Trivial information- May 11

The city park here -Ecopark of St.Charles- has signs along its trail explaining historical events that happened in this area. The Wabash Railroad Bridge, which can be seen from the trail, was first built in 1871. Just as I did not know that toll roads existed before that time, so also I did not know that before bridges were built, ferries were used to get trains across rivers. The historical note regarding the Wabash Railroad Bridge was that the ship Montana hit the bridge and sunk several years after the bridge was built. One other item of note is that signs of Spring are now evident in Missouri. I was able to purchase fresh strawberries at Thies' farm today- and they are delicious. Also, in Farmington, I saw blue birds and my first sighting of a humming bird. Weather has been on the cool side, but still quite pleasant. And to satisfy my urge to dig in the dirt, I was able to work in my sister Julia's flower garden this past week-end.