Harvest Garden

We went back out to visit the new Harvest Garden section at Powell Gardens, with a little more of the area finished than on the opening weekend.

We found more randy grasshoppers, this time of the variety that I've known about since I was little.

I think Andrea thought that the big one was giving the little one a ride.

The cold frames were very cool. I've read for years about how you can grow lettuce up until December sometimes with a good cold frame.

Grasshopper Love

We went for a nice visit to Powell Gardens back when the weather was still nice.

You expect to have to explain to your small children big animal's behavior, like horses or cows, but you don't expect to see such randy grasshoppers. Fortunately, Zach was oblivious.

I've never seen such big grasshoppers, let alone these dark green ones.

Legacy Fields

We got into the habit of taking long walks down the east side of the Legacy Park walking trail, which gives you some nice silhouettes of the ball fields

Two Bucks

Here's two almost identical bucks that were coming up to our back yard for about a week. They had a doe with them, too, and they were play fighting for her. They were in practice for the real thing, which was still about 2 months away at that point.

Hidden in Plain Sight

How can this "Pointe" be hidden if they have a big sign for it?

And why the lighthouse in Missouri? Last I checked, we don't have an extensive coastline.

I'm not saying it's not a really cool entryway for a subdivision. I'm just saying that they were a lot more creative with the naming of the subdivision than with the design of their houses.

Baptism by Slide

God loves a good water slide.

Reflective Walk

We went around the lakes at James A. Reed on a pretty fall day that had no wind. This made some nice reflections on the water.

James A. Reed's Susans

This fall had so many yellow flowers that were similar to black eyed susans. That's not what these flowers are, because the centers were not black, but the flowers around James A. Reed's hiking trails were very pretty.

Spider vs. Wasp

Some wasps catch spiders, putting them in a state of suspended animation in their egg chambers, as food for their young.

I've broken open wasp nests and found the spiders before, but I've never see one being captured and taken back to the nest. This wasp could not fly, because the spider was so big.

Sunset Vista

Here's another view from Lake Vista Trail, this time across the lake past a dead tree full of birds watching the sunset at the ramp that takes the trail below the Jacomo dam on the other side of the lake.

Opossum Hollow

One of my favorite approaches to the Vista Lake Trail around Lake Blue Springs and Jacomo was called Opossum Hollow.

It was an old road that was access to a quarry or farmer's fields in the bottom land years ago.

The old road was covered with gravel, but was still washed out. Someone decided to pave it from the parking area down the hill to where it ties in to the loop that follows the lake.

Very nice. Especially for bikers, but for the hikers too.

September Cute

Here's Zach from back in September, looking cute. He was starting to push up and try to stand, and he liked the area under the table. We had weaned him off of the pacifier, but he liked to play with them occasionally, when he found one.

Fish Log

This fallen hollow tree looks like a large fish trying to bite a tree. You have to picture a gar to see it.