Concrete Evidence

A section of a street near my home is having its surface ground down, 

then repaired and repaved. When this has been completed, 

new curbs are being installed, as needed. Here, one can see evidence 

of the heavy equipment used to perform the work; 

the tread marks of the dump trucks and grinders left behind 

where they were driven through the wet conctete slurry. 

Rode Hard and Put Away Wet

Just outside the entrance to North Central High School, these traffic cones, 

torn, tattered, and abused from the hazards of their jobs,

share a mission, marking a bit of broken pavement in the drive.

Meanwhile, the "end" is in sight for ... something.

There was evidence of a lot of spray markings in the area,

perhaps new water or sewage lines, maybe more

fiber optic communications lines; it was, after all,

just outside a fire station where I saw this. 

Gold and Salt

Last night, I left the Natatorium after a swim and 

came home with nada for today's post. For the past couple weeks, 

the weather has been hot. In the mid-90s hot. 

The light is funny, too, sort of bright and flat most of the day. 

I haven't found many nice pictures to take as a result 

and have passed opportunities because of the light - flat with little contrast. 

This morning, I took some shots of the parking lot a couple blocks away. 

At this time of the season, the trees are beginning to tire, their leaves fading 

and drooping a bit from their earlier rich, robust green selves.

Some are starting to fall away. Their tasks are done and they

cast their golden selves upon the ground, sometimes

creating little highlights on cracks in the pavement.

Treasure Where I Find It

It seems that as soon as one project is done, another crew comes through, 

preparing to dig up the streets yet again. They mark the curbs, 

intersections, and sidewalks with multi-hued codes, describing the orientation 

and path of yet another utility upgrade. Here, a Speedway curb

bears the air-brushed codes of three different utilities, with little flags

stuck into the ground.

Too often, the result is a patchwork of pavement

that is uneven, resulting in potholes and damage from 

winter thaws and freezes. On the other hand,

as an introvert who finds taking actual pictures of

actual people intimidating, looking at the sidewalks and

streets has opened up a whole bunch of other

opportunities for images. :-)

And, yes, I dabbled with the contrast

in Photoshop for these images.

Somebody Dribbled ...

For blocks and blocks and blocks

a stream of white paint trailed along the street,

marking the path taken by the truck

that made it. A couple blocks farther on.

the straight cuts made by a concrete

saw contrasted with the strokes

of slurry used to seal the asphalt 

pavement a couple seasons earlier.