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.

Missouri Capitol

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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.