city hall/pretty sky

On my way to a bank robbery this afternoon, I stopped at a yield sign longer than necessary to take this photo.

cookout for the homeless

Alaijsha Wagner, 4, take a bite of an apple at a cookout for the homeless behind the Missouri Hotel on Sunday. Volunteers provided the meal for the homeless and also distributed warm clothing, blankets, hygiene items and toys.

"Mama D" and "Whitey" eat meals of barbecued pulled pork, baked beans, potato salad and chips behind the Missouri Hotel on Sunday. Here's the full story.

Bakersville

Yesterday I went to Bakersville, the "pioneer village" and headquarters of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Mansfield, MO. It was a ghost town, except for a few employees in the seed store, rushing around picking out packets of seeds to fill orders. I had fun checking out the animals and exploring the unmanned shops. I'm looking forward to the spring, when their monthly heritage festivals start up again.

wild turkey

I ran into this guy at the nature center on Saturday. Two of them crossed the trail at the beginning of my hike.

angel and silo

While stopped for a train near the office the other day, I thought I saw some people standing in a parking lot. When I got a little closer I realized they were statues. There were about 20 in the same style, a solider, a pregnant woman, children and horses. I only had a few minutes before the light faded and a construction worker came to lock the gate. He told me that the building they're behind is owned by MSU and he thinks the statues were on Commercial Street at some point.