The day in photos, March 8, 2011

photo by: Terry Rombeck

Justin Hoffman holds his 3-year-old son, Caden, as they listen to a story at Prairie Park Nature Center. Hoffman, a first-time visitor to the Daddy and Me playgroup, said he was seeking other dads to talk to about their experiences.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Becky Grammer, a daycare provider near Baldwin City, snuggles with 19-month-old Petra Morris, Mason Hoffman, 2, and Carter Flory, 2. Once a dental assistant, she says she doesn’t mind the lack of adult contact during her workday.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Working at home is just how Berryton resident Mary Ann Frevert likes it. An investigator for a government regulatory agency, she can go days at a time without seeing anyone but her daughters, ages 6 and 7.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Zach Carlson, with J.E. Dunn construction, works a 10-hour day in a 3- by 7-foot box, moving heavy construction equipment around his current job site for KU's School of Engineering. The crane operator likes his present digs, where he has both air conditioning and a microwave.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Paul Stevens, associate professor of horn at KU, has worked on Hollywood blockbusters, TV shows and played in some of the world's finest concert halls.

photo by: Terry Rombeck

Brian Vancil holds his 8-month-old daughter, Tessa, as she pets a toad at Prairie Park Nature Center. They were attending a February outing of the Daddy and Me Playgroup.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn

Crews on Monday, March 7, 2011 demolish a building at the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant in Lawrence.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kevin Lam, a Kansas University freshman from Overland Park, points his mother, Yuk Mei Wong, to the parking meter that corresponds to their parking space on Monday in the 700 block of Massachusetts Street. The amount of parking tickets issued in downtown Lawrence dropped by about 14 percent in 2010.

photo by: Nick Krug

A parking ticket rests under a wiper blade on Massachusetts Street on Monday, March 7, 2011.