We had some warm days….and then some cold days. At the end of the month, I am hoping that my red buckeye is not permanently damaged; its leaves were beginning to enlarge when a hard frost came. It was an interesting month for travel (to Texas and a day trip to the George Washington Carver National Monument…and the yard was beginning to show signs of spring (bulbs and the boxwood bloomed). I enjoyed all my forays outdoors.
Last week my husband and I made our first visit to George Washington Carver National Monument. It is south of Carthage, MO and a bit over an hour from our house near Springfield….a good choice for a day trip.
It was a sunny and cool spring day. I took a few pictures of plants in my yard while I was waiting for my husband to be ready to go. The dandelions are blooming and there was one seed puff already! My Missouri Evening Primrose is coming up from last year’s roots and the maple is already forming seeds.
On the way, I noticed that the redbuds along I-44 were beginning to bloom. The flowers were probably not fully open, but there was enough color to identify the trees as we drove. The redbuds at our house were not quite so far along.
I enjoyed the walk through the woods at the monument. There were some wildflowers – and clumps of daffodils (not wild, obviously) in the woods. A few insects were out as well so the flowers will be pollinated!
There is a statue of a young George Carver in an area of stream/forest. He was born to a slave family on the farm…almost died when he was young (illness and kidnapping)…managed to survive and was able to become educated…he became head of the Tuskegee Agriculture Department in 1896; he taught there until his death in 1943. He is buried at Tuskegee University.
The woods were greening with the wildflowers, but the trees were mostly dormant. Some of them were probably ashes and would not be leafing out again. It is a common occurrence in Missouri right now; the emerald ash borer that killed the ashes in Maryland before we moved to Missouri is now killing the ash trees in Missouri. There is water in many places along the Carver Trail (loop) – Williams Pond/Branch and Carver Branch.
There were lots of birds, but I only managed to photograph a Dark-eyed Junco. We heard several woodpeckers.
We were at the monument on a Saturday, and I was pleased that there were other people that were there – many with children. The place is closer to Joplin so I assume the ‘regulars’ are mostly from Carthage or Joplin. It is a good place to visit in the spring….and maybe even better in the fall. In the summer, it would be very humid.
We opted to drive to Carthage for lunch at Iggy’s Diner. I am trying to find places other than fast food that my husband likes…and the diner seemed to be a hit with him. The quality of food is better than a fast food chain!
So much to do before it’s warm enough to plant into the new native plant garden in my front yard – that’s the April project. Now I am working on existing plantings. The Missouri evening primrose has come up in the small bed near the mailbox. There is a stone crop there too. I trimmed off the seed heads from last season so that the green at the base will show sooner. I try to leave the small twigs and leaves in the bed…reducing any bare soil that might wash away during the spring rains.
I need to trim the boxwood, but I’ll wait a bit on that. The electric hedge trimmer will make fast work of that job. I got a little sidetracked while I was looking at it when I realized it was blooming…and had a lot of new leaves; it was a good opportunity for some macro photography.
In the back yard – the iris bed where we cut down a pine several years ago was full of stalks from goldenrods. I cleared them away and realized that some of the leaves are rounded instead of pointy like the irises; those are naked lady lilies and there are more of them than last year. The bed is not formal, and I am letting it develop with the idea that the America beautyberry will eventually be the tall plant.
The fragrant sumac that I planted the first fall that we owned the house is blooming! I noticed that there is Japanese honeysuckle (an invasive) in the bed. I have spent several mornings working on it and am at the stage of digging out some of the hubs of the vines. I’ll work to keep the plant in check (or eliminated) this summer.
In the area where the small red buckeye is unfolding its leaves, the debris from last season’s violets and leaves provides good mulch that does not overwhelm the small plant. As it gets larger, I’ll decide if I’ll just leave it with that groundcover or put wood chips around it. There will never be a lawn mower near it….but no bare soil either! way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
The dry days of March are great for working off my ‘to do’ list for the back yard. It does not include doing anything with leaves. I’m pleased that the wind has blown the leaves into two corners of the backyard where they can stay! I will leave them alone and allow whatever insect cocoons are there to empty. Most of the leaves are oak. My goal is start mowing parts of the backyard in May…but I will be mowing less this year than last because of the way the yard is developing.
The Fragrant Sumac I planted a few years ago now has shoots in the yard and is taking more space in the flowerbed as well. The ‘to do’ in that bed is to pull/cut Japanese honeysuckle frequently.
Getting the forsythia and Japanese barberry cut down are high on the ‘to do’ list. The pruning chainsaw will make it a bit easier.
I’ll buy 1 or 2 more paw paws to plant near the one I bought last year since I don’t think the seeds I have in pots are going to sprout.
The more significant list is for the front yard where I will be planting into the large mulch bed I created last fall. I have done one round cutting back the existing crape myrtles that had gotten too tall (I enjoy photographing their empty seed pods). There is some clean up there but the big ‘to do’ before the planting in April is to take dead cedars out of the corner flower bed and clear more rock from around the hens/chicks so that the plant can continue to expand. Trimming the boxwood is not high on the list but I might do the top to keep it from getting too high to reach comfortably.
There is plenty to keep me busy in March….on the dry days!
At the end of January, it seemed like my community level activities about plastics had started out at a bit faster than I anticipated….and I wondered if it would continue. February was a month of preparation for things that would happen in April and beyond; I didn’t anticipate that there would be plastic-related legislation to begin tracking too!
There currently are two plastic-related bills filed in the Missouri House. Neither is on the House calendar but they both had ‘read second time’ action in February:
HB 3193 - Phases out the use of single-use plastic products at Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites
HB 3357 - Prohibits the sale of intravenous solution containers and intravenous tubing products intentionally made with DEHP
I will be following both; it will be my first experience with tracking something through the Missouri legislative process. Beyond Plastics Ozarks will have to decide how we want to include information about these in upcoming outreach activities.
Beyond Plastics Ozarks’ first tabling - outreach event will be in April – associated with an Earth Day music festival. I’ve requested copies of information sheets from Show-me Less Plastic and have ideas for additional handouts that are more locally focused. We’ll probably make a sign to advertise our ‘bring your own bag (BYOB)’ initiative that we’ll start at local farmer’s markets. I’m collecting rocks to keep handout pages secure on the table even if it is breezy.
I’ve been asked to do a presentation at the state conference for Master Gardeners on microplastics in June. I’ve gathered some presentation materials from others and will facilitate a brainstorming session that will develop some gardener specific ideas on reducing microplastics.
Having a plastics movie showing and lining up tabling at farmer’s markets is still on the Beyond Plastics Ozarks ‘to do’ list. It looks like the first 6 months of 2026 are going to be busy!
I celebrated getting outdoors in February and a flurry of education related activities!
Melting snow. We had snow on the ground for the last week of January and into February. We all celebrated when it finally melted although it was pretty as long as one didn’t have to get out and about.
Cranberry orange relish. I used my last frozen cranberries to make cranberry orange relish – savored the flavor….and will miss it until the cranberries are in the stores again in the fall.
Ozark Witch Hazel blooming. My small Ozark Witch Hazel I planted last spring is blooming. It retained its leaves so the blooms were a little difficult to see.
Missouri fish and amphibian webinars. There were two webinars that were a pleasant surprise in February – they were very well done.
Salmon salad. I celebrated the flavors of salmon, pear, and cabbage with a lemon honey olive oil dressing – with a feisty lime blend of seasonings.
Training for master naturalists. I celebrated that the training plan for the new cohort of Missouri Master Naturalists in our area seems to be coming together. It looked daunting at first.
Macro and high key flower photography. I celebrated a winter photography project – a purchased bouquet on the windowsill in my office.
Ecoregion maps of Missouri. Looking at maps from an out-of-print Atlas was interesting and I celebrated how great they will fit into a presentation for the master naturalist training next fall – the module I will be presenting.
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. I celebrated the longest hike of the month – interesting place for birds and habitats…and also thinking about history and the way it looked during the Civil War.
Plastics and human health webinar. I heard a webinar on the same topic with the same speaker from a year ago – and realized that this topic is progressing rapidly. I celebrated that she’ll likely continue to present webinars and include new information.
The images from this month were all close to home: my yard, my neighborhood, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, and Lake Springfield Greater Ozarks Audubon Trail. There was a mix of snow and winter images….the beginnings of spring. There would have been more places if the big snow had not cancelled two hikes that had originally been planned for February! Enjoy the zoomed images of my times outdoors during this month!
The zoomed imaging from this month were taking in my daughter’s yard in Springfield MO, my yard in Nixa MO, Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield MO, the Lake Springfield Boathouse and the Texas Welcome Center on US 75. It was not a big photography month. I expect February will have more if the weather does not cause cancellations of winter hikes I have planned.
My husband and I enjoy our time watching birds at our home feeders for 4 30-minute segments each week as part of Project FeederWatch. Something interesting always seems to happen – varying numbers and kinds of birds, relaxed feeding and then a round of bird frenzy, the regulars and then silent/empty feeders (our theory when this happens is that our neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk is somewhere nearby). Our feeders are not situated for optimal photography…but I still take a few pictures.
We often develop profiles of the different birds; for example, the Carolina chickadee and Titmouse are the quick grab and go experts….the starlings come in mobs and bully everyone else!
The tree service finally came to trim my daughter’s oak and to handle a larger branch that fell from her Amur Maple…and they left a substantial pile of (mostly) oak mulch as we requested.
I have big plans for that mulch as part of my plan for transform my front yard with a native plant garden. I had used mulch from a maple there that had to be removed last summer to create three areas in my front yard and with the additional mulch I could make a much more substantial area for planting next spring.
We loaded bins and moved the pile one carload at a time. Even after the first 4 loads the new bed was looking bigger.
After the first big day, I only managed 2 carloads per day. It took 5 days in all (a total of 12 carloads…about 1.5-2 hours per load depending on traffic). On the last day, I was celebrating that my daughter’s driveway was back to normal….even though I still needed to spread the mulch and define the finally shape for the new bed!
I can hardly wait for the native plant sales to begin next spring. I’m going to review my plant list until then to be ready to shop and then plant my new garden in the oak mulch.
We started our second season recording observations of birds at our home feeders with Project FeederWatch. Our set up is the same as last year. We have two old rocker recliners in our basement that have a clear view of our feeders on the other side of the patio from our window that is under the deck.
The Project FeederWatch season started on November 1 and there was still a lot of greenery. I cut back the Japanese Barberry (really want to take it out completely) but otherwise there is more vegetation than last year with the cedars, holly, and violets growing over the past year. The feeder nestled in the holly and cedars is a bit harder to reach. There is a brush pile in another part of the patio (in the lower left of the picture) that is my holding area for twigs I will burn in the chimenea eventually. The birds like that area too.
New this year is clump of vegetation at the edge of the patio between the two feeders: Pokeweed that seems to come up everywhere in our yard and grasses that had sprouted from birdseed from the feeders above. In general, the birds seem to like the extra vegetation and they eat the seeds from both plants occasionally.
The window and the low light make photography more for id than art. Even at the being of the season we had dark-eyed junco (a winter bird for us), downy woodpeckers, and northern cardinals, tufted titmice, and at least 3 kinds of sparrows…to name few.
Of course we have squirrels that come through too. They sit on the deck railing and gaze longingly at the feeders – which have proved to be mostly squirrel-proof!
Lots of changes in our Missouri yard. The Missouri Evening Primrose is blooming – seemingly liking the cooler temperatures (and the rain). It has not produced any seed; maybe there aren’t any pollinators finding it.
A very white mushroom came up in a part of the yard that hadn’t had mushrooms previously. Its surface looked a little like a roasted marshmallow.
The pollinators are waning with the flowers…and seeds are dominant as the growing season draws to a close.
Some leaves are still green…some turning very red. The Virginia creeper near our front steps is still green.
There are small branches from the oak on the ground (squirrels?) and what might be an oak seedling has colorful leaves.
The chives seeds are black and ready to topple from the husks; the goldenrod seeds are not yet mature.
The beautyberry has one small cluster of berries, and the poke weed berries are maturing (some have already been eaten by birds). The poke weed stems are magenta until the first hard freeze.
I am thrilled that my fragrant sumac has at least one part that has rooted outside the flowerbed…taking over a part of the yard. The rose bushes are blooming – a last hurrah before winter.
As I finished my walk around the yard, I noticed a lone dandelion puff….more plants with deeper roots to hold the soil next year!
Seventeen pictures for October. They are mostly from Missouri and some left from September in the Chicago area.
I’m saving the fall foliage pictures until November; I suspect that the fall will be subdued because it has been so dry since mid-summer but I am on the lookout for opportunities to photograph the occasional spectacular tree!
Looking back at previous Octobers…
In 2024, I was enjoying Missouri Master Naturalist Core Training and an Identifying Woody Plants field class at Missouri State University.
In 2023, I made my first visits to the Shaw Nature Preserve and Butterfly House near St. Louis; there was a Chihuly glass exhibit in the Missouri Botanical Garden. My parents were still in their home, and I was enjoying birds in nearby Josey Ranch park.
In 2022, I travelled to London, Ontario with my daughter…passing through Detroit on the way. It was our first fall in Missouri.
In 2021, we made our last visit to Longwood Gardens from our home in Maryland and I photographed a lot of waterlilies. At the time, we didn’t realize it would be our last fall in Maryland.
In 2020, we were still doing most things virtually. Most of the pictures taken at home…a lot of birds at the feeders on our deck and colorful leaves. There was one trip to Conowingo Dam but the only picture in the post is of a stern looking Great Blue Heron.
The mornings are cool…a sign of fall. I headed out for a short walk around the neighborhood pond. There is always something to photograph.
There are two good sized willows at opposite ends of the pond. I photographed the one that seem healthier…no dead branches; its branches move gracefully in dapples of sunlight.
Some of the native plants added last spring near one of the bridges have survived. They will probably do even better next year. There was a skipper sitting on one that seemed to be holding still just for me!
In the water, a few of the pickerel weeds are thriving. There were quite a few that didn’t. Hopefully the plants growing now will propagate…begin to take some of the extra nutrients out of the water. There is a lot of algae in the water this fall.
The maples are beginning to show fall color. We’ve not had much rain the past few months so it might not be as brilliant this year although these maples are near the pond so perhaps they got enough water.
I only saw one turtle, and it was gone before I could get closer. There was a lot of mud on that side of the pond and I wondered if it was from the weed eating too close to the edge.
A river birch has leaves dipping into the water.
The stump from a tree one of neighbors cut down before we moved to area has almost completely decayed. There is some fungus still working on the last of it…and another of the same kind in the nearby grass that might have been working on a root from the old tree.
When I got back to my driveway I noticed a mushroom near the streetlight in a corner of my front yard. It may be that mulching of grass as I mow has increased the plant debris in the soil enough to support more kinds of mushroom – I hope that is what’s happening!
Before the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable began in Jefferson City, I toured the state capitol. I signed up in advance for a guided tour and arrived early enough to walk around the museum area.
I took pictures of the outside of the building. It was completed in 1917 after the previous building burned. There is a large statue of Thomas Jefferson…and large columns.
I didn’t take many pictures of the museum part of the building although I did like the stone/mosaic of the ladies room…and the fossils in the walls.
The tour guide was informative and kept our group moving. I enjoyed the tour more than I would have walking around on my own and there were some areas that are not accessible except on the tour. We saw lots of murals,
Architectural details (including what the walls that are now painted white looked like originally).
And skylights.
I liked that bust of Sacajawea. There were others too…but that was the one area I felt rushed.
I liked that bust of Sacajawea. There were others too…but that was the one area I felt rushed.
After the tour, I went down to the basement cafeteria and enjoyed a piece of cheesecake…and purchased a salad to eat for lunch a few hours later.
As I walked away from the capitol, I noticed the mature sweet gum and bald cypress trees on the grounds.
Before I left Jefferson City to drive home, I visited Serenity Point at Noren Access.
It’s a place where the Capitol building can be seen from across the Missouri River. It was a good last vista before getting on the highway.
My second stop on my way to the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable was at the Runge Conservation Nature Center in Jefferson City. They had a great display of fall squashes near their entrance!
I chose to hike first…before I went into the building. I noticed a fall dogwood, milkweed pods with milkweed bugs, the path lined with trees (many redcedars), a stump with well-defined rings, and a honey locust (big thorns all along the trunk).
Best of all were two turkeys that crossed the path and didn’t run away as I got closer. They must be accustomed to people being around.
Inside the building there was a display of painted rocks that I enjoyed.
Several quilts were hanging and one featured butterflies and moths. I chose the depiction of the Luna Moth to include in this post.
I bought a puzzle for my dad and a Missouri wildflower book for myself from the gift shop.
I headed to the hotel and enjoyed a quite evening getting prepared for the conference.
The sunset from the hotel window was a good view for the end of the day.
I made a second visit to Ha Ha Tonka State Park last week – on my way from the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable and took a short hike to the Castle Ruins. The ruins are on the bluff above the spring area, so I had views of the spring area where I had hiked a few days before.
I got to the park early enough that there was a parking space in the small lot between the water tower and castle ruins…beside the carriage house ruins. The castle ruins were visible over the treetops from the parking lot.
I took a few pictures of the carriage house ruins and continued as I made my way up the hill: fall wildflowers, a part of Lake of the Ozarks, the spring area below (and the paved path I had been on a few days before).
It was early enough that the light was good for viewing the ruins. Some of the stone walls were still black from the fire that destroyed the house in the 1940s. The fire must have been hot. I wondered if there was not enough water high on the bluff to deter it all…that the fire simply burned until there was nothing left to burn. The ruins are fenced…and there are signs saying the ruins are unstable.
There was a family group with a photographer taking pictures with the ruins in the background – perhaps as part of the buildup to a wedding.
I took a few more pictures as I walked back to my car – more foliage and another view of the lake. There were some twisted eastern redcedars on the steep slope of the bluff.
This park is only about 1.5 hours from where I live…a great day-trip destination.
I made my first visit to Ha Ha Tonka State Park last week – on my way to and from the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable. Today I am posting about my short Spring Trail hike on my way to Jefferson City.
I stopped at the visitor center first…noting the milkweed seed spilling out of a pod in the native plant garden there…and picking up a printed map.
The day was getting warm, so I opted to take the easy Spring Trail. It was a paved or boardwalk for most of the way…with one narrow passage through some rocks!
I appreciated the vistas along the way….water reflecting rock and vegetation.
There were fall wildflowers and seeds
And leaves beginning to fall.
There was an island where the old mill had been. I didn’t hike it…but did note the millstone.
I enjoyed the walk….and made my plan to stop again on my way home….and probably plan a trip with my husband/daughter when I would do more extensive hiking.
Lots of locations for the September zooming pictures: Josey Ranch Park in Carrollton TX, scenes from Chicago, Illinois interstate, home, and the Butterfly House in the Springfield (MO) Botanical Garden.
There are the usual flowers…butterflies, birds, cats…and a Chicago skyline.
Enjoy the September 2025 slide show!
My husband and I signed up for an Urban Birding Festival in Chicago earlier this month. I’ll be doing a series of posts about it over the next week. This post is about our drive to and from the city; as usual my husband did all the driving.
We made frequent rest stops along the way. At our first one I realized that the route from Springfield MO to Chicago via Route 66 was depicted on floor! The Interstate route of today is likely a bit straighter that the old route…and the speed we traveled was probably higher too.
I took pictures as we drove – road cuts in Missouri, the arch in St. Louis just before we crossed the Mississippi River, and sunflowers in Illinois.
At the end of our trip, I took a few pictures as we left the city…and of sunflowers along the roadside. I like that Illinois encourages sunflowers in the medians by only mowing the edges (and not mowing too frequently even at the edge). The farmland appeared to be mostly planted in soybeans and corn.
At the last rest stop in Illinois, I recognized a hackberry – it was full of galls produced by insects as most hackberries are.
And then I photographed the arch and bridges as we crossed the Mississippi River into St. Louis.
There was a little fall color in the forests west of St. Louis…and the bluffs always make for added interest.
We got home easily; our three cats were a great welcoming committee.
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Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from last month:
Copyright © 2026 Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
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