It worked

They did it!

Pyramid

Getting ready to do a human pyramid on skies.

More people

In this photo, you can see more people, and water flowing over the edge of a large stone structure. This stone structure is lengthy, only a small portion of it is seen in this picture.

Fireworks Show

The last day of the River Festival ended with a clear night sky, an outdoor pops concert, and a great display of fireworks - lots of them!

If you'd like to read a newspaper article about it, click here: GrandFinale

Photographer

I just liked the idea of taking a picture, of someone taking a picture.

His camera looks nice.

Pretty blue...

.... pretty low to the ground.

River boats?

No - speed boats pulling skiers along the river.

It's rare to see boats of any kind on the river, so it was a treat to watch the activities.

More people...

... watching the River Festival ski show.

It was a beautiful day - sunshine and shade, with mild breezes.

Front row seating?

This couple sat along the edge of the river - to watch the ski show during the River Festival.

Keeping cool ...

... on a warm summer day.

Snow cone

Shaved ice drenched in flavored syrup, a cool treat on a hot day.

Balcony

River Festival

Taken at this years River Festival in Wichita, Ks.

I attended the; Sundowner Parade,

fireworks show,

enjoyed an ear of roasted corn,

and took a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

It was a lovely, evening.

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.

Lacy shade

A nice combination of sunshine and shade.

Shadows

While watching the turtles below, I noticed our shadows and snapped a shot.

Turtles

As we walked across bridge we stopped to watch the turtles. These were sunning themselves from the log in the water, while others swam around. It was fun to lean over the side of the bridge to watch them.

Balancing

Nature...

....nurtures.

This mural is on a wall inside the Great Plains Nature Center, I liked the quote reminding me of how nurturing being in touch with nature can be.

Dandelion puff

This has got to be one of the most beloved weeds of children. I wonder if there are any children who haven't picked one of these to blow on, while watching the seeds be carried away.

Thinking back to your childhood - what was your favorite weed?

The tree

This is the same tree featured in the last two posts. The thing I like about the cottonwood trees is listening to the wind rustle through the leaves, while standing in the shade below them. The one in this photo is young, but the older Cottonwoods in the Wichita area grow quite large.

Hard life?

This is a photo of the tree trunk that the "leaves" posted yesterday stem from. Most Cottonwood tree trunks are big, strong, and well formed - but this young tree appears as if it's had to fight for survival.

Leaves

Kansas state tree - the Cottonwood

Concrete

Photo taken along the side of a Ks highway, if drivers cross the white line and veer onto the shoulder of the road, they are alerted by the noise and vibration of driving on these rumble strips.

1

One sun setting in a clear blue sky, over the flat land of Kansas.

What does he see?

A frog - a fish - a dragon fly?

Statue at Botanica

Maybe she represents one of the seasons.

Shady retreat

another bench at Botanica

Bench at Botanica

Set a spell. Take your shoes off. Y'all come back now, y'hear?

Trickling stream

Cool shade and the sound of water trickling over this rocky stream - photo taken at Botanica.

Home

Which key would you choose, and why?

My favorite is the Home key - it reminds me of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz saying "There's no place like home". If she would of had a computer - she wouldn't of needed to click her heels together three times while repeating that phrase - she could of simply pressed the "Home" key.

Clouds

This was taken a while back, when the city was covered with big dark clouds.

Mexican Restaurant

So glad...

... to see colors, again. The dormant browns and gold of fall, and the winter whites are ok, but the Spring; greens, yellows, pinks, purples, oranges, blues, whites -- in various shapes, sizes and shades.... have all other seasons beat. This photo is of yesterdays blooms at a distance. Look at that grass - it makes me want to kick off my shoes and go barefoot.

Picture a....

.... tree full of these pretty little flowers. They are blooming in Wichita. I'm not sure what kind they are, but Crabapple comes to mind.

Ahhhh...

.... it broke.

but, it's still pretty

Big business

This photo was taken at the Midian Shrine Circus.

Elephant rides at the circus - cost $6 per ticket, 5 passengers per elephant, 3 elephants, 1 minute per ride (at least that's how short the ride seemed), but I'm not complaining. I thought the price was fair, and brought a moment of joy to many children "of all ages". The entire circus lasted for three and a half hours, and was very entertaining and enjoyable.

Have you ever rode on an elephant?

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.

Australian Outback

I snapped a shot of this sign, simply because I got a chuckle out of it.

That's a lot of flies!

Taken at the Sedgwick County Zoo, in Wichita, Ks.

Bicycle

Photo taken at Sedwick County Zoo, in Wichita, Ks.

"Riding off...

.... into the sunset".

On the evening this photo was taken, it looked as if the sun was setting right directly at the end of the street. The photo doesn't do justice, it's hard to get a good picture while the vehicle is in motion. And, we couldn't very well stop in the middle of traffic to snap a shot.

Blossoms

This is a close up of some flower blossoms on yesterday's trees.

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?

Hyacinth

This drooping beauty graces the flower bed every spring.

Sunshine and clouds

As the setting sun shone through storm clouds (say that really fast!!),

I saw the city in a different light.

I really liked the way this buiding looked like it's made of mirrors.

Street Sweeper

This street sweeper was at the tail end of the the St Patrick's Day parade.

Buffalo

Taken at the Sedwick County Zoo, in Wichita Ks. At the Zoo there's some posted information about how the American Indians found a use for every part of the buffalo, nothing went to waste.

These buffalo live in a time and place, where they are protected, fed and well cared for.

This is also a good landscape photo of a Kansas prairie.

Enlarge the photo and you may even see some people.

child on a monkey's back

The expression of "a monkey on my back" is often heard by those who have a burden weighing heavilly upon them.

If this gorilla could talk - it's expression might be about a child on a monkey's back. It's so nice, that the zoo has statues of animals that allow for children to play among a wild kingdom of safe bronze sculptures.

Breeze

There's just something about curtains being blown about by gentle breezes, that appeals to me. Even when the curtains are old, faded, tattered and torn, such as these.

This photo was taken in the Gorilla Forest section of the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Gorilla's and a Goose