Sunday, December 2, 2012

Another Wonderful Weekend In The Heartland

I ride and poke around on trails looking for wonder. Today I saw a red maple leaf on the tarvy of the parking lot. It was resting on its stem and two other points. It was beautiful, yet I knew if I picked it up and took it home it would be out of place. It would be just another leaf. Often context is everything. I tried to take a photo, but I was rushed and none of them turned out. Oh well, I'm not sure the moment would have translated well.

Yesterday Heather and I were at Klondike Park in St. Charles County. It was amazingly warm for the first day of December. We were walking around the trails without jackets. We had never been to Klondike Park before. It is the site of an old silica quarry. I hadn't put together sand and silica until we began walking around the lake. There was white sand everywhere. It gave the landscape a look of being covered with a dusting of snow.





I'm afraid I was much taken with the area around the lake and we didn't have as much time to explore the rest of the park as we planned. Still there were wonders to be found in the woods.













 There was even the most rare of occurrences. Heather agreed to have her photo taken.



Maggie, my friend, told me to be on the look out for a goat she had seen in the Park when she visited there back in 2008. I didn't see any goats, but on the way home we stopped for a bite to eat and did see this:

Whatever it is.


Today, I had to break back out the summer gear. It was 75F/24C when I left the Condo. I really didn't have a destination in mind. I just wanted to ride. I ended up at Cliff Cave Park.  I found myself wondering how low the Mississippi River had gotten.

When I arrived at the Park it was swarming with people. I finally found a parking place.



Yep the River is very low.


I was surprised to see any river traffic at all.

This barge looks empty, doesn't it?


There also was an Army Corp of Engineers vessel.


But, as so often happens I found wonder in the sky. 








With it being so warm the darkness seemed to come cruelly early.



I ended up riding home in the dark, which was just fine by me.



15 comments:

  1. I thought indeed that snow had arrived in your part of the country. Maybe I should have read the content first. Love the following pictures. Nice detailed photography.

    Say hi to Heather from me ;-) Maybe next time we even get a pic with the two of you.

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    1. Sonja,
      It was uncanny how much it looked like a winter scene and yet wasn't. I was completely fascinated by it. I'm not sure I dare let on to Heather I posted her photo on the blog. She is incredibly private...that, and she thinks she is ugly. Believe me I've attempted to dissuade her of this opinion, but of no avail. Oh well.
      ~k

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  2. What a wonderful weekend. Hiking and scooting. Beautiful pictures.

    Great seeing a picture of Heather. I'm with Sonja, now we need one with the both of you.

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  3. Nice photos, but I've never seen Heather before. What a very pretty woman.

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    1. Martha,
      I whole hardheartedly agree with your assessment of Heather's beauty. Convincing her is the trick.
      ~k

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  4. Heather is another wounded sister. She must not waste her inner beauty absorbing the shallowness of others.

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    Replies
    1. As my Grandpa would say, "Yep!" Or, as my Grandma would say, "Amen."

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  5. What a day you all had! Beautiful photos...ya got me motivated to get out and do some exploring, but the angels are sending rain today! Boo hoo!

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  6. Keith:

    You are so lucky to have such a beautiful Heather. Thank you for posting this photo, but one with the two of you would be good too.

    Your river is low, while our Fraser River is the highest it has been and nearly overflowing, and the rain won't stop. You are welcome to come here and take some of our water away with you.

    I can't believe how warm it is where you are.

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is warm here and dry. Both conditions are not what we've come to expect this time of the year, but what seems to be what the new "normal" may become. Oh well.

      I am very grateful Heather came into my life. I do feel very lucky.
      ~k

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  7. Keith - Nice to see Heather! Gorgeous pictures as always, it is such a treat to see your adventures. Your red scoot is a dead sexy little vixen. I am with Bob - I will send you some of our rain. Our ground is so saturated that the water is pooling in our yard.

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    1. A couple of years ago we were as wet as we are now dry. At that time, trees were simply toppling over from their own weight because the ground was so saturated. As one of Gilda Radner's characters used to say, "It just goes to show, if it isn't one thing it's another."\
      ~k

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  8. Keith - absolutely beautiful pictures - all of them.

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