Yellow and Black

It rained nearly all day yesterday, bringing a chill wind 

to blow the leaves down. This yellow tree looked bright and 

impressive against the dark overcast. Its tiny leaves

were strewn on the wet, black granite benches surrounding

this pyramid fountain. 

Curve/Curb

As I was leaving the Herron School of Art this morning, 

I happened to notice the nice curves made by the painted lines

on the pavement. I liked the way the white curve of the curb 

contrasted with the crack in the side walk.

Then the way the dark line broke up the space 

between the curb and the painted lane 

made that space more interesting.

The differing values of gray and texture helped, too.

Drake as Nike

I've always enjoyed those seemingly random moments 

when ducks and geese rise out of the water for a few seconds, 

flap their wings for the seeming joy of it, then settle 

back down to chortle and paddle around with their buddies.

But after watching this particular flock of mallards, 

the wing flapping didn't seem random after all;

each time a bird dipped it's head in the water three

or four times, it would rise up afterward

to flap its wings. Is it part of their grooming

routine, or a temperature control behavior?

Whatever the reason, I think it's pretty.

Finding the Front Door

For a long while I've been wondering what this building is used for. 

It is an addition to the NCAA headquarters just to the east, 

but why? Does administrating the national collegiate sports programs

really require so much additional space? As it turned out,

the building is a conference center, a place for the

organization to host its meetings with the member schools.

 I'd always seen it from this side which is, essentially, the back door.

I found this out when I followed the path to the north side

of the building, where I saw a large sweeping 

drive with a canopy over the entrance.

The side of the building is glass-enclosed, but striped horizontally, 

allowing some daylight to enter but providing privacy 

for the people inside. The alternating widths of the stripes

echoed the horizontal at the back of the building, which seem 

to break up the huge expanses of glass that look out

on the White River State Park just beyond.

What I found to be amazing is that I took these pictures 
with my little digital camera, yet the images of the buildings 
came out looking like architectural renderings. Huh.

Rainy Days

After a  summer of interminable, unseasonable heat 

and very little rainfall, the autumn has ushered 

in clouds with the precipitation we should have gotten 

three months before. The drought is reflected 

in the prices at the grocery; the bacon shortage is because

the corn drops died, burned up in the heat of  the sun, 

and farmers could not afford to feed their piggies.

The first rain was a deluge, the ones we're getting

now are light, steady, just what we need to soak the ground

 This shrub was cut back, but is responding like 

it is spring, producing new growth, holding large drops

of rain as if to cherish its existence.

Textured Tuesday: Ceiling Grids

I was walking through the shopping center, 

on my way to the grocery, looking for pictures

on a dreary day. And I saw it - a grid for 

a drop-down ceiling rushing to a point 

somewhere near the back of Tinbuctu, 

regulated perfection with Romex and flexible 

cable hanging in wavy anticipation

for their fixtures.  

Somehow, the pictures didn't come out as I'd planned; 

the camera's eye saw the perspective and grid 

differently than my own eye interpreted it.

October Theme: Silhouette

The crow in the top picture was calling to his buddies, 

"I'm over here!" even as his hunched shoulders 

and leaf cover say, "Can't see me!"

Meanwhile the little sparrow perched

 against the white background to eat the berries, 

"Nom-nom-nom! Look what I found!"