Photo of the Day

This is Fred, a Royal Palm Turkey, in full strut. Here's what the sign says about Royal Palm turkeys:

Meleagris gallopavo ssp.

• Bred for ornamental feathers, usually not for meat
• Are rare and listed as a critical domestic species
• One of smallest species of turkeys
• Are active, good flyers, and excellent insect foragers, making them great pest controllers

Fred was strutting his stuff this afternoon at the World Bird Sanctuary in Lone Elk Park, St. Louis County, Missouri. In all his finery, he reminded me of a wedding cake.

Photo of the Day

Happy Holidays to all,
And to all a good night

Photo of the Day

With best wishes to all our friends in New England, the Midwest, and the Pacific Northwest. Stay safe, happy, and warm.

Photo of the Day: Spring is on the way

Even more than the blooming crocus, the regoldening goldfinches always mean spring to me.

© 2008 by Mary Daniels Brown

Photo of the Day: Flooding in Missouri

This was the scene yesterday (Friday, March 21, 2008) near Valley Park in St. Louis County, Missouri, where MO Hwy 141 intersects with Interstate 44. The photo was taken looking south down 141. The vehicles on the overpass are on I 44, which was reduced to one lane heading west. The Missouri Dept. of Transportation (MoDOT) placed concrete barriers and sandbags (which would be just off this photo to the right) along the northern edge of I 44 west to try to keep the rising water from the Meramec River off the road.

The water you see here is not the river itself; that's about a half mile north of the vantage point of this photo. There's a levee protecting the downtown area of Valley Park along the northern edge of the Meramec. This water is from farther west, where there is no levee.

When this photo was taken, the river was at about 34 feet. Flood stage in Valley Park is 16 feet. The Meramec is expected to crest at about 39 feet in Valley Park this afternoon. The previous high-water mark in Valley Park is 39.7 feet, which occurred in December 1982. The new levee was built to help prevent massive flooding such as occurred here in 1982.

Yesterday the temperature here was 72 degrees. Since the public schools were on spring break, there were a lot of kids in the crowd that came to flood watch. Many of the younger kids were more excited about getting to walk in the middle of the road than they were about viewing the power of Mother Nature.

You can see a lot more photos of the flooding here.

Update: Monday morning, March 24, 2008

As quickly as the flood waters rose, they have receded. This morning Hwy 141 was open in both directions. Overnight MoDOT crews used their snow plows to push the mud off the road. Over the next few nights they will remove the concrete barriers and sandbags from along I 44.

The Meramec River crested a little lower than expected. The water never did reach I 44. And Valley Park's new $49 million levee held. The towns further west, though--Eureka and Pacific--experienced bad flooding.

Buddhist Wishing Tree

This Buddhist Wishing Tree was photographed at the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

The sign reads as follows:

“The Wishing Tree is a Buddhist tradition found in Asian countries. It is believed that if you put your wish on a piece of paper and tie it to the tree, the wind will blow the words into the air and your wish will come true.”

© 2007 by Mary Daniels Brown