Ten Little Celebrations – September 2026

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September always seems to be a busy month – but this year seems busier than most with the overlay of the Missouri Master Naturalist core training that I am facilitating. There has been a lot to celebrate within the increased level of activity!

Wild Ozarks video – again. Before the core training started, I watched the video again since we were asking the students to view it. I celebrated it all over again!

Core training started. I celebrated when we finally got the roster finalized and got the training started. There were 2 classes and 2 field trips in the last weeks of September.

Cooler morning butterfly house shift. Toward the end of September, the days finally started to be a little cooler. I celebrated that it only got into the low 80s….warm enough for the butterflies to be active but comfortable for humans too!

Rockspan. It was a wonderful place for a field trip – even though the day was hot. I celebrated the breeze, the special location, and that the core training students seemed to enjoy the nature journal session that I hosted for one of their rotations.

Green Heron at Ha Ha Tonka. Seeing a Green Heron is always a celebration for me. Of course, the state park has a lot of great things to see…this was just my favorite for that visit.

Imperial Moth Caterpillars. Celebrated seeing another species that has large caterpillars.

Tree ID workshop. Celebrated seeing so many cuttings from native trees…and the lecture pointing out characteristics to clinch the id.

Field trip to Bull Creek. Another special place…new to most of the core training students. I always find something to celebrate there and this time it was probably observing the students experience it for the first time.

Woodland management in action. I celebrated a field trip to see places where the strategies described in webinars I’d viewed had been applied.

Butterflies. There are more butterflies in my yard than last year…maybe because of the native plants I’ve added. Cause for celebration!

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

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The day before the Woodland Management Field Trip, we dove toward Jefferson City and stopped at Ha Ha Tonka State Park along the way. It was before lunch and was already a hot day. The air was very humid too. It was the first time my husband had visited; I was there last October on the way to and from a conference in Jefferson City. We started at the ruins – lucked out that there was an available opening in the closer parking area. I took different perspectives of the ruins than I did previously….noticing the way light came through openings, some deterioration in one of walls, and the undermining of the low wall around the ruins.

Of course, the vantage point from the castle is spectacular - high over the spring; you can hear the water below. There was a tree trunk that looked ‘wrinkled’ at the base that I noticed…among some stumps of other trees inside the wall around the ruins.

We hiked along the paved path and boardwalk toward the spring. I used my phone for some insects on fall wildflowers and

My bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) for some ‘intimate landscapes’ and a wood-nymph.

The highlights of the walk  toward the spring were birds:

A green heron looking for lunch,

A female wood duck in the water and then in the grasses along the bank,

A pileated woodpecker that we heard before we saw (and was never well positioned for a photograph),

And a blue heron that was flushed by some kayakers and landed just across the water from where I was on the path!

It was a great stop….we kept it short because of the heat and humidity but were both glad we made the visit.

After lunch we opted to make a short walk about the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary before we headed to our hotel. We didn’t make the full loop because of the heat – but realized that if we lived in the area, it would be a place we would visit frequently through all 4 seasons (in the early morning rather than the afternoon in the summer/early fall)!

Ten Little Celebrations – October 2025

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October included some great volunteer and travel experiences…and plenty at home to celebrate too.

Road trip to Jefferson City – I celebrated the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable (particularly Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall talking about edible native plants), touring the Missouri capitol building, and Ha Ha Tonka State Park!

Corn on the cob from the grill - The temperatures were milder…we cooked on the grill more often and I always enjoy the corn on the cob cooked that way.

New faucets on bathroom and kitchen sink - My husband installed new faucets (with a little help from me holding things together while he tightened from underneath). The old ones had been leaking onto the counters when they were turned on. We are both enjoying the dry counters around the new faucets!

Season finale for the Butterfly House - I savored the final volunteer days and the celebration for the volunteers and staff.

Home school fair – I celebrated that so many people visited my table at the Home school Fair and seemed to enjoy learning about trees.

My car repaired – The damage to my car (mostly underneath) was repaired and I have already taken it on a road trip. I celebrated that it was fixed quickly and that it looks ‘good as new.’

Hiking poles – I cheered myself onward during my first test walk with hiking poles…have high hopes that they will help me avoid back pain on future hikes.

Memory care – I celebrated finding two memory care facilities that would be good candidates for my dad’s next home. My sisters and I had a difficult time choosing (and it was stressful)….not something I am celebrating.

New hot water heater and dishwasher – I celebrated that the new appliances were installed quickly…that the hot water heater is better for the environment (heat pump electric rather than natural gas) and the dishwasher is quieter than our old one.

A rainy day - The past few months have been very dry in our area so the rainy days in the later part of October were something to celebrate – although the rain came too late to have brilliant leaf colors this fall. The leaves are still mostly on the trees…muted colors.

Zooming – October 2025

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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.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park (1)

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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.