by Bob Cassilly, the late mad genius who founded our wacky City Museum. We are taking the grandkids there Saturday and there should be plenty of images.                  

MORE EASILY VISIBLE, SORT OF

 

The infrared pictures I've been posting look strange, but I suppose that's the point. I decided to drop back into the visible spectrum in the same venue. I wouldn't stick my nose this close to a bee, even though this one is tiny, but I'm not so worried using my lens.

We will be back to more typical material soon. Our Michigan grandchildren, whom we see all too seldom, will be in town for a few days, and we're doing the grand tour of St. Lou kid stuff.