"Elsewhere the sky is the roof of the world; but here the earth was the floor of the sky. The landscape one longed for when one was away ... the world one actually lived in, was the sky, the sky!"  Willa Cather

( Ad Astra Per Aspera )

Kansas celebrates her 150th birthday today.  She's a young state but has a rich history.  Our motto (on our state seal above), Ad Astra per Aspera, is "To the stars through difficulties," and she certainly has had her share of difficulties but never stopped reaching for the stars.

( Auntie Em, there's no place like home! )