Showing posts with label Indian Mound. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Mound. Show all posts

Friday, February 25, 2011

Snojourn


A wet snow is a photographer's friend outlining the trees with soft white. Went down to Indian Mound and the Museum to capture what I HOPE is the last snow of the season. Above and below, Indian Mound.

Above, Kansas City Museum, below, Kessler Park. All shots taken with Nikon D3 and 24-70mm lens. F11 at 1/500th basic exposure with HDR intervals at 1 stop for 5 shots. ASA 200.






Sunday, February 20, 2011

Indian Mound 360

Giant and really pointless 360 view from the top of Indian Mound at Gladstone Boulevard and Belmont Avenue. The left and right edges of this image would join together if this was circular. It's composed of 15 images all of them F7 at 1/400th of a second, ASA/ISO 800. The large white building center left is the old Wards Catalogue Center and now Super Flea... The Mound itself is of Indian origin (thus the name) although I believe it is just the result of generations of Native Americans living at the site and was not deliberately constructed for any specific purpose. The original Mound was only five feet above grade and numerous digs in the last century and earlier turned up animal bones and charcoal from fires and a few tools and such. In the 1930's the original Mound was covered with layers of dirt that resulted in the larger hill we see today.


Indians occupied the ridge that is Gladstone Boulevard for years and years with ample artifacts having been found in various locations and even a dance floor found when the excavation for Gladstone School was begun in 1913.

This image is 8 inches by 46 inches and 368 megabytes.... greatly reduced before uploading to the blog.

My home is in the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association which takes its name from.... yup.

http://clvr.eu/k6r
Above is a link to view the panorama close up and in 360 degrees.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Possumbilities

If the cat's on the roof then maybe somethings afoot. Mr. Daisy the cat began behaving weird even for him last week. He perched on the roof of my daughter's doll house and stayed there all day. Coincident with that was an increase in the uptake of cat food and "accidents" around the house. Then, early Friday morning, I heard sounds coming from the computer room that shouldn't be coming from the computer room and turned on the light to investigate. A small furry creature bearing a striking resemblance to a opossum trundled past my feet, down the stairs and into the kitchen. This, of course, is not good. Soooooo, I borrowed a trap from my brother who considers it a higher art form and put it in the kitchen baited with grapes and a peanut butter sandwich.... hey I don't want word to get around that I don't provide a nice spread for guests.... even the uninvited ones.
The next morning my little friend was in residence and not the least bit pleased by the whole turn of events..... he alternated between hissing and begging me to come closer to the cage. Mr. Daisy seems to have decided it was the biggest damn mouse he had ever seen and would have nothing to do with it.
He rode quietly in the back of the car as we headed to Indian Mound where a tribe of itinerant dogs seems to have encamped.... so I came part way back and let him/her (you check I ain't) out next to the woods.... It disappeared. And no... I haven't any idea how he/she got in.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

ScarrPendleMound--or, Today's Bike Ride

I try to ride the bike several times a week and generally travel amongst Indian Mound, Pendleton Heights and Scarritt Renaissance neighborhoods... which I have shortened to ScarrPendleMound. Lot's of nicely maintained homes and yards and just enough hills to make for a goodly amount of exercise. Today was much nicer with lower humidity.




Above home glows in the dark....I like how the "Beware of Dog" sign matches the house color.
There is probably an excessive amount of Day Lilies posted here but they are in bloom now.



I like symmetry....

Above and below homes on adjoining lots elegantly planted.


Homes of all sizes live in our hood......

Above the Concourse Fountain with St. Anthony's in the background. Below, an Indian Mound home on Van Brunt Boulevard. Tomorrow... the other half of the ride.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Spring Year-round...

Hope springs eternal along Cliff Drive in the winter as springs constantly flow from the hillsides. The three below are just west of the waterfall by the eastern most entrance to the drive. Since the water flows from underground it is always around 60 degrees and doesn't freeze. Once it contacts the Drive it does though and this area is pretty much a skating rink until spring. The proliferation of springs along the bluffs... there are at least 12 from this point east to Indian Mound... is why the area was home to several Indian villages. The Natives were also fond of the plentiful game and high land... bluffs that allowed them to see who was coming. Also close to the Missouri and Blue Rivers.

It is my uninformed opinion that this hillside is probably home to multiple caves as the waters have been carving the limestone for hundreds of years.
Sometime I will go cave hunting.... several reliable neighbors have seen flocks/herds/covens of bats flying up from the bluff face in the evening as they start out on their hunt for insects. That's a sure sign of some bat condo... also known as "cave."
Above the Carl DiCapo Fountain ( i.e. The Waterfall ) lies dry in wait for spring that has never seemed further off to me.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Hillside Adventure

Ventured out today... it was that or kill myself and the cats... them first. Walked/trudged over to the old sledding hill by the east entrance to Cliff Drive and found three intrepid young souls fearlessly attacking the slope. Here are the conditions we/they faced...
Above, left to right, David, Lorenzo and Sugey .... are prepared for battle.
Lorenzo led the way on a snowboard.... a high degree of balance is required..... also the ability to crash in a stylish fashion.


Sugey went next ..... the snow is powdery so perfect ( I guess ) for boarding.....
David, above... was perfect on the sled. David, below needs a little more practice on the board but certainly was braver than I... the kids offered to let me try it.... but at my age healing takes decades and requires a multi-disciplinary medical approach.


There's nothing better than a coating of good snow. For you ex Northeasters the kids live in the circle just west of Elmwood and Gladstone Blvd.
Cliff Drive scenes..... at this point Hyper's boots were full of snow (drifts are mid-thigh deep in some places) and feet were beginning to get weird. When I was young you could slide down this hill, across the road and down the workman's path to the rail yards.... actually attain dangerous speeds....


Above, what shows of Hyper's hedge.... may not see the rest of it until August.