Winter Beach

It's a white sand beach ... sort of. The sand is just covered with white snow.

Lake Michigan Fangs

You have to love the cool ice sculptures that Lake Michigan makes during the winter. These are along the pier in Charlevoix, Michigan.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

Cookies for Santa

Gotta leave some cookies for Santa tonight!

I Thought He Used a Sleigh and Reindeer

Guess Santa gets better mileage from an Infiniti than a reindeer. The big red nose makes me think this must be Rudolph's replacement.

Poinsettia Field

A field of Poinsettias ... safely indoors (Poinsettias are a tropical plant and the weather outside is definitely not tropical).

I've Often Wondered ...

... what it's like to be on the Pritzker Pavilion stage. Millennium Park has a cool little program going on this winter where they set up a cabaret-style music performance on the stage of the Pritzker Pavilion. The audience and performers are protected from the harsh elements by the glass doors and some heat. Marlene Dietrich was resurrected to perform tonight (or, at least, her spirit took over Suzanne Petri)

It's kind of interesting how the snow and light reflections give the impression that there is a roof over the whole area. It's actually all open air like in this photo or this one, both from much warmer days.

Autumn Sunrise

Temperature-wise, Winter has been here for awhile. Astronomically, it is still Autumn.

To Boldly Go ...

This is the artsy installation at the Fullerton CTA Station. No sign to help identify the piece or the artist. I thought it looked a little like the Starship Enterprise but, after looking up the link, I think it is safer to say it looks like a UFO.

Storm Repercussions

That storm that blew down the roof of the Minnesota Metrodome also did a job on the roof of the Skyline Pavilion at Navy Pier. Sunday was a tough day for roofs.

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

Found this mural in the Wicker Park area of the West Town neighborhood. The saying translates to "Nothing But the Best is Good Enough". It is a bright, colorful mural that was fun to see in the midst of a snowstorm. But, I don't quite get the connection between Mike Ditka and the cartoon penguin.

Weather Forecast

It's important to have a good source for your weather forecast in the winter. ;)

Up on the House Tops

It's hard to take photos from the el. You have to get a window seat (and preferably one of the single seats so your neighboring passenger doesn't wonder about you too much). You have to be on a car that doesn't have those translucent advertising signs over the windows. You have to be on the correct side of the train (constantly changing your seat location just draws attention). But it is a fun challenge. These were taken from the Brown Line. The top one is near Montrose. The bottom one, with the blur is while the train was heading toward the Damen Stop.

Pearl Harbor Day

Chicago remembers Pearl Harbor annually with a ceremony at Navy Pier. It includes a cannon salute (which is what caught my attention) and a fireboat display.

Jazzy Holidays

Found this jazzy mosaic statue at the Merchandise Mart. What I couldn't find was the standard little plaque, usually near a public art piece, that identifies the artist.

After posting this, a very nice viewer noted that the artist is Niki de Saint Phalle. With that big clue, I was able to also find out that this is her statue of Louis Armstrong.

It's Time for Hardware ... and THEME DAY

It's the first of the month and that means it is THEME DAY on City Daily Photo. This month's theme, chosen by the vote of CDP members, is TIME.

I found this interesting clock in the Rogers Park neighborhood. It is on the Clark-Devon Hardware store (at Clark Street and Devon Avenue) which has been a multi-generational family business since 1924. I really like the clock hands: the minute hand is a 3 13/16 gear wrench and the hour hand is a 5 1/8 inch box end wrench. (That I can even tell you the type of these wrenches is a testament to how customer-friendly and informative their website is.)

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Absolute Bus Stop

Knowing that we'll get a lot of visitors downtown during the holiday season, Chicago is pulling out the stops and rolling out the red carpet. Or at least the red chairs. This is the bus stop at State and Madison (also notable as being 0 North/South and 0 East/West, the starting point of our city's grid system). Actually, the chairs are part of a certain vodka company's ad campaign.

Hubbard's Folly

Sometimes I think I'm the only one who ever really reads any of the little historical markers that are sprinkled all over the city. I always seem to find a new one -- even though it has been there for years and years and years. This one is by Wacker and LaSalle. Even though the building is no longer there, good old Gurdon seemed to prove the skeptics wrong. After all, there's a Hubbard Street in Chicago ... but no Skeptics Street ;)

Crouching Tiger

One of the carvings by Foster Beach.

Wipe Out

I always get the tune "Wipe Out" stuck in my head when I see this statue. But, the statue has nothing to do with surfing.

It's real name is Crossing and it is by a sculptor named Hubertus von der Goltz. The title and statue refer to "the delicate balance of commercial and cultural districts that converge along the LaSalle Street corridor".

Neighborhood Welcome Signs

Chicago is often called "A City of Neighborhoods". Some of the neighborhoods - such as Rogers Park, where these photos were taken - even have their own logos and welcome signs.

One of These Days

I've been meaning to take a photo of this escalator for awhile. It is the escalator at the North and Clybourn stop on the CTA Red Line. I swear it is the narrowest escalator in the CTA system. It's barely 24 inches wide. With a bulky winter coat and any packages, you have to stand sideways. You also have to stand single file on it so you feel trapped when there are a lot of people riding the escalator. On the other hand, it's a good motivator for taking the stairs.

The North and Clybourn station is the one right by the new Apple Store in Chicago. So, I'm betting it gets a full makeover, complete with a wider escalator, soon.

LaSalle Street Cattails

Couldn't really find much about the decorative metal and stone sculptures on LaSalle Street. They have an "Autumn" look when the light hits them just right.

Lock Down

I've been holding on to this photo for about a week now because I was trying to figure out what they are doing to the Chicago River locks. They are currently closed and there seems to be some type of maintenance work going on. I think the gates are being replaced, but I can't seem to find anything about what they are actually doing. I don't think it is related to the Asian Carp threat, even though carp-related articles are about all that show up when I google "Closed Chicago River Locks November 2010".

Traffic

Just a glimpse of a slow traffic day on the river.

His Master's Voice

I guess "his master's voice" was singing him a lullaby.

Veteran's Day

I never knew the reason that Olive Park is named as it is. But I recently stumbled upon this monument in Olive Park that explains it all. It is named after Milton Olive, a Chicago native, who was only 18 years old when he was in Viet Nam and jumped on a grenade to smother it to save his four soldier companions. He was the first African American to receive the Medal of Honor in the Viet Nam war and it was awarded posthumously. (One of the Chicago City Colleges - Olive Harvey College - is also named after him.)

The Old-Fashioned Way

I know a lot of cities have started using these new-fangled computer database thingies to track maintenance and repair projects. But the old-fashioned way seems to work just fine. ;)

Next Time

Next time there's a Graffiti Theme Day on City Daily Photo, I'll know where to go. Foster Avenue Beach has a number of colorful artistic renderings.

Feathered Friends: Getting All Your Ducks in a Row

Chicago currently has a few rare visitors: Harlequin Ducks. They usually don't come to this area. There was one around last year, though, so maybe he recommended our fair city to his duck friends.

They were displaying some interesting activity. One of the three would start splashing. Then the other two would splash and all three would dive.

More photos of the Harlequin Ducks are at my bird-watching blog, here.

Got Some Weather Moving In

Chicago seems to be the target for some wild weather patterns lately. Or, at least, some wild skies. These Thursday afternoon clouds brought wind, rain, something one weather forecaster called slail (sleet + hail), colder temperatures and the first mention of the dreaded S Word* by weather forecasters.

Looking West

Looking East

* SNOW :(

Sepia Line

The Armitage Stop on the Brown Line. Since it was the Brown Line, I did it in sepia-tone ;)

Storage?

It's an interesting place to store a can of paint. Actually, there are THREE cans of paint sitting precariously on that shelf. The paint cans almost have to belong to somebody inside the building because there isn't a way to get to that little alcove from the outside. It's a couple of stories up from the sidewalk. (I was on the Brown Line el at Belmont when I took this.)

30 Minutes Difference

It's so interesting to watch the light change as the sun rises.

7:05 am - November 2, 2010

7:35 am - November 2, 2010

Quiet Space

I like the little nature spots that are scattered throughout the city. This is the little park next to the Art Institute.

Riverwalk of Mirrors

When the city extended the Riverwalk past Michigan Avenue, they put mirror-like tiles under the Michigan Avenue Bridge section. If you look up when a boat is going by, you get a distorted "House of Mirrors" view of the boat.

Lego Avenue

You just never know what you are going to find on Michigan Avenue.

Over the summer, it was refrigerators (here and there and over here and over there). Now, it is Lego statues. I think there are six or seven sprinkled along Michigan Avenue between Grand Avenue and Chicago Avenue. These are to promote a Lego Show/Kid's Fest that will be at McCormick Place.

I like the little diver that is "stuck" behind the shark's goggles - it's shown in the lower right photo in the collage.

Windy

Not sure if this photo really captures that it has been a little windy lately. It was supposed to be a perfect storm/storm of the century type thing but I think it has been A LOT windier other times. (Heck, my building wasn't even creaking which it usually does during strong winds.) If it doesn't give that "windy" feel, at least it is a nice picture of an area called Art on the Farm. Art on the Farm is an urban garden right in downtown Chicago that Growing Power uses as a job preparedness training ground for young people.

Standing in Line

The artistic touches at the Wellington stop on the CTA Brown Line.

Aftermath

I knew if I stood in that spot long enough, a bunch of leaves would fall from the trees at the same time so I could get a photo.

So maybe it took a little longer

than originally expected ;)

Hunter's Moon

According to the Native Americans in the Great Lakes region, the October Full Moon, which rose yesterday evening, is known as the Hunter's Moon. It is so named because this is the month for hunting and storing for the long winter.

Personally, I've been storing all summer - in the form of freezing raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries - to help get through that long winter ;)