Saturday reflections

Obviously, I would have to pick this for my reflection shot from Chicago: the skyline as reflected in Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean," yesterday in Millennium Park.

City of the big shoulders. And balconies.

You can see this building through the grid of the Pritzker Pavilion in the photo below -- Jeanne Gang's celebrated Aqua Tower.

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The Gehry bandshell in the park.

Millennium Park

I didn't see much of the city beyond this park today. After checking in to my hotel, I treated myself to afternoon tea for my birthday, then went for a walk.

It was the kind of perfectly beautiful day, warm but not humid, that's best spent in a park or on a boat, and if Millennium Park turns out to be typical of this city then I am already truly, madly, deeply in love with Chicago.

There's the famous Cloud Gate sculpture, for one thing. And the bandshell designed by Frank Gehry. And shady paths, comfortable benches, and redwing blackbirds swooping over the lawns.

And these wonderful fountains, 50-foot tall towers of LED's that display video faces of 1000 Chicagoans. Every few minutes, the lips pucker and spray water over the reflecting pool between the two towers.

Made it

I half-expected to be snatched back by security before boarding the plane, but I arrived in Chicago without further incident. And the cab driver who drove me in from the airport told me I must have very good karma because the express lanes that should have been switched to accommodate outbound traffic at that hour were still inbound so we made it into the city in record time.

Here's an appropriate subject for my first Chicago picture: the El on South Wabash Avenue. I love that almost ethereal fire escape contrasted with the big blunt beams, and I love the name of the street even more.

South Wabash Avenue. You don't get more Chicago than that.

Happy birthday from the TSA

I'm treating myself to a long weekend in Chicago for my birthday. At least I think I am.

My building is undergoing some badly needed renovations in the hallway -- new paint, new carpet, new tile -- and I got covered in dust carrying my suitcase down the stairs this morning.

This triggered an alarm going through security, and I got the "please go into this small room for further screening" treatment. My luggage and I were both thoroughly searched and swabbed, and though I'm safely through security now, it was more than a little unnerving.

God only knows what's in that dust. I'm going to be very careful about breathing it.

Travel flashback - birthdays

Happy birthday to me.

I'm not sure how old I was when this picture was taken, but it was my first.

I can't decide if I was already pondering the mysteries of the universe, or if I was just thinking Seriously?

Urban poetry

Until very recently, most offices had a typewriter pushed into a corner, used to type a quick envelope or label. Now the only place I see them is flea markets.

Astronomy Tuesday

It's always safe to stick with the classics. This is M61, a spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA; Acknowledgements: G. Chapdelaine & L. Limatola

Welcome to the working week

A vendor at the flea market.

It has been a long time since I had a less productive weekend. I will spare you the details.

Sunday bird blogging

Here's a rather monochrome picture from only a few weeks ago of one of the first arrivals every spring, the Eastern Phoebe.

They're prettier from the front when you can see the contrast between the white belly and the dark head, but in bird photography as in life, sometimes you take what you can get.

Bonus reflections

Two more. After those infinite and unhappy Texas skies, taking pictures of these sunglasses just felt like pure fun.