Vegetative variants
Friday, 28 December 2018
There’s plain vegetation, the way it grows.
And, there’s vegetation with added decorations.
Musings
I lost my sense of scale
Monday, 24 December 2018
Between sunrise in Iowa…
…and sunset in Wyoming….
…we found a sculpture garden in a field, including a massive bull’s head (I assume bull(?)) and carefully propped up horse.
And, with her back to the Missouri River at Chamberlain SD, we found “Dignity: of Earth & Sky” (by Dale Lamphere), an even more massive presence at some fifty feet in height.
In the late afternoon light, the star quilt pattern was magnificent viewed from behind as the sunlight came through the blue panels. Most visitors never look at the back, and when you notice the armature (is that what it is?) on the facing side, it becomes clear you are meant to also walk around the back of the figure. I think, given that today was the 24th of December, that her alternate name should be Madonna of the Missouri.
Quite a different kind of sculpture: the giant round hay bales.
And I’m tired. Carry on.
Carstories
Wednesday, 19 December 2018
Elvis and fuzzy dice—totally retro. Vrooom. [But quiescent now.]
This car was a parking narc. Notice those devices on the corners above the windshield. I think they’re plate readers. Be careful, folks! [Or park a couple blocks farther away where there are no meters.]
We got multi-cultural
Sunday, 16 December 2018
In Mexico, and I assume generally across Latin America, Sunday is for family and socializing, if you aren’t working. One focus for these activities are public spaces, especially in the city/town center, as various attractions are likely to be there (vendors, food, perhaps live performances, either formal or informal) and there’s room for everyone (poor people have small living spaces, after all), and the kids can run around.
At one of the Latin American shopping centers hereabouts, which holds a collection of small vending spaces, as there would be in the Latin markets, there are scattered benches at the junction of aisleways, and a larger open central area, all mimicking the public social spaces of the old country. We wandered there today, admiring the saturated colors of most of the fancy lady-dresses (e.g., for quinceañeras), piñatas, and all manner of polyester garmetage, and so on…and on, and on.
But the people-watching was the best. Some of the younger sales people spoke Spanish to us, but the older ones all used English—or ignored us.
Purchases? None.
Treats
Thursday, 13 December 2018
Outdoor report: lights are up and the aesthetics vary. I liked this one. Should I be concerned that the rocking horse has no chocks? [Duh—use your imagination, no?]
Indoor report: we avoided the Fry-Night crush and went out tonight, a late morning spur-of-the-moment decision. Everything was tasty as usual at Babette’s Café (honoring the movie), and we were even served our entrées by Chef Marla herself! Basking in the glow of cocktail, wine, and crème brûlée, our go-to dessert. Yum!
Leaves and loaves
Saturday, 8 December 2018
Despite it being rainy-rainy all day, I did get my daily thirty minutes in (current strategy). Enjoyed the juxtaposition of the straight, green needles (which are of course a kind of leaf) and the lumpy-shaped, brown leaf, with the emerging candles in the middle. Done.
This afternoon I went to a matinée play (rhymes!). The title: Knead…a personal history well told. The little stories were threaded together around Mom’s bread baking and unrecipe recipe…and the playwright/actress Mary Lynn Owen made bread as the stories unwound. And of course, afterward, we got a taste! Clever!
Buddha and Batman
Friday, 7 December 2018
Always enjoy this small, grinning Buddha; he really doesn’t mind the cold, it seems. Note that he was dry at photo-time; that’ll change.
I refrained from capturing the steering-wheel cover, sporting repeated Bat-dude logos. Is the plate echoing the Joker’s laugh? So, what’s the message? That we should be worried? The Joker was the evil opposition to the Dude, no?
Timeliness
Wednesday, 5 December 2018
Crocus. Blooming. IN DECEMBER (imagine a thundering announcer-voice). Climate change, folks? Huh? Huh?
Speaking of timely, in this age when Xmas decorations and advertising may appear weeks before Thanksgiving, I guess these soldiers are on point. Not sure how to interpret soldiers on a bank branch counter.
Stationary wildlife
Monday, 19 November 2018
Found this cement hare and vaguely remember seeing it in this yard before…perhaps in a different location? Vague is the operative word here.
Personally, I’m convinced that Mosquito Joe’s chemicals turned a squirrel into this monster; however, my analysis may be off a tad.
Enough/more research: Two tales
Friday, 16 November 2018
We finally had a break since the new “R” phones arrived to get to the store and fondle them. Gotta know how the phone feels in your hand before you invest. Did we invest? Nope; we both decided our current phones are “foine.”
I think of the big-leaved tree in our back yard as a basswood, and maybe it really is. Is there a particular weight/balance of the leaves such that they most often fall with the top side down?