The All Stars of Gardens, and Home Run Days

Nobody Knows: Since the All Star Game will be happening here in St. Louis tomorrow, and Obama will be in town to throw out the first ball ..I thought I would drag my husband to a place far away from sports today.

My reasoning was it would save me a LOT Of money because tickets for even the Home Run Derby are about the same as a plane ticket to Hawaii---so not only would this be much more enjoying.. it would be a case in what's important.

Because let's face it...All Star Games CAN be boring. The National league always...almost always...loses...despite the fact that they think they are so superior. It's mostly a photo-op.

Here in St. Louis we have one of the finest botanical gardens in the world. (Missouri Botanical Gardens)You want to see a plant...it's there. They have every plant under the sun. No redwood trees or Banyan trees, (I'm a sucker for trees) but they do have a wonderful Climatron...and one of the biggest and best Japanese gardens in the world. The picture right above you was taken underneath a wonderful waterfall inside the Climatron. Really--- it feels like you've been dropped into a slice of heaven.

The first picture you see, of the two houses, is where the man who started this wonderful place had his home. His last name was Henry Shaw, so the garden is called...Shaw's garden! (I do love simplicity)

The picture next to it, is an example of the inspiration I got this summer from visiting Shaw's garden in the spring. That's my front bush. (in front of my house) It's a "burning bush." ---which means it turns completely red in autumn. As you can see, it's bigger than my house. My neighbors have for years wanted me to "trim" it. I have refused, because I like it, and also because I gave up trying to "trim" it long ago. Somehow...trimming the front bush has never been high on my bucket list of things to do.

It's never will be.

SO....I bought myself a fountain, and put a couple of stones blocks around it, and I plan to make up a story if I'm asked, like..."Oh, someday I'm going to convert my whole front yard into a Japanese garden. Just wait!"

I must admit...I need a BIGGER fountain...or a boulder from Colorado. Feel free to send me one if you have an extra crane hanging around your house.

Going on with the pictures..that's me standing in front of one of those multi-million dollar glass sculptures that someone makes a huge amount of money off of. The guy that thought of blowing glass up into spirals..and selling it to the rich, had a great idea. They are rather cool looking.

I was also very impressed, that in this terribly recession, in which they keep telling us how everyone, even the rich lost a lot of money---how this HUGE park can keep getting bigger, and better, and more beautiful every year. They have added so many now things to this park, I'm sure it comes to a cool billion...

But what's a billion nowadays? We spend that now on cattle flatulence research.

Obama, the great pretender, will be here tomorrow. The whole town will shut down for his entourage of people. It's a shame the way whole cities are stopped and put on hold for hours just so Presidents can be "safe."

I hope he throws like a girl.

But it was such a good day today, I allowed myself to drift back to my old memories of ..

Baseball. There is nothing like watching a home run hit out of the park. It's truly a gladiator moment in time. I looked for Jack Clark...but didn't see him.

Prince Fielder made hitting a baseball look like he was just barbecuing hot dogs in his back yard, didn't he? And while watching a swing, (reminiscence of Babe Ruth)...I was wondering just how they were going to take a baseball game and make it political.

Already...it's started. One of the players was working with Obama on getting "volunteers" from high school students all over the world. Home Run hero's asking the youth of the world to forget making summer money...go work for free...work for free...work for free...work for free...

Take it from your multimillionaire baseball idols...work for free!

If you watch the game tomorrow night, be sure to catch the gardening work on the field. There is a picture of the arch, surrounding a Capitol Rotunda. Fit for a President.

I wouldn't doubt if they got the top gardeners from Shaw's garden to pull that off, its beyond the usual cutting of the grass greens-keeper's job.

They are expecting all day rain. Lots of people will be miserable, because the common folks can't afford the expensive glassed-in boxes. They will be sitting in the rain, maybe for all day. The poor die-hard fans will be suffering, and probably drunk.

But, if the game gets called off, the great political machine can always take the gang to the Botanical gardens....where they have a special dinner served to them in a small house, that sits in the middle of a wonderful island---in the middle of one of the most beautiful Japanese gardens in the world..no one is allowed on it but the rich and famous.

Millions all over the world will, like me, be watching the game on TV...because...it's free.

Which, by the way, was the reason so many watched the funeral of Michael Jackson...it was a FREE concert.

Now, Obama needs to send me a high school student to keep my front bush trimmed...for free.