Eight Tracks -- No Waiting

Between the morning and evening commuting rush hours, there are fewer trains going into and out of Union Station. So you get a chance to see the interlacing of the tracks.

A Grand Illusion

This is not the building's entrance. It is a mural on the building at LaSalle and Division. Originally done in 1980 by artist Richard Haas and restored in 2005, it is titled "Homage to the Chicago School of Architecture".

It is quite the detailed mural - even including a shadow to continue the illusion that it is three dimensional.
It includes portraits of Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, Louis Sulivan, and John Root (see detail below), architects closely associated with the Chicago School of Architecture.

Feathered Friends: Stretching

With a long flight still ahead, this migrating Nashville Warbler is getting some dinner and doing a little yoga stretching so he's limber enough to get down to Mexico.

More pictures of the Nashville Warbler are at my bird-watching blog, which is here.

Life is Good

I guess life is good if you are a bug and you land on someone's hat and you get your picture taken instead of getting swatted. Bugs, like wildflowers, are not my area of expertise. No clue what this is -- only that I think it is an interesting looking insect.

Red Sunset Green Sunset?

I happened to be home just before sunset yesterday and saw this green light in the window. I looked and realized it was the sun. Now, I've heard about the phenomena of a Green Flash at sunset, but I really thought it was at sunset - not as the sun was setting. I had never seen the green sun before and can only guess that people at the other end of the hall usually have their blinds closed.

So here is the first sunset of Autumn, tinted naturally. Well, not naturally, exactly - it is after all through several tinted windows -but, at least without software intervention.

Here is the sunset without the window filters.

What's Blooming: Plan B

I was going to post the last sunrise of summer (Autumn arrives at 4:18pm CDT today) but Chicago has a really thick fog near the lake so Plan B is a late summer flower collage.

At the top is a not-yet-ready to fall apart dandelion. So few seem to have all their feathery seeds left (the birds have been eating them as they come through). At the bottom are some bright purple and cheery yellow wildflowers from the Magic Hedge area. I think I need to purchase a wildflower identification book. I'd really like to know what I'm photographing.

Don't Grocery Shop When You Are Hungry

A certain organic-focused grocery store built a brand new store in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. It opened over the summer but I hadn't visited it yet. It is so large, they give you a little map as a guide to finding your way.


There's a wine bar ...

... and a diner-style restaurant ...
There's a food court and a sushi bar as well. I got so distracted looking at all the different mini-restaurants that I forgot to buy the olive oil that I went to get.