A bit of a flower I used to have in my garden. It got pulled accidently one spring when I had help weeding the garden. I need to find one at a nursery and replant. I miss it’s little smiling face.
Tag Archives: Photography
Wordless Wednesday and Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Small Things
Wordless Wednesday combined with Cee’s black and white photo challenge: Hands, Feet or Paws.
Paw during nap.
What the heck is a Dequindre Cut? The answer will make you smile.
The Dequindre Cut is a beautiful paved bike path and walkway.
If you’re not from around here Dequindre probably isn’t even a word. Heck, even if you are from around here you probably don’t know that the street in metro Detroit was named after a hero in the war of 1812.
And even if you know all that, well, it’s possible that you have never heard of the Dequindre Cut.
Graffiti art adorns all the bridgework along the mile and a half walk.
I hadn’t either, until someone who worked in my department talked about it a few years ago. It sounded intriguing, and for several years it’s been on my list of things to investigate “when I had the time.”
Well, it turns out I needed to make the time.
Some of the paintings have some sort of message to give.
This past January, instead of making a resolution I put together a list of “Interesting, Stupendous and Fun Things” to do. It sounded more fun than resolutions, and so far it has been!
Others are more traditional graffiti.
In late January I was able to check the first item, making a winter visit to a lighthouse in northern Michigan, off the list.
There were lots of people out walking and biking.
And I’m definitely training (slowly) to do the 10 mile Crim race in August.
“A star is born through immense pressure and we have had our fair share. That beacon of light you see in the dark is our fair city rising from the night sky.”
Plus I’m keeping pace to read 50 books by the end of the year.
I waited for a person on a bike to ride by this, thought it would make a great picture, but wouldn’t you know, no one did. I think someone on a red bike would have been perfect!
And you know I’m working on my photography skills with the new Nikon.
But I want to tell you about this past weekend when I had a really really fun time walking and photographing the Dequindre Cut in downtown Detroit. It’s an old railroad bed that has been turned into a bike and walking path.
And the best part?
There was great music playing near this mural.
The best part is that the developers left much of the original graffiti on the bridge walls!
A friend and I went down to explore it and were very impressed by how wonderful it was. The walk goes from the Detroit River Walk all the way north about a mile and a half to the Eastern Farmers Market.
Layers and layers of art was everywhere.
And wouldn’t you know, we walked it, unknowingly, on Flower Day weekend, when the Eastern Market is flooded with vendors and people all focused on getting their flowers and plants for spring planting!
A building up at street level had this great red shark looming over the walk.
We started down by the river, and when we came out at the other end I started to recognize that we were near the market. And then we saw people hauling flats of annuals, and wagons full of larger plants and I knew we just had to walk over there and see it.
Up at street level, on the way to the farmers’ market.
It was only a couple more blocks, and it was so much fun to watch all the activity. Plus there are lots of painted buildings there too!
People everywhere buying flowers, enjoying the music amidst the brilliant painted buildings.
We didn’t buy any plants because we were parked a mile and a half away! But we did buy some raspberries and bananas from a vendor because by then we were starving!
This city has so much talent!
We scarfed those down on our walk back to the car.
The Detroit Lions (football) are going to be great this year. Really. We’re not kidding.
All in all it was a very good day. We saw some really cool art, and some beautiful flowers. And you can’t beat Flower Day at the Eastern Market for people watching.
The music was pretty good too.
I’d go again and probably will, maybe combine it with a trip out to Belle Isle in the Detroit River.
Detroit. There’s a lot more here than what you’ve heard.
If you like, you can come along! It’s guaranteed to make you smile!
This phoenix is rising.
Nancy’s photo a week challenge: Circles and Squares
Most of my photography is nature related. Plus Katie, of course. Not things that generally lend themselves to circles and especially not things that lend themselves to squares.
Still…I filed this challenge in the back of my head and pretty much forgot about it. Until I was walking Katie on the neighbor’s property this week and she was sniffing around the back of their old chicken coop.
And as I turned to call her I saw it.
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Or is it the other way around?
The round kiddy pool propped up against the shed, with the square nesting boxes leaning there next to it.
Made me laugh out loud.
And then Saturday a friend and I were eating lunch at a restaurant and I noticed the big round lampshade against the grid of the black ceiling.
But the black squares didn’t show up well in my phone camera shot. And as I was putting the phone away, explaining to my friend why I was taking a picture of the ceiling, she said…
…”don’t you see it? Look at that other lampshade right next to the big white one.” And there were the squares.
So this week it’s a two-fer. And a lesson learned; if you just keep your mind and eyes open you’re likely to see the most unlikely things.
PS
Katy here again. (If you didn’t read it, I did the previous post too. Just saying.)
I bugged and bugged mama this morning, whining to go outside. At 6 a.m. In the rain.
And because of me she got to see this. It lasted less than a minute.
You can thank me later. She already did. As is appropriate.
Your gal, the damp but still beautiful Katie-girl.
Yard spectacular
Katie here. Mama says I can show you a little bit from my back yard. She and I went ‘sploring out there this afternoon.
A bit of sunbathing in my yard.
At first I was reluctant to go out with her cause I thought she was going to put me in my kennel. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time in my kennel, but only when I want to be out there, not just cause she’s tired of my whining politely requesting treats.
Looks like this little bug was out exploring too!
Mama and I love spring, so many subtle colors! And then there are the brilliant colors of spring. I like those too!
I’ve got hearts on my shoulder mama, and forget-me-nots at my feet!
I think my folks have done a pretty good job of keeping my yard looking nice. I should probably appreciate them more.
Isn’t this pretty? It’s a quince blossom.
This week mama and I weeded one of the gardens. I was the motivator and she was the labor. Every time she stood up to stretch I barked at her to get back to work. She said I’m something of a taskmaster!
I love this color, don’t you?
I told her that as a princess I expected the best out of my people. She sort of nodded wearily.
More pretty color!
We have lots more gardens to weed, I hope she maintains my high expectations.
This evening mama took me to a neighbor’s land again. We got to run through the woods and I had a wonderful time, but it sort of wore me out, so I’ll have to share that adventure another time.
Sometimes a run in your own backyard is the perfect way to enjoy an afternoon.
I hope you all are enjoying spring wherever you are!
Talk later, your gal Katie.
The weekly smile
It’s harder, some weeks, to find a reason to smile, and this week has been one of those. What with the deaths of Tim Conway and Doris Day, the fall and hip fracture of former President Jimmy Carter, some health issues within my family and a semi crash not far from me that has critically injured two people just today, it seems there’s not a lot to smile about.
But if I take a moment (and a deep breath) I know the truth, that there’s always something to smile about. You just have to pay attention.
For instance – today the sun came out.
Really mama? Can’t we just get on with our walk?
To those of you living in Florida or Arizona or California that might not seem like a big deal. Now that I think about it, maybe all of you in those far away states are sun hoarders, unwilling to share a little light with us in the northern, damp and bleak states. Well, today the sun came out and we reached 70 degrees.
And Katie and I reveled in it.
The neighbors have a beautiful pond.
We took a walk, my girl and I, on a neighbor’s land across the street. I let her off her leash and she trotted along the pond, nose to the ground, then up and down hills so happy to be free to sniff all the good stuff.
Come on mama, there’s good smells over here!
I was happy to be free of the wet dripping rain.
And it was enough, this one day of sun, to make me smile.
Spring pushes winter out of the way.
Katie and I hope you have something to smile about too. Let us know what’s making you happy and put a comment in Trent’s Weekly Smile post (pingbacks aren’t working at the moment.
We look forward to reading all about your smiles.
Big thanks to our neighbors for letting us wander in their yard!
