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.)

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