Fountain Tour

Saturday I took a fountain tour of Kansas City on my bicycle. Leaving at 6:30 in the morning I headed south along Chouteau trafficway. I went as far south as Swope park. Then west along Meyer Blvd. My goal was to take as many photos of fountains as I could.

It turned out that I was no where near done with my goal of seeing and photographing 30 fountains when my time ran out. I had a good 42 mile ride.

To view the fountains I have pictures of go here.

Wild Flower Field

The parks dept. planted these flowers after killing off the grass.

Bolder

  

 

The same bolder looking down on it.

Missouri River Overlook

Riding some of the trails and roads of Weston Bend State Park. This was one of the better photos I took.

Taking a break at Maple Woods

Mimosa Tree

Buckbrush Symphoricarpos orbiculatus

I at first thought that it was a Common Elderberry, but that plant has serrated edges. This plant has entire edges. (smooth) So now I think it is a Buckbrush.

I was trying to ID this shrub. It is a dominate shrub in the some of the parks I hike in. It has a big white pith, so I will go back and check this tomorrow. The leaves are the same but the bark is not as stringy as the picture I took. The stem is 1" dia.


The plant is used for food by many animals.

Deuteronomy 30:9
" Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;"

Eastern Cottonwood

A pure stand of Eastern cottonwood.

Don't lose your cool, Trust the Lord

Hiking along a trail something caught my eye in the sky. I was staring up at it and not really seeing anything. While I was doing this a turkey about 25 feet away from me in the grass lost its nerve and flew away.

I decided to work my way through the brush and sit on the edge of a boulder. I didn't see many birds but I did see a red tailed hawk fly by. Missouri gooseberry caught my eye. Trumpet vine was also making its way across another bolder.

On my hike out I came across the spot that the turkey flew away from. There were 3 eggs
there.

Thinking of the turkey, if it had waited for me to make a move it would have been alright. But it did not know that. It lost it's nerve. How many times do we lose our nerve needlessly in trusting God? Danger maybe nearby but it is not touching us. Wait on God for Him to protect us or give direction on what to do about danger. Life is full of problems, but don't let them become bigger than they are. Trust God to be with you through whatever you face.

Isaiah 57:13-15 But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And will possess My holy mountain."
And it will be said,
"Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people."
For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
"I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Nations Largest Trees

American Forests web site has an article on the current largest trees.

Rember Your Source of Strength.

I happened upon a tree that grew in a boulder. This tree had started in a crack and continued growing and the roots wedged into the boulder and started to split it.

It shows the power of growth starting with a small seed. By minute amounts the rock was raised little by little. The tree has died, probably because of the the roots not getting enough water and nutrients.

The seemingly impossible can be done if God's life is flowing through us.

Even though the tree had super strength, it probably did not have enough water to survive.

This is a reminder to me to remain grounded in the Bible and love. Without love what we do for Jesus isn't effective. Jesus is our source.

2 Corinthians 3:5 "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,"

Northern Catalpa

Catalpa Speciosa Northern catalpa, Catawba tree












ID info:
Big heart shaped leaves.


It has a raised round leaf scar
Cigar type fruit, been like thick walled capsule
Beautiful flowers blooming in May and/or June. Makes
for a good ornamental tree.
Flowers are white with pale yellow or purple markings.










Biggest Catalpa tree in Missouri



The tree is used for fence posts and in the past was
planted for this purpose.

The wood does not rot readily. I have some in my wood
pile and split it for kindling. It is straight grained
and easy to split. Elm and Oak logs have rotted but
the Catalpa wood is still fresh. The heart wood is
reddish brown or light gray. The wood is light.

Grows best in moist soils with side shading. It has
the ability to withstand flooded land for a time. It
will grow for 24 hours when there is 16 hours of
sunlight.

The chemical in the heart wood keeps the wood from
rotting. This chemical reminds me of the Holy Spirit
active in our lives keeping us vibrant.

2 Cor 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Without this liberty from the
Spirit we become dead in our rules and programs.

Path

I came upon this path while walking in the woods. Near my home. It's not wide enough for vehicle to go down. It seems to be a livestock path. There is a pond near by. I came back to it every so often because it offers a place to rest my back against the sides.

Psalm 16:11You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Hackberry and Bolder

I found this boulder


with a Hackberry sapling growing out of a crack.

It always amazies me to see trees take root in impossible situations such as this bolder. But given some dirt and light a plant will attemp to grow. The lesson I get from this is to never give up. No matter how bad the situation God will make a way where there is no way. Faith is believing in something God has promised even though it does not yet exist. Just because you haven’t seen God do something of this magnatude does not mean He will not do it.

Romans 4:17 B God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

Cliff Swallow @ Kansas River

We stayed at a motel at Wamego, KS I got out and walked through town and found the
Kansas River or Kaw.
Walking down to the river bank there were an aboundance of Cliff Swallows. They were
darting back and forth catching bugs. What a difference it was stitting next to the motel and standing on the river bank watching nature. For me life is much richer in nature.

Here is a picture of their nest under the 99 hwy bridge.


The riches of nature that morning remind me of the abundant life that we have in Jesus

John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”