Windmill

This old style windmill has the look of the Kansas State flower - the sunflower.

It is located in Sedgwick County Zoo Park.

Windmills similar to this one, can still be seen dotting the American landscape.

They were commonly used to pump water from underground wells for livestock, and farm families.

Bamboo

This caught my eye, because of new green growth in the stems,

topped by the the dry, old bamboo from last year.

I've seen it old, dry, and brown.

And, I've seen it all green.

But, this was the first time I've seen it in combination.

Flowering Pear Trees

The Flowering Pear Trees have been in full bloom the last few weeks.

Tomorrow, I'll show a close up of the blossoms, on these very pretty trees.

From the net: One of the most beautiful and earliest spring blooming trees is the flowering pear (Pyrus calleryana). Tiny white flowers appear in April and fall like snow on spring green lawns. Glossy green leaves enhance the tree's graceful pyramidal shape and last late into fall, turning scarlet red in October and November. Sometimes called the ornamental pear, the flowering pear is an ideal ornament for any landscape.

From me: These "pear" trees do not bear fruit. Does anyone know how they came to have "Pear" in their name?

Footprints in the snow

Yesterday, Wichitans woke up to the season's first snowfall.

It was mostly melted by noon.

Look familiar?

This is the photo, that the header for this blog was cropped from.

The Keeper of the Plains

Fall color

Autumn was ablaze in this tree, and with the sunlight filtering through, it was lovely.

Castle

This is Wichita's only castle, it was built in 1886-1888. Its has had several owners over the years, and is now a Bed and Breakfast. If you'd like to see inside, or read about this historical building, click here castleinnriverside

Red bridge

This red bridge is for walking, and riding bicycles, across the river. It connects bicycle paths on each side of the river. In the background (towards the end of the bridge) are the colored totems that encircle an intersection, and are lit in various colors each evening. This photo was taken in the daytime, while they were off.

Ride'm high

This is Old Cowtown's new welcoming committee.

Dutch oven

Here he's hanging a cast iron dutch oven over the campfire. I wonder what's inside.
Probably nothing, it's probably just for show.
But, in the old days, many a pot of;
beans, chilli, stew, and other dishes,
would of been cooked over an open fire.

Stove on the range

The chuckwagon in yesterday's photo was to the right of this scene. Here, the cook is stoking the campfire, to get it good and hot.

Tire swing

This tire swing hangs from a branch in the big old tree. It looks like there is a lot of room for it to swing to and fro. This photo was taken in a Wichita neighborhood, not at Botanica. But, now I'm wondering why Botanica doesn't have a nice tree swing somewhere in their gardens for children to play on.

Park Villa

While driving through North Riverside Park, I noticed this nice old stone shelter. It can be reserved for parties, reunions, weddings, etc. I like the building's red terra cotta roof, and the wrap around porch. The area is nicely landscaped, the building is air conditioned and has room for up to 50 people.

A little sandbar

I like the "sandy" color in this river veiw photo.

Exploration Place Playground

This is Exploration Place Playground. If you enlarge this photo, you may be able to see the sculpture from yesterday's photo, and also the one posted a while back, Global caress. And, can you also see the park bench that's shaped like a crocodile?

November 1st Theme Day - Something Blue

The colour theme day is back! This time, take a picture of something prominently blue. Be creative!

Blue ball floating in the blue water of a swimming pool. I like the simplicity of this blue on blue photo, and it reminds me of the old Bobby Vinton song - Blue on blue, heartache on heartache.....

To see 3 blue photo's previously posted - click on these links.
1. Blue Dragon Fly 2. Blue Kerosene Lamp 3. Blue Moon

There are currently 114 blogs participating in this theme day:Boston (MA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Portland (OR), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Arradon, France - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Stockholm, Sweden - Singapore, Singapore - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Toulouse, France - The Hague, Netherlands - Moscow, Russia - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Stayton (OR), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Detroit (MI), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Greenville (SC), USA - Hyde, UK - Radonvilliers, France - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Manila, Philippines - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Saarbrücken, Germany - New Orleans (LA), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Forks (WA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Barton (VT), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Quincy (MA), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Inverness (IL), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - Toruń, Poland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Le Guilvinec, France - Chateaubriant, France - London, England - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Sydney, Australia - Austin (TX), USA - Mumbai, India - Boston (MA), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Paderborn, Germany - Montréal (QC), Canada - Jackson (MS), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Orlando (FL), USA - Grenoble, France - Cheltenham, UK - Forks (WA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Weston (FL), USA - London, UK - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Belgrade, Serbia - Paris, France - Shanghai, China - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Montpellier, France - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Auckland, New Zealand - Evry, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Oslo, Norway - Minneapolis (MN), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Trujillo, Peru - Trujillo, Peru - Melbourne (VIC), Australia - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Durban, South Africa - Brussels, Belgium - Anderson (SC), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Wellington, New Zealand - Prague, Czech Republic - Saigon, Vietnam - Ystad, Sweden - Miami (FL), USA

Bridge at night

This is a view of the Keeper of the Plains bridge, at night. It's such a pretty and peaceful stroll, over the calm and quiet river flowing below.

Spider web

This was taken at the Keeper of the Plains Plaza. I liked the combination of: the dark night, bright light, and intricate spider web. As I looked at this web - I thought to myself - what an authentic Halloween decoration! At this time of year, it's common to see fake spider webs stretched across porches and yards, but this was a "real" treat!

Below the birds

This photo was taken below the tree, full of birds, in yesterday's photo. The wheelchair emblem indicates this parking stall is for handicapped, only - but the spots indicate (to me) it's "for the birds". I had been standing nearby, looking up and taking photos. When I looked down - I walked away feeling lucky.

The birds

The other evening, I came across a scene that looked like it was right out of the old Alfred Hitchcok movie titled "The Birds". I have no idea what kind of birds these are, but they are quite noisy. The trees were covered with them, so was an area of the parking lot, and the telephone wires! It was a site to see, and this photo doesn't do it justice, but my camera (or I) aren't very good at taking low light - distant shots. If you enlarge the pic you will see how the trees are practically outlined by birds. This is not seen all over Wichita, I've mostly noticed it out west of the city. This was taken at Lowe's Home Improvement store's parking lot. Customers getting in and out of their cars - looked at the large amount of noisy and active birds in awe. A worker there, told me that these birds roost in the area each evening, and when the sun comes up the next morning, they leave. Tomorrow, I'll show you what they leave behind.