Scenics Archives

August 19, 2011April 1, 2012

Central High School Marching Band

Wife Lila and I spotted some great clouds when we left dinner Thursday night. My car’s still at the transmission shop, so she’s driving a rental car. After shooting a dozen or so frames, I asked her to follow my cryptic directions to get to the new Central High School. When I passed it on I-55 the other night, I noticed the stadium lights were burning, so I thought maybe I could get a shot with them in the foreground and the neat sunset in the background.

When we got close enough to see the field, we noticed activity on the field – it was the Central High School Marching Band practicing for their September 2 opener. [Click on any photo to make it larger.]

You can’t beat a three-fer

I had been thinking all day that I should do something to commemorate the first day of school. Here was a chance to get the first day of school, the new football stadium and a weather shot all at one time. (I’m saving the earlier cloud shots for filler when I’m on my way back to Florida.)

Lining up to practice last routine

I got there just as the sun was setting and the band was getting set to practice their last routine. I’m pretty sure I recognized some of the kids from the Sikeston-CHS football game I shot last fall.

Band alums keep eye on practice

Former band members Billy Keys (seated) and Josh Lamar keep an eye on the green troops.

Band boosters like what they see

The woman in the front row, second from left, said she had three grandkids on the field.

Human lightning rod

When I first got to the stadium, there was an occasional flash of lightning in the clouds way off in the distance. It was far enough away that you couldn’t hear the thunder. Still, I was a bit uncomfortable as I was making my way across the metal bleachers. That’s when I spotted the human lightning rod at the very tip-top of the press box. I figured it would get him before it got me, and I felt a little better.

The lightning rod turned out to be veteran band director Neil Casey.

Casey’s in 29th year

Casey has been band director since 1983. This is his 29th and final year, he said. He followed Bill Ewing, Tony Carosello and William Shivelbine.

Megan Peters, color guard coordinator, said that her group had been practicing together since July.25. The band started August 1. They explained that the musicians received their music earlier, so they could start working on their pieces individually. Megan’s group has to be able to work together on their routines.

Marching Band Photo Gallery

Here’s a gallery of photos of band practice. Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left or right side to move through the gallery.

August 14, 2011September 22, 2011

On a Wing and a Prayer

Passengers walking out on the tarmac at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport had to pass this guy – the largest praying mantis I’ve ever encountered. There are a lot of unknowns: I don’t know if he was praying for the passenger walking by or he (she?) was planning on flying out later.

Filing a flight plan

I also don’t know if he (she?) was filing a flight plan with the tower or a Higher Authority.

Cool factoids about the Praying Mantis:

It has been called the perfect predator because of its ability to rotate its head 180 degrees, its eyesight and its quick reflexes.
Insects form the primary diet, but larger species have been known to prey on small scorpions, lizards, frogs, birds, snakes, fish, and even rodents; they will prey upon any species small enough to successfully capture and devour.
When flying at night, at least some mantises are able to detect the echolocation sounds produced by bats, and when the frequency begins to increase rapidly, indicating an approaching bat, they will stop flying horizontally and begin a descending spiral toward the safety of the ground, often preceded by an aerial loop or spin.
Depending on which study you read, the females will or will not bite the head off the male during or shortly after mating. A lot depends on whether or not she’s hungry and how quickly the male disappears. One report says, “this behavior seems not to deter males from reproduction.” Do we find THAT surprising?
Tens of thousands of egg cases are sold each year to organic gardeners who use the Mantis as a biological pest control.

Moonlight Ramble madness

Crazy Brother Mark convinced me to sign up for a 13-mile Moonlight Ramble bike ride in St. Louis Saturday night. I can handle the 13 miles. I rode a little over 20 this afternoon after almost two months out of the saddle to see if it’s true that you never forget how. The part of my body that sits needs some toughening up, I found.

The problem is that we’ll be heading out at about 1 in the morning to ride the 13 miles, along with about 10,000 other crazy people. I’m used to riding at night and I’m used to being up doing this blog at 2 in the morning. Putting riding and 2 a.m. and 10,000 in the same sentence is the unusual part. I see several naps in my future.

If you don’t see anything posted Sunday morning, that’s why.

UPDATE

Right after I wrote that Friday night, the Internet service provider at the location in Florida that hosts my blogs and email crashed, keeping me from posting this for you to read Saturday morning. That’s why you’re getting this on Sunday. Let’s see how the Moonlight Ramble goes. You might get an update from it, but don’t count on it until later.

Update to the Update

OK, I didn’t make it up to the Moonlight Ramble. My woes with ground transportation are almost as bad as my experiences in the air. Brother Mark is shooting some photos of the ride. I’ll fill you in when his pictures arrive. For now, though, here’s your Saturday morning story on Sunday morning. If you have to penalize me a letter grade for turning it in late, I guess you’ll have to do what you have to do.

August 12, 2011June 17, 2021

Free Entertainment in Cape

After dinner, Mother and I took a drive down to the river where we were treated to a panorama of a barge crossing under a beautiful moonrise. If the moon wasn’t full, it was close enough for me. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)

I’m getting ahead of the story.

But, the moonrise photo is putting the cart before the horse. That was the last thing I shot. Let’s take things in order.

I walked almost to the north end of the new river walk, then started back to the Broadway gate opening. The standard contingent of strollers, folks with folding lawn chairs, and just plain sitter-downers were gathering to enjoy the gentle breeze and welcome cool temperature.

My eye was drawn to a gentleman in a gray shirt who was teaching the Duncan kids how to skip rocks. He preferred to remain anonymous, so we’ll call him Sir Skipper.

Gerry and Cassie Duncan of Kennett, and their three kids, Whitnee (11), Tanner (7) and Caleb (4) were on their way from Kennett to St. Louis for a Cardinals baseball game. They are fans of Broussards, so they stopped for a bite to eat, then decided to wander down to the river to let the kids burn off some energy.

Search for the ultimate skipping rock

Sir Skipper explained to the children the the first step is to find “the ultimate skipping rock.” They followed him up and down the riverbank like he was the Pied Piper, rushing up time and time again, rock in hand to ask, “Is this it?”

Caleb and Tanner work on style points

Before long, every male who passed by offered his own special skipping advice. (It must be a guy thing.) For the first half dozen or so throws, Caleb and Tanner were bigger on style than results.

“You throw like a girl”

When I chided Whitnee for using an overhand throwing motion instead of a sideways flip – “You’re throwing like a girl” – she immediately countered with, “It’s because I AM a girl.” It didn’t take long for her to master the wrist flick that would send the rocks skipping.

Mom Cassie kept marveling, “This is free. It doesn’t take batteries. It’s not electronic…”

“MOM, I skipped one”

Caleb, at four, took a while to get the hang of skipping. When he DID start skipping as much as splashing, he expected to get noticed.” MOM!!!! (dragged out to three syllables), I skipped one!”

“Do you remember….?”

The kids took off a few minutes to watch a train go by, then to try to get a towboat to blow its whistle, but couldn’t get the boat’s attention. Dad was getting antsy to get on the road, but every entreaty to pack it in was met with “Just one more…..”

I told Cassie that 30 years from now the kids may not remember the baseball game, but I bet at least one of them will start a conversation with “do you remember that guy who taught us how to skip rocks?”

And that, Dear Reader, gets us back up the first photo where you came in.

August 8, 2011September 18, 2011

Hiram M. Crittenden Locks

The Hiram M. Crittenden Locks in Seattle can raise a 760 by 80-foot-wide vessel 26 feet from the level of Puget Sound to the level of Salmon Bay in 10 to 15 minutes. There are two parallel locks, one for large vessels and the other for smaller craft.

We showed the adjacent Carl S. English Jr. Botanical Garden yesterday.

Pedestrians can cross locks

There is considerable pedestrian traffic crossing the locks. Cyclists have to walk their bikes, but I counted a dozen or more using the gardens and park as a shortcut.

Locks form permeable barrier

The locks form a permeable barrier between Lake Washington’s freshwater ecosystem and the potentially damaging saltwater of Puget Sound. They are designed to allow the passage of vessels while minimizing saltwater intrusion, something we Florida folks understand too well.

Second Renaissance Revival Style

When engineer Hiram M. Crittenden arrived in Seattle in 1906, he saw a shallow canal used for floating logs from Lake Washington to Puget Sound. His notebooks show that he envisioned a set of locks big enough to accommodate The Lusitania, the largest ship of her day.

What had begun a shallow log flume became an 8-mile-long canal, 100 feet wide and 30 feet deep, a park brochure says.

The construction of the locks began in 1911. Crittenden retired in ill health before his project was officially dedicated on July 4, 1917.

The administration building was designed in the Second Renaissance Revival Style in 1914. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fish ladder constructed in 1916

As salmon move upstream from saltwater to the fresh water to spawn, they have to pass the locks and dam. In 1916, the Corps of Engineers constructed a fish ladder consisting of 10 steps.

I’ve seen and been through enough locks that they didn’t interest me that much. The fish ladder, though, plowed new ground.

Ladder replaced in 1976

The original fish ladder was replaced with a 21-step ladder and underwater viewing gallery in 1976. Program director Jay Wells had his audience’s rapt attention until someone noticed some Sockeye salmon heading up the ladder behind him.

Those babies are HUGE

The Sockeye was impressive enough to this 3-Mile Creek fisherman, but then a King came into the chamber.

That’s the kind of fish they were tossing around in the photos of the Pike Place Fish Market. We’re talking about something the size of a respectable log with fins.

Some of the fish were netted and tagged as they passed through the facility.