PhotoSafari in Progress...

Planning to return soon with many more new pictures, thoughts and experiences to post!

Random Scenes of a Chicago Spring Morning...

 The Quincy Street "L" Stop...restored as the train stops mostly looked in the early 20th Century. If you see a "period" movie about Chicago, most likely you have seen images of this train stop; film crews use the site regularly.

 Tourist and commuter boats parked on the river near the Union Station; here they can pick up commuters for a quick trip up the river to the Michigan Ave. destinations. Otherwise, it's just a long walk. In the early days of Chicago there was--what else? a hog butchery at this site, the river used to dispose of the waste products. I still wouldn't want to touch this water, but it's cleaner than it used to be.

Jackson Blvd. bridge on the Chicago River looking south-east, with a little bit of sun peeking thru to the water.

A YouTube Video....

...to help appreciate the cuteness of the previous post. It's only 15 seconds long, but similar to bird I saw.

Without the Camera...

I can't carry it around all the time. Sometimes, interesting things happen that defy photography. For example, the other day I was walking to the train station on the way to work. Along a moderately busy sidewalk, I saw a tiny, fuzzy ball hopping about near my feet; I avoided it, but stooped down to see a teeny, but nearly full-fledged baby chickadee looking back at me. Adorable--so cute. I love stuff like this! No Mother Chickadee in sight--I offered the little bird my finger and it jumped on, like a pet parakeet. Together we walked over to a sheltering bush, where it hopped off and flew away by itself.  Nice little moment.

L'il Pearl and the Blonde-Guy during Recent Visit..

 ...a lull at her Mom's dinner party. Sunday was Pearl's 30-th birthday. Her "card" is late getting to her. That's not a bad this: she's one of my kid's now, since I'm usually late-ish for the actual day.

Hey, kids! Miss you both. Happy Birthday Season, L'il Pearl!

The Gardener, with the Kids and Flowers She Loves...

 Looking bright as sunlight, my friend enjoys a visit from Molly and Micah, the intrepid little twins. The latest of their misadventures was recently: Micah said "You are bad, Molly. I'm going to lock you up in college and squish you up and put you in my hot-dog." (their parents are both teachers; the 3 year old kids are told they will go to college but they can't imagine not being with Mommy and Daddy).

My friend made the flower arrangement for the Memorial Day Sunday service at her church. Beautiful; I was delighted to contribute those lovely Red Poppies, so right for Memorial Day, from my flower bed! She is 100% recovered from that scary fall she suffered just before Christmas--enough that she is going forward with a knee replacement operation in a few weeks. Brave.

Blonde-Boy, Bloggsy and the Bean...

The under-belly of the Bean. Don't usually see these angles, do you?