Ferguson: Northern Lights Christmas

Northern Lights Christmas Market, Ferguson, Missouri. November 2017.

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, Ferguson holds its Northern Lights Christmas Market and Parade. This is also when one can buy tickets to the Ferguson Christmas Home Tour.

Northern Lights Christmas Parade, Ferguson, Missouri. November 2017.

After a nature-infused weekend with family members in the Ozarks Scenic Riverways here and here, I hied home early Sunday so I could grab tickets for me and my mom for the Christmas Home Tour and also to see the parade that night!

Northern Lights Christmas Parade, Ferguson, Missouri. November 2017.

Northern Lights Christmas Parade, Ferguson, Missouri. November 2017.

Northern Lights Christmas Parade, Ferguson, Missouri. November 2017.

One of several videos here, a children's dance troupe:

And, as always, I swoon over drums:

But I was besotted with this crazy-creative moving train table, operated at the Christmas Market by one of Santa's helpers!

Missouri: Ozark Scenic Riverways, Part 2: Alley Mill

Alley Mill, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

November 2017


Thanksgiving weekend I spent with two brothers, a niece, and my mom in the Ozark Scenic Riverways area. We slept at Echo Bluffs State Park, three of us at the lodge, and two of us in the same real estate as the wild horses.

On Saturday, we visited Alley Mill, one of the National Park Service's sites in the Ozark Scenic Riverways. Alley Mill and Spring is a gorgeous rural space with its eye-catching red mill, the spirit-quenching spring water, gracefully-branched trees, and inviting lawn.

Alley Mill, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

Alley Mill is picturesque, pleading for promiscuous picture taking (purple prose?), and we arrived at the golden hour for photography. Given the two, golden results should be practically guaranteed.

Alley Mill, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

There was even a group of traditional Mennonite girls and women who brought some old-timey realia into the frame! Divine providence!

Eh. I just couldn't get a magical shot of that mill despite all of its visual come-hitheriness. 

But the spring channeled Van Gogh.

Alley Mill, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

Alley Mill, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

Two pigeons, perhaps overwrought from holiday stresses, squabbled. A video below:

Here is a slide show of our visit to Ozark Scenic Riverways. 

A side note

We lunched at a diner in Eminence, a nearby town. A tall person hung the mirror in the ladies' room.

Ladies' room in an Eminence diner, Ozark Scenic Riverways, Missouri. November 2017.

Missouri: Ozark Scenic Riverways, Part 1: Echo Bluffs State Park

Wild horse, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

November 2017


I spent Thanksgiving weekend at Echo Bluffs State Park with my mother, two brothers, and a niece. My mom, a brother, and I stayed in the lodge; my other brother and his daughter camped in their camper truck.

Echo Bluffs State Park is a newly-minted state park that used to be a private youth camp, and there are many, many adults with fond memories of times spent at that camp.

The park is adjacent to Ozark Scenic Riverways, administered by the National Park Service.

There is a herd of wild horses at Echo Bluffs. The horses wander through the campsites at will. They poop there, too. Under normal circumstances, this might be an annoyance, but it's wild horse poop, so it has some panache.

Wild horse poop, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

On my way to meet the family members, I drove by a dead snake. I, of course, turned around to take its picture.  I like snakes, and this was an especially pretty one. Given that it was November, I'm guessing it had sidled up to the road for warmth from the sun.

Dead snake, Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

Behind the lodge and cabins is Sinking Creek, which flows at the feet of Echo Bluff.

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

I saw a fossiliferous rock. 

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

A pretty sunset.

Echo Bluffs State Park, Missouri. November 2017.

Between you and me, I don't feel quite the same level of love that many express for Echo Bluffs, but I'm obviously not a reliable judge of fantastic-ness, given my ambivalence about Istanbul, which regularly hits top 10 lists of must-visits.  And it's possible that a quick trip in November doesn't show the park at its best.

So I encourage you to read this enthusiastic, well-written article about Echo Bluffs State Park. The author shares plenty of good pics, as well.

The Ozark Scenic Riverways area is beautiful, indeed. My camping brother, who's been to the area numerous times, directed our family quintet to his favorite spots.

One was Alley Spring and Mill, which is coming up in Part 2.

Ferguson: First Day of May

First day in May, Ferguson, Missouri. May 2018.

On the first day of May, I took a walk in Ferguson.

First day in May, Ferguson, Missouri. May 2018.

It seems spring has finally arrived.

First day in May, Ferguson, Missouri. May 2018.

First day in May, Ferguson, Missouri. May 2018.

A cumulative slide show of Ferguson below:

First day in May, Ferguson, Missouri. May 2018.

I think I hear angels singing.

St. Louis: Duke 'n Jazz

Duke Ellington at Hurricane Club in 1943. Source: Wikipedia.

Duke Ellington's birthday is (was) April 29.

Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

In honor of same, The Focal Point and pianist Christopher Parrish pulled together seven local, exemplary musicians to celebrate Mr. Ellington's gifts.

Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

The Focal Point is an important community space. It calls itself a "listening room." The Focal Point is small, but hosts roots and regional music that includes string bands, bluegrass, folk, Irish, tango, some swing, and I'm not sure what else.

Dawn Weber, Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

With eight musicians on the stage - plus a grand piano! - it was a crowd up there!

Kendrick Smith and Eric Slaughter, Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

The octet was formed just for this performance - they had never performed together before. So the group operated in the spirit of an after-hours jam session - one of the criteria Christopher Parrish used to select the one-night only band members was their familiarity with Duke Ellington's music.

David Gomez and Kendrick Smith, Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

I learned a new musical term during the concert - the "head," which is the melody. After one song, Christopher Parrish explained that he'd wanted to signal the drummer for his solo, but the signal got missed before the musicians "returned to the head" - returned to the melody.

Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

Later in the concert, I saw Christopher Parrish touch his head while looking at the band, after all had done a solo, and with my new knowledge, I took this to mean: "Return to the melody now." I felt right smart.

Take a listen to the 15-minute set in the video below, in which you can relish how each musician gets to do their solo thing and how all eight work together:

Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

The vibe of the group reminded me of my trip to D.C. in 2016, when my friend and I kicked back at Twins Jazz.  That video of the Michael Thomas Quintet below:

Dawn Weber, Kendrick Smith and Eric Slaughter, Christopher Parrish Octet, The Focal Point, Maplewood, Missouri. April 2018.

Creative Life: Jewelry

My newly-born earrings. Columbia, Missouri. April 2018.

The stars and planets aligned recently in Columbia, Missouri, with the announcement of a jewelry-making class.

• I would be in Columbia on this particular weekend.
• I had some earrings in need of repair.
• Although I'm not a pink sort a gal, I've been having an envie for pink earrings.

So it was that, following a morning hike at Three Creeks Conservation Area, a lackluster lunch, and a grand spillage of liquid onto my hiking pants (Note: Do not put a carbonated drink into a thermos and expect to open said thermos without theatrical consequences), I walked into the Heart, Body, and Soul Center for a jewelry-making class by Ms. Addie.

I'd brought my broken earrings with me. To create new earrings, I selected two pink stones and two tiny, gentle-green pebbles. I only spilled the contents of one container onto the floor.

Ms. Addie showed me how to make little wire curl-ettes at the bottom of the pink stones, to keep the stones from slipping off the wire. She pointed out how each of three tools at my little station - all of which looked like generic pliers to me - served different functions: cutting, turning, and moving.

She showed me other smooth moves, too, but like dance steps, I haven't retained them. So I will likely, as she suggested, seek tutorials on youtube.

Jewelry tools (pliers). Source: Vickie O'Dell.

The above photo shows five kinds of pliers. Above my pay grade, but you can learn more about jewelry-making implements here.

Ms. Addie especially likes making jewelry out of found items. Hearing her story of re-purposing pearls she'd inherited from her grandmother inspired me to make something new from my own grandmother's heirlooms. Some day.

St. Louis: Symphony Chaco

Symphony Chaco, UMSL, St. Louis, Missouri. April 2018.

The University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) hosted the premiere of an original symphony: Symphony Chaco, composed by Gary Gackstatter.

Symphony Chaco, UMSL, St. Louis, Missouri. April 2018.

One hundred choir members (led by Jim Henry) + 100 orchestra members + Native flutist, R. Carlos Nakai + iconic road-trip memoirist, William Least Heat Moon +  writer,  Debora Taffa.

Symphony Chaco, UMSL, St. Louis, Missouri. April 2018.

When you've got 200 living creatures doing something together, in sync, then you've got power in the air.

In addition to instruments, singing voices, and narrative voices, a slide show in a giant overhead screen opened a virtual window onto Chaco Canyon and, at times, animated paint images, which  synchronized with the auditory performance.

The symphony fit well into my limited attention span for such things, which was an added bonus to my experience of it. It lasted about an hour. 

I've been very close several times to going to Chaco Canyon, but it's not worked out so far. Maybe in the future. When I think of Chaco Canyon, I think of a place not far from there, Bisti Wilderness. Which I visited once, but hanker to again, and stay awhile.

Bisti Wilderness, Navajo Nation, New Mexico. May 2013.

The symphony began with Creation and ended with the leaving of Chaco Canyon by its inhabitants, climaxed by the shattering of pottery:

"Breaking pottery is an act of purification and offering, a prayer of release to the afterlife." 

Program note from Symphony Chaco: A Journey of the Spirit

This took me back to two final days in my rooted home: 

Just Stuff. I got a little teary-eyed re-reading this just now.

Mazel Tov! A reader took me to task for what I did. I have no spiritual regret for my action. It felt fitting. I do confess to a bit of a cringe at the materialistic loss.

With last night's Symphony Chaco, it seems I was just carrying on an ancient tradition.           

Missouri: Some Gospel Music on a Sunday Evening

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Dan Fankhauser.

Although I'm not a Christian, I do love gospel music.

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Brian Smith.

A Jefferson City church hosted the Mid-Missouri Christian Choir last night.

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Julie Rollins.

This choir is good.

Like Proud Mary, the song above starts off nice and easy and then it gets to rolling, rolling.

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Jeannie Sneller. 

I think of some other gospel music concerts I've had the good luck to attend:

• El Paso: Gospel Explosion
• Antigua: Praise the Lord and Pass the Chocolate Kiss
• Opelousas: A Holy Ghost Party
• Toronto: Toronto Mass Choir
• Tbilisi: University Choir

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Tracy Tackett.

 

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Brian Smith.

Mid-Missouri Christian Choir, Jefferson City, Missouri. April 2018. Dan Fankhauser.

Missouri: Three Creeks Hike

Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

I joined a hike at Three Creeks Conservation Area hike, hosted by the Sierra Club.


As winter continues to hang on, the morning began overcast and chilly. Begrudgingly, it did lighten and warm some as the day grew.

Nevertheless, petite wildflowers made a showing. Two adept identifiers, the hike guide and one of the hikers, named spring beauties, wake robin (trillium), sweet william, wild plum (tree), pussytoes, toothwort, lousewort, Dutchmen's breeches, bluebells, false rue anemone, [true] rue anemone, yellow violet, common violet, large bellwort, and a couple I'm forgetting.

Wake robin (trillium). Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

We saw the foliage for future blooming may apples, wild ginger, wild geranium, and colombine.

Paw prints. Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

It wasn't just wildflowers. I added two carcasses to my carcass collection: 

Dead frog. Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

A video:

And a fossil. 

Crinoid parts. Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

And a prosaic hiking sight, poop. (I so love how such a pretty, poetic word as prosaic describes something ordinary.)

Poop. Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.

 A fruitful walk.


Below, a slide show:

Three Creeks Conservation Area, Missouri. April 2018.