Ten Little Celebrations – October 2025

/

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

/

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.

MDC Partners Roundtable

/

I’ve posted about the side trips I did to and from my trip to Jefferson City…but the reason for going was the Missouri Department of Conservation Partners Roundtable! It was a 2-day conference and a learning experience for me as a Missouri Master Naturalist.

There was the usual bling – a canvas tote (I might leave this one in my car to use when I don’t have my regular grocery bags with me), a 2026 MDC calendar (beautiful Missouri pictures…we’ll hang it on the side of our refrigerator in January), and a lanyard. I picked up a small flashlight from one of the tables and won a hammock when I asked a question in the closing session!

My favorite of the Plenary Speakers was Dr. Nadia Navarrette-Tindall from Lincoln University….talking about native plants….edible ones in particular. I stopped by her table after the talk and enjoyed a persimmon. I also picked up a card about a plant with edible leaves -Rubekia laciniata; common names for it are sochan, golden glow, and cutleaf coneflower. There was a native plant sale the weekend after the conference, and I bought golden glow and a pawpaw….so the talk prompted an immediate action. I hope Dr. Navarrette-Tindall will talk at next summer’s Missouri Master Naturalist Conference.

I was asked to play an ‘expert witness’ in a mock trial of an invasive species in one of the sessions the next morning. It was fun…a little stressful in front of a room full of people but worth it for the experience. It was part of a session for Show-me Green Schools.

There was a session where some brainstorming was done, and the organizers said they would send out a summary…but I haven’t received it yet and am disappointed. It was the most strategic session of the conference.

In general – I came away from the conference understanding that there are a lot of good things being done by MDC and their partners…but there does not seem to be much wiggle room for innovation or doing more. That is concerning because climate change and growing plastic pollution…maybe other factors too…are causing changes that existing conservation efforts might not address very well.

On the way home I stopped to get a snack…and scraped the bottom of my car (a concrete berm at the front of the parking spot…a little too high for the front of my car). It didn’t seem like anything was wrong until I was back on the highway. I heard a noise from the front passenger side of the car…stopped…discovered there was a piece of the tire well hanging down/damaged. I used my phone to photograph underneath. The piece could be pushed up but wouldn’t stay so I moved to more secure place on a sideroad rather than on the highway…and called for a tow. It was a very different process to get home than I anticipated!

Missouri Capitol

/

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.

Runge Conservation Nature Center

/

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.