I love my life!
More later .......
Last weekend we decided to see a couple things in Branson we thought looked interesting. The shows are not our thing but the zoo and the Duck ride were right down our alley. The Duck at Branson Landing takes off on land, tours historic downtown Branson, then dives into Lake Taneycomo. I took a few pictures along the way.
The big pipes you see are on the lake side of a grand fountain, created by the same folks who put the fountains at the Bilagio in Vegas. The pipes are fire cans and spew flames coreographed with the water.
I can honestly say the fisherman was there first. ha ha ha He must have the right idea though, because the bird was there even after he left. Lake Taneycomo connects the White River to Table Rock Lake ......... I think. The water is very cold and it is proported to be a great place to fish for trout. Mom & Dad are coming down the last week of October and we're gonna give it a try. 
This is Captain Jed. He's a retired school teacher from Branson and has been guiding the Duck tours of Branson and Lake Taneycomo for some time now. He was a real joy to tour with and made me laugh out loud many times. 
Some of the leaves are just starting to turn and some have already fallen. The weather is HEAVEN on earth! 70's in the day and 40's & 50's at night. Some days are just in the 60's and thats even better. 
The absolute simplest dessert recipe I've ever made, but it needs something. It needs texture or a variation in flavor or something. Its good, don't get me wrong, but I'm trying to figure out how to tweak it. If you try it and figure something out, please let me know. 
I finally captured the beautiful, elusive, little nut hatch. This bird is so quick, he was always gone by the time I turned the camera on and was ready to snap. It took three tries with this visit to the feeder. The first shot was the only time he sat still for a moment and by the second he had his seed and was about to launch off the feeder.
This is number three for the Special Olympics Scarf Project. The pattern was shared by our friend the Crochet Dude. I took artistic license and added a little chain loop fringe. Hope you don't mind, Drew. It was quite an interesting pattern to complete. The blue cables are crocheted side to side and the white ruffles are stitched end to end. 
Sometimes you get an e-mail that simply makes you laugh out loud. I had to share this one. Thanks Cecilia ;-)
We love a good zoo and love an aquarium even more. This place had amazing numbers and varieties of fish and animals for the size of the facility and the location. Except for the snake house we really enjoyed our visit to this "Predator City & Aquarium" in Branson West. 
I read about Arkansas tarantulas on the internet. I needed to calm my overwhelming fear......... They're a throw back to when this area was much more arid. Scientists are only aware of one species, the Texas Brown, living in this area. The females burrow up to 24 inches into the soil or under a large rock and build a web at the entrance. They do not go out and hunt, simply feed on what gets caught in their web. The females hibernate in the burrow in the winter and lay a large egg sac. Late September and October is mating season and the males are searching for females to propagate. After they find the female, lure her out of her burrow, control her fangs and inseminate her, they make a hasty exit. The males then typically perish either from starvation or cold. They are not venemous but, if provoked, can bite with the verocity of a bee sting. They also have short, barbed hairs on their abdomen which they can rub off into the air which can do damage to your eyes if you're close. 
