It is raining.  The weather is cooling down.  Since Meg and Jake are visiting next weekend,  I want to rejuvenate the yard by giving it a little color.  Casey and I stopped at Farrand’s Nursery in Independence to find mums, my favorite fall flower.  Because of the weeks of extremely hot weather, i was told the mums aren’t ready to bloom, and I was encouraged to return in a couple of weeks to pick my favorite colors.

Disappointed it would be too late for Meg’s visit, and with no particular schedule, I decided to give myself a treat by driving home through rural Independence.  I took back roads with which I was not familiar just for a bit of adventure. The “no trespassing” sign caught my attention first.  Then I saw this dilapidated old stone house on the side of the road.  Fortunately, my Nikon was in the  back seat. It seemed to be the type of scene which would be most satisfactory in black and white.