Summer Haze

It's hot here in Indy, and muggy.

We're waiting for what is called 

a "scattered" thunderstorm,

which I suppose means it could rain 

just about anywhere 

except on us.

Whew.

In the Ravine Garden on the grounds 

of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 

the heat hung low, moisture

slowing the movements of everything

except goldfinches and hummingbirds.

Along with the bees, they darted among the flowers

on this quiet stream, gorging on seeds

and nectar. The hummingbirds will be leaving

any time now; they're just waiting for

that signal, that angle of the sun, that tells

them it's time to fly to Mexico.

The bees will go to their hive to care

for the queen, buzzing their way through

the cold winter, while people, stupid people,

insist on behaving as though winter makes no

difference to the cycles of daily life.

Instead, they will obey their corporate masters,

droning away in their cubicles as the blue

light on their computer screens

sucks away their spirits, if not their lives.

A Season of Contrasts

Based on anecdotal evidence -- my own experience, the seasons 

don't really seem to change in Indiana until about a month 

after the "official" date. We've had really mild, late summer weather

until the past week or so, when the rains came in, bringing

colder temperatures and gloomy days.

These pictures were taken last week at the bridge 

in the Oldfields Gardens, which form part of the grounds 

of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The gardens were designed 

in the 1920s by Percival Gallagher, of the renowned 

Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm.

The day was by turns rainy and sunny, light and dark,

creating shadows that echo the curves of the bridge's wrought

iron gates, then fading into a gray, rainy mist dripping 

from the surrounding trees.

Small Discovery

I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art this afternoon to wander the galleries 

and the museum's beautiful grounds.There's a fountain near 

the Lilly mansion, Oldfields, where I caught sight of some fallen leaves. 

They had clotted together on the surface of the pond 

to create a colorful composition of their own.

Afterwards, I crossed the Central Canal to visit the 100-Acre Wood. 

The picture below is a view of the canal taken from the west side 

of the foot bridge, looking south towards 38th Street.

IMA Ravine Garden

Known as the Ravine Garden, this one-acre area is a part 

of the Oldfields Estate, the former country home of the Lilly family. 

The house was built in the early 1910s by Hugh McKennan Landon 

as part of a real estate development known as the Town of Woodstock.

Landon, an executive with the Indianapolis Water Company, 

commissioned landscape architect Percival Gallagher of Olmsted 

Brothers to design the original gardens for the estate.

The Lilly family purchased Oldfields from Landon

in 1932, making changes to the home after the purchase

as well as other additions and alterations over the years.

The Lilly family lived at Oldfields until 1966,

when J.K. Lilly Jr. died. His wife Ruth had died

the year before and the house and grounds 

were donated to the Indianapolis Art Association

by the Lilly's children, Ruth Lilly and J.K. Lilly III,

to be used as the site for a new museum,

which opened to the public in 1970

as the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

A couple was enjoying a quiet afternoon below the Ravine Garden 

on the grounds of the IMA. They are sitting beside a path

bordering the Central Canal which forms the western boundary

between the Museum Grounds, and the 100 Acre Park.

Is it a coincidence that a water company executive built his home

overlooking his company's canal?