Binder Lake

Getting in the mood for Spring.

Geese

I took this picture of these two geese on a very cold day. It is amazing to think that they can be in the water when it is that cold. They were at Binder Lake. I enjoyed taking pictures out there, but cannot wait to return and take pictures when it is warmer!

Banking

This is a picture of the Central Bank Financial Center building in Jefferson City. Central Bank is one of the only banks left that is considered a local bank in Jefferson City.

Bolivar Street

This picture is looking up Bolivar street. On the left is the Secretary of State office. I have posted a picture of the front of it here. I love the way the clouds look. This day that I was out taking pictures, the sky would go from stormy on one side to perfect blue on the other.

Weird weather

This weather keeps getting weirder. The snow is almost all gone, but there is a forcast for more tonight. Fifties during the day, snow at night. I am so ready for Spring.

Snowball Fight!

We woke up this morning to fresh snow. I did not even know it was expected. Of course it was in the 40s yesterday and is forcasted to be even warmer today. As we were playing in the snow, it was melting off the trees all around us.

Closed for Winter

This is a picture of the pavillion and lake dock at a local park/lake, Binder Lake. It is of course closed for winter. I am hoping however, that winter is really close to over, because I am ready for Spring.

Flood Stages

They tell me the numbers on the bridge have something to do with the river level and the flood stage. It makes no sense to me since the numbers seem to be going the wrong way.

*you might have to make this picture bigger by clicking on it to see the numbers.

Electricty = Warmth

In an effort to think outside the box about photography I am challenging myself with a word a week to then try to think of things to photograph that convey that word. I am posting my results over on my other blog. This week's words is warmth and this is one of the pictures I took for the word. This might not convey warmth to you right at first, but as we have another pending ice storm today, it is all about keeping electricity to keep our heat. Plus I love this shot and wanted to share it on this blog too.

Trains

Jefferson City has lots of railroad tracks. Many have been abandoned over the years, but these down by the river are still very operational. These tankers were sitting on the tracks when I was down there taking pictures.

Adopt-A-Highway

Missouri has an adopt a highway program like most states do nowadays. In fact, Missouri's program is 20 years old. Back in the 1990s the program got a lot of press when they denied the KKK's application for "adopting" a highway. The KKK sued and took it to court and won. When Missouri was forced to let the Klan have it's sign they renamed the highway, the Rosa Parks highway. When I was out taking pictures yesterday and saw this sign, I remembered this story and thought it was worth sharing.

Big Box Stores

When Best Buy first came to town I was very excited. We do not really have any other stores like it here in Jefferson City. Before they came printers and other computer equipment came usually were bought from Staples, an office supply store. Today I headed there to buy a flash for my camera. I normally do not buy my camera equipment there. I had gotten a $40 gift card for my birthday, so I thought I might as well get it there. Even taking off the amount of my gift card, it cost more than it does from my favorite internet camera store. I ended up leaving without spending the gift card. I know they can be the cheapest on movies and have the best selection of software, but I think I was so disappointed at the flash. Oh well, I am sure I will be back.

Last of Chinese New Year

I am hoping to get out tomorrow and get some new shots. Hopefully there will be no rain. It is going to be bitter cold. I am running out of subjects or ideas in this wintertime. I am waiting for Spring.

More Music

More dancing

Chinese New Year Continues

Also happy Valentine's Day. Vist my other blog for my Valentine's Picture.

Chinese Yo Yo

This picture is of a boy playing with a Chinese "yo-yo". I do not know what it is, but I am sure there is a more technical term for it. There was a marketplace that was managed by the Our Chinese Daughters Foundation. They had lots of cool things for sale.

Chinese Music

We had students from the University of Missouri come down and perform for us. This young lady played the Chinese harp. It had a beautiful sound.

Solo artist

This little girl sang a solo in Chinese. She is one of the students from the Chinese School.

Chinese School Students

The JC Chinese School performed for us before lunch. There are several children from the FCC group who currently attend,. The Chinese School is relatively new for Jefferson City, but seems to be taking off well. The woman who is leading the kids is the teacher.

Welcome Year of the Rat

Today was our Chinese New Year party for the local Family with Children from China group, to which we belong. FCC is an organization of families who have adopted children from China. The purpose of FCC is provide a network of support for families who've adopted in China and to provide information to prospective parents. There are groups all over the United States. Our big event of the year is the Chinese New Year Party. This year is welcoming in the year of the rat. It was fun with food, Dancers, singing, and crafts. I will be posting more pictures of the festivites over the next week.

Lohman Building

Part of the Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, the Lohman building was built in 1839 and purchased by Charles Lohman, a German immigrant in 1852, is a sturdy stone structure that served as a tavern and hotel. In its heyday it also housed one of the city's largest warehouse and mercantile businesses. Today, the main floor contains a visitor center with exhibits on the city's history.

*from Jefferson City Convention and Visitor's Bureau

River Bench

This is a bench along the river. It is right by the marker I showed a few days ago with Lewis and Clark. The house you can barely see in the upper left hand corner is the Governor's mansion.

Happy Chinese New Year. We will be celebrating this weekend with our local Families with Children from China group, so I will hopefully have some pictures of that event starting on Saturday or Sunday.

Back to Reality

This is a picture of the walkway at the Governor's Garden. I love the way the arches seem to go on forever.

Breaking the Rules

Ok, so this picture is not recent and it was not taken in Jefferson City, Missouri. However, this is where I would like to be today. The weather is grey and dingy, rainy and will turn to snow by tomorrow. I have also made yet another trip to the doctor's office and will be heading to the pharmacy as soon I leave work. I had intentions of taking pictures of some of our polling places this Super Tuesday, or some of the Mardi Gras decorations, but have not had a moment to touch my camera all day.

Please someone fly me away to somewhere warm.

*this picture is from Fort Morgan, Alabama. I don't think there is a blog for that city, so I am not stepping on any toes.

Old Bench

Another picture from Lincoln. It seems like I don't get out and shoot as much as I would like. Real life keeps getting in my way. I was planning on going out yesterday, but my daughter woke up sick. I might have to squeeze some shots in during the week this week on a lunch hour. Of course today it is warm (60s) but tomorrow we could get snow. No wonder my daughter is sick.

Who knows MO?

Last night we went to a Trivia night sponsered by Project Graduation at Jefferson City High School. Our team did not do bad, but we did not win. We got 79 out of 100. Considering we really did not know our Missouri facts, nor our sports, we consider it a success. The emcee (the man in blue shirt in the middle) is Dick Preston a local news anchor. The team that won had 93 correct. Wow.

Lewis and Clark were here!

Jefferson City has a rich Lewis and Clark history as we are on the Missouri River on which they traveled. This is a marker right off of the river on the end of Madison street. They are building a much bigger memorial closer to the capitol. Click on the picture to enlarge and read the marker.

Monthly Photo Day - What my city is known for

This was a no brainer for me as far as the subject. The capitol. My favorite thing to photograph. Now how to photograph it is always a challenge to me. This is from the East. The construction is a new Lewis and Clark memorial, which is the other thing that my city is known for. The capitol is actually more symbolic for what my city is known for; government. When people in my state say, "what happens in Jeff City", they mean, what government does. More appropriately, I could have used a picture of a state building, or a state worker, or even an interest group office, as Jefferson City is also overflowing with them. But this building, is the one everyone thinks of when they think Jefferson City, but it is not the one where most of the work takes place.

Visit the other city's blogs and see what they are known for:

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