Feeling ill today...

...as the throat is sore, the glands are swollen, and the nose seems to want to run through every street in Chicago...so much for a very compromised immune system, thanks to the bacteria Cryptosporidium and John Norquist, the former Mayor of Milwaukee, WI (my hometown) who eventually resigned.

Sooooo, I wrote, as I am apt to do:

Day and night

Sirens scream in the night:
Up and down this street
Of this, the northernmost neighborhood
Of Chicago.

I wake, though,
Knowing they aren't coming for me.

For which I thank the Creator:
Once.
Twice.
And again.

Post-blizzard Absurdity!

After my walk along the lake yesterday, I turned west at Greenleaf Avenue to head back up Sheridan Road. When I reached the corner, this was what I saw:

Plow damage to the Loyola Park Fieldhouse planter

In the clean-up after the Groundhog Day blizzard, this walk was closed to foot traffic, as up to nine-foot high piles of snow had been dumped along most of this two-block western boundary of Loyola Park.

Though I'm not certain when this plow came through to clear the walk, I am dismayed at the destruction!

Bench #1

Bench #2

Bench #3

Bench #4

Bench #5

Toward the back of this snow pile is a metal trash container, which was attached to the sidewalk a half-block away. The mangled black shape in the foreground is the heavy-duty plastic liner.

An example of what the benches used to look like (on an interior park path)

These benches have been in place since, at least, the late 1950s. Seats and backs were replaced by Chicago Park District as necessary.

To have these five benches destroyed in one fell swoop is ABSURD!

Was the plow driver drunk, or on drugs?

I also wonder...what did the plow blade look like after this total debacle?

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

From my Window: Chicago's Blizzard

It was my intent today, when I arrived back home around 3 PM, to set up the camera and tripod at my window and do a shot every hour or so to show the progress of the Great Blizzard of 2011.

The window began to fog (actually, the storm window) around noon. So, all I can show you from the lower, unscreened half is my friend the mannequin, desperately trying to stay afoot during horrendous winds (which are rattling the windows and impacting the building heavily).

I crept the camera up to a place where, through the screen, you can see at least something of Sheridan Road, the Farcroft building, and how little snow there seems to be at about 5:45 CST.

BTW...that "egg-stremely bright light" just right of center is courtesy of the Shambhalah Center, at the corner of Sheridan Road and Sherwin Avenue here in Rogers Park. It is "ON" 24/7, shining right into my window, making my apartment very bright at night.

It is an irritant.

Jeesh...you'd think these psuedo-Buddhists would have more manners, huh?

But, then again...it's Rogers Park, the most northerly neighborhood of Chicago, where some of the most liberal "hippies" and "wanna-be hippies" live--sorry for the redundancy.

I hope to get out tomorrow, if the wind dies down a bit, in order to show you some more of out Great Chicago Blizzard (?)

For your pleasure, from last summer...

...because this summer they did not look as beauteous. Nowhere near this example.

Winding down

Last of the Swimmers

Fargo Beach, here in Rogers Park, had only a few swimmers as of 3 PM. All Chicago beaches close for the summer this evening at 7 PM--that means no more lifeguards, so please don't take a chance swimming! The rip currents can drag you out and under, even if you consider yourself a stong swimmer!

Rogers Beach

Pretty quiet for Labor Day, with almost no sailboats out on the waters, and only a few families doing picnic dinners.

Sheridan Road Parkway Garden

The so-called 'Summer of Recovery--NOT' has really begun to wind down.

I can see November!

A peek inside

Ah, the apple trees!

Apple and Crabapple trees in bloom on Sheridan Road, Rogers Park, Chicago, USA!

Sunday's Surprises in Rogers Park

This gorgeous magnolia on Sheridan Road, near Greenleaf Avenue, looks fragile...kind of like Poland right now. But it is durable and strong, as are the Polish people!

My favorite Hosta bed on Sheridan Road just south of Chase Avenue shows no sign of damage from the recent hail storm. The Hosta is also durable and strong, much like the Poles, and keeps 'coming back', even when it looks as though it has been beaten to the proverbial pulp!

Then, as I looked down at the sidewalk (always have to watch my step!), I found this little gem on Morse Avenue, just east of Sheridan Road.

It's a tiny copper bit of Rogers Park history, embedded into the concrete. I've Googled and Googled, but can find no mention of "Simpson Bros. Co.", nor can I figure why the term "Chamber of Commerce" applies, as to my knowledge, there was no chamber in Rogers Park during the 1910s or 1920s, which I assume is the period during which this sidewalk was 'laid'.

Perhaps, someday, I'll find the answer?

Fascinating Fungi

They grow on an older maple tree on the grounds of Leone Park & Beach on Sheridan Road at Touhy Avenue in Rogers Park. I'm sure this maple was there when Sam Leone was still around, training his Junior Lifeguards.