POTPOURRI OF PHOTOS

More photos of Memorial Day Weekend and Niagara Falls.   This is one of my favorite shots of the Falls.  Don't know why, I just like it.

But this is another favorite.  It looks like the Maid of the Mist is getting ready to sail right into the waterfall.  It also looks like it's a cold, rainy day.  It wasn't.  It was a beautifully sunny day.

Niagara River.  And another favorite picture.  But then, would I post photos that weren't my favorite?  

No.

If there's no sea, just a lake and river, are these birds still called seagulls?  I shall call him Jonathan.

Bridal Veil Falls.  

Love birds with Bridal Veil Falls in background.

Copy cats.  

Part of Horseshoe Falls.   And, another favorite picture.

Some one's outfit happened to coordinate with the "free shoes" at Cave of the Winds.   But after donning the yellow ponchos, fashion went out the window.  Or down the falls.  

There was the obligatory tourist ritual of handing expensive cameras to complete strangers and asking them to take your picture.

And then there were the shy "no pictures, please" tourists.  Maybe he (or she?) is in The Witness Protection Program.

Pedestrian Bridge leading to Cave of the Winds at the base of Bridal Veil Falls.  There really was no cave.  At least none that we could enter.

This picture got out of order, but I'm too lazy to change things around.  

Ben closely guarded the frisbee.  

You can tell by the dry hair that this picture is also out of order.  

We didn't spend the entire weekend at Niagara Falls.  Jenni is preparing strawberries for a chocolate fondue.  Which, yum.    The sink is shorter than hers, thus that bizarre straddle thing going on.  Either that or she's found the long lost 6th ballet position.

Aren't they sweet???

The sisters strike a similar pose during a game of washers with their hubbies.

If she wasn't Meghan, she wouldn't be worrying.  She's probably worrying that this picture is also out of order.  Oh well.

 The guys played video games in the Man Cave for 4 hours.  We should have used the opportunity to go shoe shopping at the Niagara Falls outlet mall.


Then I flew back home to St. Louis, getting my flight changed several times due to delays.  Because I was had a Business Select ticket, I got two free drink coupons every time there was a change to my itinerary.  Which went unused since I had morning flights and was going to work straight from the airport.    Oh well, another day, another flight.

Later in the week, I took in the Rose Show at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.

Yes, I know these aren't roses.  They are glass bulbs by Chihuly from the Glass in the Garden exhibit.

These geese.....

...are also these geese.  Same photo, just cropped differently.  I think I like the top picture better.

It rained that evening, but not enough to spoil the view.

In fact, it enhanced it.

Oh look, a rose at the Rose Show.

I decided to get a little artsy fartsy with this picture of Kathy walking across the foot bridge.

But all of these pictures of the beautiful grounds at the Garden reminds me that I need to put away the computer and go work in my garden.  After all of the rain, the weeds are overtaking the lettuce and spinach.

NIAGARA FALLS

People of a certain age will remember this.

"Ni-a-gara Falls.....slowly I turned,
step by step
inch by inch......


I'm up here in Buffalo with all the kids and we went to Niagara Falls where that phrase played an endless loop in my brain yesterday, thankyouvery much Moe, Larry and Curly. And Dad for being a Stooges Fan.

I first visited The Falls (mumble) decades ago with my parents when I was 14. As one of my sons-in-laws pointed out, The Falls were very young then, but a trickle.

But at that time, the Cave of the Winds tour took us BEHIND the falls, which was awesome. Now, the tour takes you to the bottom of The Falls. Where you get splashed and get very very very wet. If you wish, there's a section where you can dash into the water and and your poncho can get ripped to shreds. Apparently, this is fun. It sure was fun watching it.

The wooden steps leading to the Cave of the Winds is taken down every year and re-built for the season. Here's a question -- how do they do that?? Do they turn off the falls?



But as we were clamboring up and down the stairs and wading into very cold water and then suddenly encountering a flood of cold water swirling about your feet, I thought we should be hearing Celine Dion singing My Heart Will Go On and we'd run into Jack and Rose. Except that this was more fun than a sinking ship.


Here are a few shots of the day.... there will be more later.





Is he thinking about throwing the Frisbee across Niagara River?

THE LAKE

A couple of weekends ago, I went to The Lake with a couple of friends. In this area, The Lake refers to Lake of the Ozarks.

Now, you'd think that after spending a weekend at The Lake with friends, and my camera, that I'd have a lot of pictures of my friends, wouldn't you.

Well, you'd be wrong.

Whenever I got out my camera, my friends would dive behind afghans or curtains, shouting for me to "put that thing away!"

I did get shots of unsuspecting birds.....




....fisherman in the rain......





....and a ruin. Hmmm. I need to straighten that shot.



In my photography class, a number of my fellow students have gone to the bluffs up in Alton or to The BIrd Sanctuary and got some great shots of eagles and owls in flight.

While at The Lake, I got a blurry picture of a turkey buzzard.




Then we went shopping. It was the same Saturday as the Kentucky Derby, so I considered this hat for Derby watching.



I said I didn't get any photos of my friends; but that's Pat sitting behind me looking quite dubious about that hat.


Then we went to the Coach store, where I scored on a sale.




I took those pictures with my iPhone after I got home so I could e-mail them to my sister. I got the yellow one for her. She arrived at my house last night and liked it so much, that I think she slept with it under her pillow last night.

That was to keep her daughter from stealing it.

A MOVING EXPERIENCE

My parents are moving.

They need a shorter commute. To the dining hall. They live at a retirement center in a very nice apartment on the first floor at the end of the hallway. This is convenient as they have a nice little patio. But it's inconvenient because when one of them is ill, it's a long walk down one hallway, up an elevator two floors and down another hallway to the dining hall.

After Mom had her knee surgery, Dad would often drive her to the dining hall. From the outside, door to door, it's the equivalent of a drive across the parking lot. It was such a short driving distance that if they didn't put on their seat belts, the seat belt chime would sound like this; "Ding di-"

When Dad was going through chemo, he often couldn't make the walk to the dining hall and back, so Mom would get carry out for him. An opportunity came along where they can move into a unit that is four doors down from the dining rooms. They took it.

So.

We get to move them in a few weeks. Short moves such as this can be deceptively evil. A person tends to think they can carry a little bit now and then and get it done. Such as moving an entire apartment's worth of books, clothes and possessions in a shopping cart or laundry baskets--- as if we'd let that happen.

Not that any actual packing has been done to date. So far we've organized the storage bins.

Then we reorganized the storage bins.

Then we re re organized the storage bins.

Then we -- well, you get the picture.

This weekend, family is arriving from all corners (except Texas ----- ahem!) and we are going to get started on the packing. And first things first. We are going to padlock the storage bins. Those are DONE!!!!!

Second thing, we're going to take control of the thermostat. The last time we were all together in their apartment, we roasted.

Wish us luck.