Cone Flowers and Ducks

The world has gone normal. School started everywhere in Minnesota today and most summer vacations have elapsed. The ducks on Lake Como were still around. In fact they arranged themselves in a row on a log and gave me one shot at getting a photo as I stumbled across their symmetry. Seven ducks all in a row. [No, Joe, them is trux.]



The flowers in the Enchanted Garden near the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory are in their prime. I have seen the cone flowers in many parts of St Paul, but the purple ones shown here are nameless to me. I probably should know their names. The cone flowers may not even be native to Minnesota, but they grow pretty well in the Como flowere garden that was designed to attract Monarch butterflies. The Conservatory was established in 1915, but was renamed for Majorie McNeely in 2002 after her family contributed about $7 million dollars to renovate and maintain the building.



The US Open continues in New York. Serena plays Kim Clijsters in the semis, probably to determine the championship. Nadal, Federer, and perhaps Djokavic are the probable favorites among the men.