Old Cottonwood Tree, August 2018

Against all odds, the last of five cottonwood trees planted several generations ago is still alive. The debris from when it was hit by lightning has been cleaned up since 2016.

Family Farm, August 2018

Things are looking good around the family farm, even if it has been a dry summer. The barns are now surrounded by grass and corn.

Rock Alva, the Griesedieck Estate

Update: As of 2024, the last remnants of the estate, except for the tower, have been demolished for a new housing development. I have become fascinated with the Griesedieck family, the “lost” brewing family of St. Louis. Everyone’s heard of the Busches and Lemps, but for much of the Twentieth Century, the three branches of…

River Bottoms, St. Charles County

Some parts of the metropolitan region will never be developed hopefully. I had spotted this swath of river bottom north of the Missouri River from Google Maps in the past, and last weekend we drove out and took a look around. Despite having hundreds of thousands of people living around this river bottom, you’d think…

Portage des Sioux

Update: I went back and looked at St. Francis of Assisi in August of 2022. Portage des Sioux has survived several severe inundations over its history, the last occurring back in the great flood of 1993. But as can be seen, there are some fantastic buildings in this town, such as the Catholic church above…