What's up in Chicago?

No, not the violence that's all over the news these days.  And not the usual political uproar.  No, this is about what's really UP!

Gotta turn your gaze upward.

Who notices all this detail way up in the air?

Most folks are busy looking down at their phones.

They are unaware of the hieroglyphs above them.
Or the Egyptian period of Chicago.

Pretty fair row of carvings, don't you think?

This building aspires to prevent alien landings atop it.

Nicely detailed.
Where's the Pope?

Way station for the time machine of Mr. Wells.

What would you need to be paid to service the top of these antennae...
even if they were on the ground instead of atop the 110 story Willis Tower?
It used to be called the Sears Tower.
Roebuck is laughing.

Did twins design this one?

Perhaps designed by other family members.

Lovely blue highlighting.
Persian influence?

From this one, the Batman surveys the city below.

Steroidal hydroponics have produced this giant kumquat.
I sincerely hope it does not roll off as it continues to grow.

No fruits needed for Mr. Trump's building.

The clocks on the Wrigley building
let you know when it's time to chew Spearmint gum.

Just a super structure.

Crazy wavey floors.

Art deco lamps ready to illuminate the entry to this art deco building.

You'll miss all of this,
unless you look up!

But here is the real reason to care about what's up in wintery Chicago.

Fast Water at Sunset

My big back yard will soon be filled with odd people wearing odder clothing flailing about madly with sticks.  It's a good thing they pay for the upkeep of the yard, or I'd be inclined to chase them away.  

It was a cool but nice evening, so a pre-flailing after-dinner walk was indicated.  

Snow is just about gone, but the serpentine creek is still appealing.

I'm told this is a trap.
I dunno.  I walked right through it without any problem.

Fast water comin' round the bend.

A ripple in the sun.

I should put my canoe in just above this stretch.

More whoops.
Maybe a drysuit and a tube.
That's the ticket!

Time to move downstream for the finale.

A good place to ponder.
I pondered what I should ponder.

Going...

Going...

Good night, glowing orb.  Good night, cotton candy.
Good night, silhouettes.  Good night, reflecting puddle.

Gone!

Esperanza, February 28

Rochester at the Genesee

I found myself in Rochester, NY one brisk morning in February.  It's an interesting place.  

Camera in hand, I heard the river call.

Looking south and upstream from the Broad Street Bridge.
The Genesee flows north, which is unusual for rivers in the northern hemisphere.

Nice brickwork on Rochester Gas and Electric Station #6.
Interesting how one can drive by a building 100 times and never notice it.

This is the Times Square Building.
I think Spiderman swung from the top.

Some call these top structures "The Wings of Progress,"
but the correct name is "Bunny Ears."

The parabola upstream is a bridge.

The dam floods the rapids upstream.
Not as interesting to look at, but much improved for the rowers during the warm months.

The Broad Street Bridge, formally the Erie Canal Aqueduct over the Genesee.
This will make a nice post card, don't you think?

Almost as nice as this one.
Same bridge, different day.

And here is Mercury,
looking speedy even though the mercury has contracted.

He's especially quick at changing light bulbs.