At first, I thought the crowd had blocked off State Street and the police were moving in to disperse them. After a few minutes, I realized that the police were part of the protest route and were simply bringing up the rear.
On the way home, we walked by the Hyde Park Garden Fair – which wasn’t open yet, but was being prepared for opening day.
I think this guy was planted in a small bed on the corner, as it doesn’t seem to have many roots. Winds were definitely strong today, but it’s a miracle this guy didn’t uproot before now. It looks as though it was sitting in about a foot of soil!
Spotted this on my walk home, after stopping off at the grocery store. I couldn’t see inside the bag, but the note itself made me chuckle. I liked it so much, I had to set all my bags down so I could take this photo.
“Please do NOT cut down this tree. It is a Hackberry, not an ash.”
Here’s a close-up. I didn’t get a good look at it as I was passing by, but now that I’ve got it in Photoshop… I’m not sure what it is. A symbol? A gesture?
Walking home last night, I came across this odd device in the road – next to some traffic barricades blocking cars from going down a side street. As I approached, I noticed that it was emitting this high-pitched whining sound that got louder the closer I got to it.
“The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.”
It was interesting to watch the crowds gather, as folks all tried to figure out what to do. The problem just slowly got bigger, as more people entered. People looked around, trying to find information. And then finding none, they stopped in place, pulled out their phones, and started searching or texting.
On our way home last night, Liz and I decided to swing down 53rd street. We had heard President Obama was in Hyde Park, hanging out until his farewell address at 8:00 PM (at McCormick).
But instead of the sound of a tinny bell ringing, the alarm was more like the kind of thing you’d hear on the Enterprise when the warp core is about to go critical.
Closeup of the neck, which made me think of a huge, mechanical dinosaur. I could have stayed and watched this all morning. Fascinating stuff.
Spotted this while walking home from work. Tons of tables, each table holding tons of boxes, each box holding tons of books.
Liz showed me this strange plant that she had spotted, on our walk home today. It’s in someone’s yard, and I can’t really tell if it’s a super overgrown weed, or if it’s something that was planted intentionally.
I thought seriously about rolling down my window, and shouting at the guy “Your truck is awesome!” Because it really was, and I really felt like a kid, admiring the thing.