Moving

Guess you can only cross your fingers and snap the shutter when you're in a moving car and capturing a moving train.

A Little Hideaway

At a stoplight or two east of the Napping Cat (the last post) is this hanging sculpture. My imagination runs wild and I decide that it marks the entrance to some ultra-secret club for off-duty secret agents and spies. (Yeah, 'cause there are so many secret agents running around the streets of Chicago that they need their own ultra-secret club. Gotta stop watching those James Bond marathons ;) )

A Little Nap

Found this little cat taking a nap on west Grand Avenue.

A Little Late

So, for the past two years in early March, there's been a sunrise with vibrant blue, pink and orange colors (here's proof from 2009 and from 2010).

But I hadn't seen that sunrise yet this year.

I've decided that I didn't oversleep and miss it earlier this month. I've decided it's just a little late in showing up this year (as Spring is a little late settling into Chicago this year).

The Art of Burton Place

There's a little side street in the Old Town area of Lincoln Park called Burton Place. I don't know anyone who lives on this street, but I always imagine that they are all artists. The buildings on the street - and the street may only run for the block between LaSalle and Wells - have many little details such as mosaics, colorful glass insets and fancy tiles like those shown below. There are also three or four pretty large outdoor sculptures on display in this little section.

One Interpretation

An interpretation of the City of Chicago Flag at a hotdog place.

Just like the actual City of Chicago Flag, the symbols on this one clearly represent the real Chicago Hotdog:

• The three white stripes must represent the base layer of the hotdog: the Poppyseed Bun, the All-Beef Hotdog and the Mustard

• The two blue stripes clearly represent the two special ingredients: the neon green pickle relish and the celery salt

• The red stars - uh, I mean hotdogs - seem to represent the remaining components of the official hotdog: Chopped Raw Onion, Sport Peppers, Tomato Wedges, and a Dill Pickle

The Chicago History Museum has a good description of what the symbols on the actual Chicago Flag mean. You can click here for the link.

On the Avenue

Some Spring temperatures and sunshine has the birds getting active and chirpy. While walking down Michigan Avenue, I heard a House Sparrow singing quite loudly. Looking up, I found him sitting in his A-line home. You can see him a little better in the second photo.

Train Tracks

I'd never noticed that the door pulls on the Kimball station of the Brown Line have little train tracks on them. It appears that they kept these unique door pulls even after they renovated the rest of the station.

Twisty Twirly

This sculpture is located at the intersection of Grand and Western Avenues in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago.

It's official name is Episodic and it is by a Chicago artist named Josh Garber. It is made from old street light poles. As you walk around it, the overlapping pipes form frames for the rather industrial area around it - something you don't really get a chance to notice when you drive by it.

Shades of Blue

There's really nothing all THAT interesting about this photo except that the Chicago River is a deep blue, the water in the harbor is an aqua blue and Lake Michigan is a light blue. I was struck by the variation in the color of each section of water. It's not usually so pronounced. This photo is from Friday March 11. By the time you read this part of the Chicago River will be a shade of green that does not exist in nature ;)

A Real Green House

This is the Ashland stop on the Green (and Pink) CTA lines. It's one of the oldest stations in the CTA system and certainly a unique one. It seems that there were four stations built in a Queen Anne style. Only two remain, this one (in its original location) and the station at the Garfield Park Conservatory/Central Park el stop (which was relocated from the Homan Avenue stop).

March Winds

Seems like a few people were taking advantage of the March winds and doing some precision kite-flying routines over on Northerly Island.

Bad Bad Bad

To paraphrase Jessica Rabbit:

"These old pieces of wood aren't bad, they're just painted that way"

Smudgy Sun

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "S": A Spring* Smudgy Sun Setting in the Sky by Sears.

*As of yesterday, it is now meteorological Spring ;)