Nature's Ice Sculpture

After a week off swimming, I returned to practice

Saturday morning. The weather, of course, was cold and

given the sometimes erratic bus schedules,

I did not want to risk frostbite waiting for one at night.

After practice, I went over to Eskenazi Health

to catch the bus for home. There I could go inside

the lobby to enjoy the beautiful artwork,

or go outside to enjoy the water features.

Here, the falls created from stacked blocks 

of limestone created sculptures of their own.

From lovely ruffled edges around the cattails, to

lacy drapes over the flowing water,

the stone and the cold weather

bend the water into vignettes 

of ever-changing beauty.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart?

Yes, there have been wind-chill warnings,

but it's not nearly as bad as it could be

(or probably will get).

Both ends of my commute were bright

and clear, with the morning sun peeping its

delicate pink self from behind

the downtown buildings.

Then, this afternoon, someone had loosed

a colorful array of Mylar balloons,

a flash of rainbow that reached for the sky,

then, withered from the cold, 
they huddled in a tree.

I don't like being cold. My family did not have

central heating in our home until I was

in middle school. 

During the winters, I was always cold. 

I would huddle under a quilt, tucked

around me to create a cocoon of warmth.

I did not leave it until the next morning when

I'd run, shivering, downstairs to stand by

the coal-fired stove that my father had stoked

just before my brother, sister, and I got

up to get ready for school.

Now long grown, I still don't like the winter chill, 

and wrap up on the couch under a quilt 

to watch TV, my little cat

curled into tight wad beside my head.
I negotiate with myself about what I will do -
Get up and make breakfast? Get dressed?
Take out the trash?
I'm plotting a series of drawings.
How am I going to start these drawings
without getting cold feet?
I picture myself in the process of making them,
but, dammit, I can't figure out how to do it
without getting paint on my quilt.

Love/Water

I love to get to the Natatorium early 

to watch the swimmers.

Very often there are large groups 

either practicing or warming up for competition.

The sounds of the water and the rhythm of 

people moving up and down the lanes

is both mesmerizing and comforting.

None of the pictures I've taken so far of

the swimmers has captured the fascination

I feel by the almost balletic routine

of their movements.

While swimming myself, I sometimes 

think of the swimmers and try to emulate 

their long line, keeping my body straight 

and toes relaxed yet pointed.

"Relaxed." Yeh, that's the big thing for me;

I don't think about going fast, I think 

"Technique, technique, technique. 

Technique fast, technique fast, technique fast." 

My body comes up "on plane" and I feel 

as though the water is zooming by me.

It makes a difference.

I count my laps. I count my strokes.

I cast a glance at the clock

and then turn my eyes toward the bottom

of the pool to begin again,

another step in my odyssey to achieve a dream.

My love for you is like water.

Clear as crystal, its currents weave through,

creating inclusions, weaving, changing

yet always there, adding depth

and bands of color, rainbows of feeling 

from the darkest indigo

to the happiest of yellows.

Fight it and you flounder.

Rest quietly and it will support you,

carrying you to the other side

as quickly or as slowly as you may care

to go, but always there.

It's He-ere!

The Indy area has enjoyed fairly mild temperatures 

for quite some time, but the winter air 

finally made it's entrance this weekend, bringing

with it icy rain and snow.

Here, a bus stop collects the ice and snow 

as it blows in from the south-west.

The leaves on a bush gathered ice chunks

large enough to mix drinks with.

This may seem a bit severe, but it's nothing.

The snows are fairly light, mere sprinklings.

It's the mirage they create, hiding the

slick smooth ice beneath that 

create hazardous conditions. Whoops!

Patterns: Layers, Part 2

Crews are continuing their work to repair and restore 

the columns on the old Indiana National Bank. 

Over the years, some of the marble slabs 

encasing the columns have loosened and fallen off, 

then been replaced piecemeal.

Last year, work began to stabilize and restore 

all of the columns. Crews have been working their

way around the building to remove

the marble slabs. They then have been installing

a steel framework that support what

looks like treated plywood panels. Once the

panels are in place, each column

is primed and coated with a substance

that will provide a better surface to adhere

the marble slabs.

At least, that is what I've been led to

believe is planned; I cringe to think that all

the work done on this iconic (for Indy!) building 

will result in a big faux-surface paint job!

Theme Day 2016: Didn't Have Anything I Liked ...

...For the first day of the year, I couldn't think 

of a picture I was particularly fond of.

On my way to swim practice on December 30th,

I walked by the Chase Tower, almost abandoned

during the holiday week, to see this floorlamp 

shining through the window blinds.

Not only did I like the subdued lighting 

and shadows; the composition seemed to add

to the overall linear look of the alley,

with the blobs of fluorescent light echoing

the circles in the wrought-iron fencing.