Murals

I always like a beautiful mural. This one is in the 1800 block of east 71st Street. It is one of several on the ABJ Community Services building.

After the Ornaments

What do you do with the Christmas Tree after the ornaments, lights, and tinsel are removed? Recycle it! Chicago encourages people to take their trees to recycling centers to keep the trees out of land fills. The trees are chopped up into mulch that is thmade available to residents.

Park Bench: Winter and Autumn

More from the early January blizzard - WHY I didn't post these back then is unclear to me. Anyway. I was walking around in the Grant Park/Millennium Park area and I suddenly remembered I had taken an Autumn picture of this park bench that I had not posted. It isn't a perfect replica photo but you get the picture.

Tracks in The Snow

Sorry this isn't as timely as it should be. This picture is from a few weeks ago when North Pond was frozen over. I'm pretty sure these are the tracks of an adventurous rabbit that dashed over the snow-covered North Pond.

Thinking about Spring

Yes, I know Spring is a few long months away but it is nice to think about it - especially after a long stretch of photos that are primarily white, gray and icy blue.

These beautiful murals line a stretch of Commercial Avenue in the South Chicago Neighborhood. According to notes on one of the murals, they were created by students of the South Chicago Art Center. The SCAC blog states that "The hope is that the paintings improve the aesthetics of the neighborhood."

I think they accomplish that goal and also provide a nice pop of color on these monochromatic winter days.

Winter Sunset

I loved how the sunset turned the horizon and the smoke from the buildings a delicate shade of pink.

Icy Shore

I have a few more photos from the snow and freeze period in earlier January. This is from North Avenue Beach. In nice weather, this is the bike/walking path. But, on the second weekend in January, it was a bumpy and very slippery glaze of ice. It forms such an interesting pattern.