The Dating Life of Cardinals.

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) comes in two different colors: bright red (males) and dull olive brown (females). Males are red because their plumage is used to attract a mate. To produce red feathers, male Cardinals feature a unique adaptation involving carotenoids. They can metabolize custom carotenoid pigments to generate a color different from the ingested pigment of food. Hence, they generate various shades of red pigment from their food, no matter the original color.

As the male Cardinal comes into maturity, all dressed in scarlet, it begins to seek out a female partner. When the male encounters a female that is receptive to his advances, he begins courtship. The initial action is for the male to find food and feed the female, beak-to-beak. Should the female be pleased with the courtship, she will accept the male as her partner. To let the male know that she's happy with his performance, the female may dance or flex her neck to signify acceptance. Once two Cardinals partner together, their union is for life. Cardinals are monogamous. The act of beak-to-beak feeding is sometimes carried over into the prolonged relationship, up until death.

When a female Cardinal becomes pregnant, the male retrieves building materials for a nest: twigs, sticks, vines, leaves, etc. The female is typically responsible for composing the nest. Within a week of completing the nest, she lays her eggs (usually 2 - 4). Incubation for the eggs is nearly two weeks. During winter months, the male may help to incubate the eggs when it's cold, though rarely. While the female is caring for the eggs and offspring, the male Cardinals retrieves food. Within a year, a Cardinal pair may raise between two and four batches of fledglings.

What A Game!

I had an amazing time today at Busch Stadium. The entire stadium, along with the Cardinals Hall of Fame, is something I never thought I'd see in person. On multiple occasions, Crystal reminded me to close my mouth because my jaw was hanging open in amazement. There's so much history steeped in the Cardinals organization. Even though I'm just a lifelong fan, I feel really thankful to be a even a small part of it. The Cardinals trailed for most of the game today against the Chicago Cubs, but they had an explosive eighth inning and took the lead. The crowd was absolutely ecstatic beyond belief. They won the game with a score of 4 to 3. Crystal and I toured the stadium after the game once everyone cleared out. We walked to the top deck and captured some amazing photos. All in all, today was one of those "bucket list" events that I'll never forget. After the game, we crossed the Mississippi River and snapped a few more photos -- this time of the Gateway Arch and the entire St. Louis skyline. St. Louis is an intricate and expansive city, but full of life and vibrancy. I hope I can come back here sometime soon.

St. Louis... Finally!

Well, I've finally arrived in St. Louis. This is a place I've wanted to come for nearly all of my life. Today's leg of the journey was busy, but fun. This morning, Crystal and I visited the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. It was absolutely gorgeous. The horses kept there (there are many different breeds) are very happy and healthy. We road a horse-drawn trolley, then met four champion horses in retirement. After leaving the park, we visited the Wild Turkey distillery. That was mind-blowing! It's quite nice knowing where Wild Turkey is produced. Their facility is clean and state-of-the-art, but still uses some of its old fashioned ways. One of the storage houses used for aging the bourbon was built in 1890. The inside smelled amazing! Our drive through southern Indiana and Illinois was quite boring. The landscape is comprised of rolling hills and farmland. Not many towns to see, nor anywhere to stop. If not for the large storm I drove through, it would have been a total snooze fest! We made it to our hotel safely, thankfully. I'm ready for a full night of rest and relaxation. Tomorrow, we go and watch a Cardinals baseball game. Woohoo!

St. Louis, Here We Come!

Looks like I will finally watch my first live Cardinals baseball game at Busch Stadium in September. I'm beyond ecstatic!

Crystal and I decided that our vacation this year would be to St. Louis, Missouri. We'll drive through West Virginia and Kentucky to get there. Along the way, we'll camp in Lexington, KY and enjoy the Kentucky Horse Park.

Also on the itinerary is a tour of the Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co., which produces the mighty flavorful Kentucky Ale. They also distill various varieties of authentic Kentucky Bourbon.

Here I am finishing a leftover Kentucky Bourbon Ale for breakfast back at Christmas 2014. What are the odds that I'd be visiting their brewery?

After that, well trek on to St. Louis. Besides the baseball game, we're going to check out the Day Fresh Tour at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. This allows us the opportunity to visit with the Clydesdale Draft Horses, then follow their beer production from start to finish. While I'm not a fan of Budweiser beer, I am eager to meet those horses and see their brewing process!

The famous Budweiser Clydesdale Horses circling through Busch Stadium.

While there, we'll also be taking in the Laumeier Sculpture Park, which features some interesting art installations. The Missouri Botanical Garden is also on our to-do list. It seems like we hit a massive garden in every place we visit!

Before our ballgame, we'll explore the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, where hopefully I might run into some former players. Who knows?

Of course, we'll also visit the magnificent Gateway Arch and take some photographs.

We'll be attending the September 9 day game, in which the Cardinals will be hosting the Chicago Cubs -- the best friendly rivalry in sports, in my opinion. If you happen to be watching on TV, look for us behind the First Base line.

The hotels are booked. The tickets are purchased. September can't get here soon enough!

We're in the Midwest. Now What?

Crystal and I are planning our next big vacation for 2015. After such a successful journey out west to New Mexico last year, we'd like to replicate those results. This time, I think we're considering traveling through the Midwest.

The basis of the idea is simple; we can do a big loop through Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. I know right off the bat that we can go see a Cardinals baseball game (which Crystal is only ever-slightly excited about), but I'm trying to think of other ideas for things to see.

This is where I turn to you, my readers. Can you provide any suggestions for sites to see in the Midwest? Our loop would take us through Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago and St. Louis. We both like to see natural things -- parks, mountains, lakes and gardens. I enjoy cultural landmarks, art and museums. Crystal likes animals and nature. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Stirred memories.

I dreamed of my maternal grandmother last night.

Typically, my dreams are comprised of mundane events; I'm cooking, shopping, walking through forests, taking a bath, attending a party. It sounds weird, but my dreams usually involve me living a normal life somewhere (and somewhen) else. Sometimes, people from my life will come into my dreams - friends from grade school, the occasional family member, but usually they're strangers to me. Last night was haunting, though. The dream has stuck with me all day. The details are fresh in my mind.

My dream starts out with me in my grandmother's kitchen. Like she often used to do, my grandma is mixing up some powdered milk. As she turns to put her milk in the fridge, she takes a fall in the floor. Mind you, I never knew my grandma to be one for falls, but that's neither here nor there. As she falls, I can see the milk flying through the air and spilling all over us. I get down on my hands and knees and try to pick her up. No such luck, though - I can't get her off the floor. Then, as if I psychically broadcast a call for help, people from all points of my life begin to enter the room. Many of you probably reading this blog were surely there. Exhausted and in despair, I call out to everyone to help me get her up. Yet - no one can hear me. It's like they're phantoms passing through. Crying and still trying to get my grandma up, she looks over to me.

"It's alright Jared, you've tried your best."

I'm crying hard at this point. Eerily, I feel like I was really crying in my sleep; the sensation was that powerful. I lay across my grandma's chest, not understanding why I can't pick her up. Looking at her feet, I notice that they've disappeared. Steadily, my grandma is vanishing. As I look on in disbelief, I can see her eyes staring at me one last time.

And with that... she's gone.

I awoke in a cold sweat this morning, feeling quite peculiar. No... perhaps a better word would be shocked. My heart was racing; my neck was wet... and I've walked around all day feeling like I was hit by a ton of bricks.

My maternal grandmother was always great to me. I can't think of a single memory that involves anything painful. The same goes for my grandpa; they were both incredibly kind to me. From what I know of them before my birth, I know they were different people. That being said, I have an understanding that grandma and grandpa changed in their later years.

My grandmother and grandfather - Fannie Mae and Edward.

If not for my grandma, I probably wouldn't have my deep love for baseball. We used to watch the Atlanta Braves games together on television. She loved the Braves (and the handsome Chipper Jones) and I'm a staunch St. Louis Cardinals fan. We'd get into some heated arguments about baseball, especially when the Cardinals were in town to play the Braves. I'd always accuse the Braves of using corked bats. To this day, I can still see grandma's face every time I'd tell her that (she'd sour up and scoff). To be honest, it was grandma and grandpa's fault that I'm a Cardinals fan anyway. On a trip out west, they stopped in St. Louis and purchased my brother Josh and I Cardinals baseball caps. When they brought them back to us as souvenirs, I was hooked. Sitting at their kitchen table, I can still recall slipping that baseball cap on for the first time. Instantly, I was a Cardinals fan.



My first Cardinals cap.

As you can see, the old hat doesn't fit me too well anymore. My head (as you know from a previous blog post) is a little big for the cap these days. I've kept it clean and secure all these years, though. It means a lot to me. More than you might think.

So here I am, left with a disturbing dream and stirred memories. That's nothing new in my book.