Friday, March 27, 2015

The First Week of Spring ...


... And the only things blooming so far are 
the reflections of the streetlights on wet pavements.
I was on my way to work, waiting for the connecting bus,
at the corner of Michigan Street and Indiana Avenue.
I peeped from under my umbrella to take these
shots of cars. At this time of the morning,
most commuters were probably on their way to 
the complex of hospitals on/near the IUPUI campus; 
University Hospital, Riley Hospital, 
Eskenazi Health, and the Veterans Hospital are all 
within walking distance of each other. 



Monday, March 23, 2015

Rambling Around


On Saturday, I had a bit of business to attend to in Broad Ripple.
This is the first time I've had the chance to kind of ramble 
around this urban village, known primarily to Indy folk 
as the site of hip music venues and arty boutiques.
The first full day of spring seemed to have brought out all
the citizens who had small children and dogs, as they seemed
to have descended on the Monon Trail en masse.


The doors had been flung open at this local produce market, 
both to greet the sunny day and the customers 
who stopped by, pausing a bit during their walks,
 to sample the various juice or tea drinks.


Sunday, March 22, 2015

Overpowered


This picture, taken at around 7:30 a.m., 
shows the exterior of the Federal court building 
reflected in the glass of the Chase Tower.
The building, surrounded by banks and insurance
companies, still gives the impression
of strength and resolve, while the glass of
the bank building, although transparent, manages 
to hide a lot of secrets.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Red, Yellow, Blue ...


I like early mornings. I feel as though 
they belong to me, quiet, crisp, and new.
Early Tuesday morning, on my way to work,
I stopped at a corner near the downtown 
area to meet my second bus.
I could have gone a bit farther, to go to
the place where I could enjoy a hot chai latte,
but I'd seen this -- a clear inky sky serving
as the backdrop for skyscrapers,
set off by a perfect sliver of Moon, dangling
in just the spot meant to balance
the yellow office lights and red logos.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Checkered Past


Checkered patterns are all around us. 
From game boards and tile floors,
to intricately planned artworks and textiles, 
they provide visual rhythm to our daily lives that
we take for granted. In Speedway, the black and
white pattern of checkered flags has a specific
role in describing the origins and identity
of the community, even forming the
backdrop of the town's flag. 


Here, the pattern covers the exterior of 
a neighborhood utility box. 
Over the years, as it has faded and been 
repainted, the checkered past of the box 
has been revealed, adding depth 
and variety to its surface. 
Whoever painted it last even took 
the time to align the pattern
on the handle.



Monday, March 16, 2015

Lone Watch


During my walk on Saturday along Speedway's 
Main Street, I looked through the window of one of the town's 
vacated storefronts. The town, which exists in the shadow
of the Speedway, is working on the revitalization of Main Street, 
attracting racing related businesses, restaurants, ice
cream shops, and at least one brewery. 
One of my favorite places, Lino's Coffee Shop, was named 
"Best Coffee Shop" in 2012 by readers of Indianapolis Monthly 
magazine, a designation it richly deserved. 
It serves coffee and food that is extremely well-prepared 
for reasonable prices. Once you visit, you will return.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Shadows of Spring


I took a long walk around Speedway Saturday afternoon, 
taking pictures as I went. The most abundant floral offerings
 I found were the metal lawn ornaments; 
here and there were the coiled wire tendrils of vines, 
the bright enamel colorings of painted daisies, 
and the embossed cut-outs of metallic angels 
and stars. If the scatterings of volunteer crocusses
are precursors, then the real flowers can't
be far behind. The biege earth canvas has been 
washed clean, waiting for the flowers.



Saturday, March 14, 2015

Grids and Cocoons


Just a bit over a week from spring, 
the colors are subdued.
 People walk amid the grayed swashes,
 their patterns creating the cocoons
that envelop us in their
light and shadow.



Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Trudging Towards Spring


The remains of the robins' feast cling
 to the branches of the trees, 
as little crystals of rain hang in the balance,
sequins decorating a rainy day
on their way to Spring, to nurture 
the grass that lies below.



Monday, March 9, 2015

A Walk in the Thaw


After nearly a month of below normal temperatures,
Sunday felt as though the season was ready to permit a bit 
of spring air to enliven our spirits. And it did.
People were out everywhere I went, jogging, exploring
the city as their dogs pranced along on the ends 
of their people strings, everyone enjoying the first bit 
of sun-warmed air to waft our way in months.
I went downtown to return a couple books to the library,
then took a long walk across the IUPUI campus, then along
the Central Canal to the river, then back into
the downtown area where even the buildings 
looked glad to see a bit of sunlit sky. 



Sunday, March 8, 2015

Saturday @ 7 A.M.


I went downtown Saturday to meet a friend
for a ride swim practice. As I rode the bus into town,
I watched as the wind pushed a line of cloud cover across
the city's sky, delineating a clear arc between 
the morose gray that had been our partner for the
past week, and this beautiful periwinkle blue.
The yellow-y streetlights and bright reds
of the cars' tail lights gave the early morning
a spectrum of cheer that added to my
enjoyment of the morning.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Indy Tundra


These stems, dried and blackened by the cold, 
have leaned and turned themselves into an artful arrangement 
against the grayed background of city snow.
These past couple winters, christened "polar vortex,"
seem like a cruel joke perpetrated by the heating and salt
companies; they're the only ones making any money.
Finally, the weather seems to be making a break for it,
showing some mercy to folk as they try to stay warm and dry,
huddled against the wind that lurks between 
the buildings and comes speeding down the streets,
leaving shivers and numb toes in its wake.


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Robins Ate the Berries


On Tuesday, I posted a couple pictures of robins 
perched in a berry-laden tree.
It is my contention that this tree is able to hold
its fruit all fall and winter because it's
meant as a late winter feast for the robins.
I've seen trees at other locations, their bases surrounded
by robins sitting in the snow, so gorged
on berries that they could not fly.
There were about a half dozen birds around this tree
when I returned Wednesday afternoon.
The berries are very nearly gone.
The only birds eating them are robins.


Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Robins and Berries


We got several inches of snow in Indy 
this past weekend. Monday afternoon, while waiting 
for the bus, I looked up in a nearby tree 
where I saw robins. They seemed almost tame, 
but I guess it was the berries and, perhaps, a mating thing, 
that kept them in the tree while I prowled underneath, 
looking for a decent shot.



Sunday, March 1, 2015

Theme Day: Ageing (Where the Winner of the Inaugural Wyoming Award Gets Tested)


Several weeks ago, I enrolled in "Bee School," 
a day-long seminar presented by the Indiana Beekeepers
Association. In addition to displays brought in
by professional apiaries and suppliers, there were lectures
for advanced beekeepers, beginning beekeepers,
and people interested in keeping bees.
I fall into the latter category.

Since I needed to take a bus to the site of the event,
I checked the location on Google maps that displayed an
intersection near the end of the bus route from which
I would walk about a half mile to the high school
campus. "No problem," I said to myself, as I set off
to learn how to become a willing servant to those
little pollinators of our food supply.

The bus ride Saturday morning was non-eventful, 
winding through neighborhoods I'd never seen before,
taking me into the southwestern section of the city.
I got off the bus in an area that could only be described
as light industrial to rural. The only buildings in
evidence were warehouses that are transfer points
for cargo shipped to and from the nearby
Indianapolis International Airport, a regional hub 
for FedEx and UPS. I walked a quarter mile north, 
near the entrance to a warehouse serving a lot of FedEx 
semis - and saw nothing on the horizon but more warehouses.
I walked back to the intersection where I walked west along 
a two-lane paved road. At the top of the rise all I saw
was fallow ground bordered by barren trees.
It crossed my mind that me, a sixty-something woman
might become likely prey for a serial killer
long-haul truck driver. I'd never be heard from again.
Instead of getting scared wandering the roads, I got pissed.
 The Google map did not show the bus stop
on Kentucky Avenue where I could have just crossed
the street to arrive at my location. Instead, it had me 
walking a half mile from some isolated spot, 
nowhere near the school.


That's where I saw this speed limit sign, smothered 
in brush beside a long-abandoned road.
Back at the intersection, I was able to board the next
bus along that route. I asked the driver the location
of Decatur Central High School and was told it was just
about a mile from where the earlier driver
had dropped me off, across the street from where we'd
 first entered the development of apartments, 
a small specialty hospital, with the warehouses 
just beyond that. He told me he would let me off
right in front of the campus, and he did.


An hour late, I made it to Bee School. I'd expected 
a few hundred people to attend. Instead, I saw a 
couple thousand folks; the auditorium was full and the 
lectures I attended for beginning beekeepers
were standing room only. People of all ages bunched 
around the manufacturers' displays, including teen-agers
trying on coveralls and veils. I think I could get 
started on this part of my life odyssey for about $500.00, 
including my first package of bees.

And what has all this to do with today's CDP theme?
During one of the lectures, the beekeeper spoke about
the die-off of some of his bees during the winters.
He said that bees need to leave the hive every several
days to, well, take a shit. They do not want to dirty
their hive, so briefly fly outside then return to the warmth 
of their cluster. Some bees go outside to die
for the same reason. He used to work very hard
to save them only to find they would again leave the hive,
where he'd find their little bodies in the snow.
Eventually, the beekeeper learned it was a part 
of the natural processthat they knew better 
than he when their role was done.
Me? I am nowhere near ready to be found in some
isolated snow bank, curled up and down for the count. 
I have too many adventures ahead.


To see how other members of the City Daily Photo 
portal have interpreted today's theme, "Ageing," 
either click on the above link or on the CDP badge
to the right of this post.