Musings

Yard art, cement

Japanese lantern maybe

It wasn’t until I got home and looked at my photos that I realized that I could make a theme (two is a theme, right?) of cement yard art.

Yard pineapple

I think I prefer the pineapple, although I would have predicted I’d prefer the Japanese(?) lantern if they had been merely described to me. Is this how we learn about ourselves?

BotGarden bits

Fuzzy hairy underleaves

Off to the ABG on a warm sunny day—unseasonably warm and sunny. Still, I decided, I’ll take advantage!

I tried to get this shot last week, but it wasn’t in focus. Got it today.

Pan n shadow

Meanwhile, out in the sun, Pan played his two bronze(?) pipes. LoveLove the shadow.

RTF

Golden croci

These crocuses surprised me—seems pretty darned early for them, even in ATL. (#notmyyard #notmygarden)

Open thats for lease

The sign says “open,” but the restaurant’s really closed and for lease. It’s not that I’m a skeptic!—it really is!

Chestnuts from China

This is just a simple, organic beauty shot, the kind I like so well…in this case, gleaming chestnuts from China.

Today’s a Random-Topic Friday in this little spot on the web.

BeltLine area changes

New construction graffiti

The core part of the commercial area in the Ponce City Market is open, along with the parking garage (at least part of it anyway). I’m not sure about the housing/apartments. This part is more commercial. I laughed to see that it acquired graffiti before being finished.

ORW foundation

This massive hole is next to the Old Fourth Ward Park, and the towering white crane was winging around as I approached the view port in the fence, w-a-a-y above my head. I’m assuming housing or mixed commercial and residential. Plus parking.

Between the Olympics and the BeltLine, Atlanta’s in-town infrastructure has changed over the last generation.

Foot placement

Corner steps
Yellow brick steps

I thought about steps today, about architectural solutions to elevation change between the sidewalk and a house. Nothing monumental in that…just functional problem-solving.

Mud prints

This is simple, however—footprints in mud. People (sneakers) and dog.

Are Fitb_t steps (possibly simply footfalls?) simpler or more complex?

Park/BotGarden check

Fatsia in winter

I have seen these outdoors at the BotGarden and in yards, but never looked them up. I found an identification plaque near this one in the BotGarden, but couldn’t tell if it was for this plant. A quick smart-phone search and…tada! this is a Fatsia spp (probably F. japonica). To me, the leaves look like a strange castor bean.

Yellow conservatory flower

This striking flower cluster was in the BotGarden conservatory, and I did not look for a label. One of life’s mysteries….

Lets do this bucket

We found many volunteers and employees of the ABG busy with mid-winter spiffing, indoors and out. When we were in the conservatory, we found many rakes and trimmings, but no people. Break time?

Canada geese PiedPk winter

Overwintering Canada geese (and other waterfowl) in the park…these were swimming to a white-bread-spreading family…; is that the goose equivalent of Mc_Donald’s nutrition? Photo is to show that although we saw several ghosty shadows, mostly it was thoroughly overcast.

See the scent?

Alley scented

So, during her pre-dawn prowl, KW discovered—and photographed (a coup!)—a curious raccoon. During my midday prowl down this alley, I saw no raccoons, but I did smell a skunk. Scents don’t photograph (obviously), so you’ll have to imagine….

Winter grey planting

Bonus texture photo…this plant is vanquishing winter.

O4WP, winter, sunny

Blue berries fountain

That weather system devolved into sunshine here in the Deep South, and cold morning temps became nearly balmy by mid-afternoon.

Fountain spray ice remains

It looked like the wind blew the fountain spray onto the apron-stage overnight or in the wee hours creating icy formations, then the sun reduced them to rotting tubules. Probably this sequence only makes sense if you were there.

I’m not sure about the wind and I don’t know what the blue berries are. I do know the sun was glorious.

Cyclonic flow effects

Snow almost BW

Late last night the storm settled in and the rain became white stuff. And accumulated. Not in the street, though.

Wheelofsnow

By late afternoon, the wind and a slight rise in temps above freezing (but no sun) removed the snow from the mesh-table. Not warm enough to sit out for cocktails! 😉

Precip variants

Holly berry droplets

We suited up, commensurate with the weather conditions, and braved the drippy rain to get some fresh air. The Guru wisely returned to the house just after it became true rain, while I made an additional loop. My aged raincoat started to let the moisture seep into the nape of my neck and I headed back to the warmth of the house about a dozen minutes behind him.

Snow airborne

Later, well after dark, we got another spate of big, wet snowflakes, and I activated the flash and stepped outdoors to get a quick, impressionistic shot of cold weather in motion.