Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies!

It's always a great day when you get to enjoy good company, a cupcake at The Cup, and visit the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in St. Louis.  It had been a while since I'd been out there, so I asked my friend, Barb and her son, if they'd like to join me.  These amazing little creatures always make me smile!  And if it wasn't so darn hot in those houses...I'd stay all day.  :o)

 



A Walk in the Park

There's a park practically in my backyard that I didn't even know about until a friend of mine mentioned she'd been there called Lone Elk Park.  There are a couple of trails in the park, but what makes it special are the Elk and Bison that live there.  Our first trip, we walked a part of the one trail.  We went near sunset the second time and saw some deer near the lake.  Had hoped the elk would be down near the water...not this evening.  It'll be beautiful this fall with the lake against the changing leaves.  A great place to go practice my mountain hiking, get ready for our next trip!

 

The whole family

 

 

Awww...a baby! 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring in Shaw Nature Reserve

We've had a few nice days amidst the rain around here.  John and I love to get out and walk some of the local parks.  Shaw Nature Reserve is a great place to go with walking trails through woods and meadows.  This time of year the fields were full of daffodils.

This first picture was my first attempt at photo stacking.  It's a composite of six photos taken with different focal points then merged to produce a clear picture through most of the finished photo.  There was a slight bit of wind movement so it's not perfect!

A Little Bit of French

So, how hard can it be to adapt to city life when you live right around the corner from this?  We moved into our corporate apartment three days ago and have spent a little time exploring the area.  It was a beautiful evening for dinner outdoors and we decided on BRASSERIE by niche on Laclede Avenue, St. Louis...French cuisine.  John ordered the special, chicken wings on rice pilaf and I, finally, decided on the boeuf bourguignon which literally melts in your mouth.  The beef was in a rich sauce combined with bacon, pearl onions, all on top of creamy potatoes.  The service was spot on.  We will definitely be back.

 

We agreed on the chocolate mousse...so good! 

 

 

 

Spring

This spring has been unusually warm this year.  I haven't been able to get out to photograph as much as I'd like, but I was able to get out a few times and capture some of God's handiwork.  The trees have all been in full bloom making gorgeous photos to work with.