Princess Crazy And The Garden

This is Princess Crazy and therein lies a tale/tail. A feral feline from the wilds of Swope Park she was exported to Kauffman Gardens for remedial personality work. Called "Princess" by those acquainted with her in the Jungle Swope, her lack of affection and anger management skills earned her the name "Crazy" by the staff at Kauffman. All paws and claws at first she settled down a little after her spaying and now allows humans to approach if done with reverence and will even allow small people to pet her. However, the space she occupies is hers and.....note photo above.... she has the body posture to indicate same.
Kauffman is more about blooms than fur beasts although Crazy does her part by keeping the rodent population at bay and, in turn, is fed... probably a little more than desirable... but I think those who had contact with her early on prefer to keep her happy in any way possible.
I was photographing a family on Sunday and took time after the session to pix some blooms.





Above, she never seems to leave the garden and spends the winter days in the tropical building...




All shots taken with the Nikon D5000 and 18-200mm lens. Mostly F5.6 at ASA 200.










So if you go visit and you see her highness... you may call her "Princess" or "Crazy" both are accurate.

Twenty-Eight Feet and Counting

Not as high as 1993...... yet... work on removing the old Paseo Bridge continues.... deck is completely gone.. vertical supports going next.
As marvelous as the bridge is.... a simple thistle is just as becoming... although less functional in our eyes I suppose.

The river is flowing very fast and is a deep chocolate color with lots of debris.

Mother's In A Bad Mood

Mother Nature seems more than a little upset lately and, maybe, even a little senile. She's been dropping tornadoes from where they don't usually come down.... confusing and just a wee bit disconcerting. Kansas City's skyline looking southwest from the bluffs by Paseo.
One really feels tiny when She decides to put on a show.

Vista Burning

The Vista Theater complex at Prospect and Independence Avenues burned Thursday. Two alarms were turned it. No one was harmed but the buildings were a complete loss. All the images I took are here: http://gallery.me.com/dremley#100532&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Old Vista Burns

A two alarm fire in the old Vista Theater building complex at Independence Boulevard and Prospect is still be fought at this hour 2:37pm.... Two alarms... no injuries reported at this hour. See all the pictures here: http://gallery.me.com/dremley#100532&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Faux Copper

Workmen are busy today installing new roofing material on the Colonnade here in Northeast. While it looks just like the copper that was there, it's worth nothing to thieves who seek the real stuff. Should be completed this week. Kudos to Parks and Rec for getting the repairs done so quickly.

Spring In The Gardens

Went to Kauffman Gardens for the first time this year on Saturday... what follows are shots of natures current attractions. Skip to the very end to see the reason I was working there. :)
All images taken with the D3 and 105mm macro lens (except the very last one which was the 70-200mm zoom) varying apertures and ASAs... all hand held.





















Miss Amber needed some shots for a pageant she's entered this June.... she was voted "Most Beautiful" out of 15 girls in her last pageant outing. She'll be a brand new graduate in just two weeks.