That's some serious ironwork on the front door of the Red Gym at the UW.

Stepping back a bit ...

It's been here for a while.

A Blast From The Past

Mom and Dad used to refer to pocket change as "silver." I had to ask them why. It never occurred to me that it might have once been made of silver, but here it is: a silver coin I picked out of pocket change yesterday. I can't remember the last time I saw one of these. They just don't show up in change any more.

Butterfly Breakfast

I don't know what kind of flowers those are, but they smell good, to both me and this butter fly, apparently. There were about a hundred of these guys all over the flowers on a bush in our back yard this morning.

Now I've seen everything

Those are toasted walnuts on the pizza My Darling B ordered for dinner last night. I've seen lots of things on pizza before, but it would never have even ocurred to me to ask for toasted walnuts! That's just weird.

Death Takes A Field Trip

I'll bet these kids thought their field trip to the capital wouldn't be this much fun. Mr. Death strolled down the stairs v e r y c a r e f u l l y to avoid tripping over the kids as they circled him.

A Wooded Lane

Midland Lane in Monona.

The Parting Of The Ways

Trees parted where a power line runs between the boughs. In the center foreground, all that is left of a tree that failed to spread its branches is the chunk that engulfed the wire.

Up a Lazy River

Morning on the Yahara River in Monona

The fog comes on little cat feet ...

Chicago Skyline reflected in "The Bean"

Everyone who visits The Bean has to take this picture. A giant, stainless steel bean shape polished to a highly reflective shine is such a strange sight that you almost have to.

One Red Cent

The penny I found in the dirt while I was helping My Darling B turn over the dirt for her herb garden, bearing the date 1950 and a "D" mark from the Denver mint.

It may have been dropped there just recently, but it was buried under about six inches of dirt, and coincidentally the neighborhood in which Our Humble O-Bode now stands was developed in 1950.

Funny that we still call them pennies ...

The Library of Congress

See any books? Neither did I.

Cherubs on the staircase at the Library of Congress

There is some really, really cool architecture in Washington D.C. I wish I knew somebody who not only lived there but also knew the stories behind all the great buildings you can still see there.

Party Animals

Seen outside a pub in Washington D.C.

On the front lawn of Georgetown University

The graduating class of 2007 prepares to pick up their sheepskins.

As he steps up to the plate ...

Sean climbs the stairs to approach the stage where he'll receive his bachelor's of arts degree from Georgetown University.

Think he's at all happy about the prospect?

Appropriately choked up over the occasion, mother congratulates her oldest son.

Sean and Tim talk over the day's events

After the ceremony, we all met at a local restaurant for a celebratory meal and happy conversation.

Devoured!

It's only the second week in May and this creeper has all but taken over the porch of this Madison home! It's coming for your house next!

More detail from the mural on the old Mifflin Street Co-Op

I'm not usually too picky about things like this, but that kid's got at least six fingers on his or her left hand. Then again, maybe those aren't his hands. I thought maybe he was parting the canvas with his hands to peer into the beyond, but maybe not. Maybe he's got the worst case of cauliflower ears ever.

He built a crooked house ...

It's not as apparent in this photo (unless you click to expand it to full size) as it was from glancing at the house from across the street: This old house hasn't got many plumb lines left in it. I'd love to see the inside. I'll bet there isn't a single room with a square corner in it.

The Green Man says 'Hello!'

Detail from the mural on the wall of the former Mifflin St Co-op. In a row of sprouting seedlings, this one's got a face and reaches out to catch ... the sun? An unsuspecting victim? Could be a triffid, you can't tell.

RIP Mifflin St Co-Op

Detail from the mural painted on the wall of the building that used to be home to the Mifflin Street Co-Op.

Hey! I suffer from that, too!

Mural on the wall of Mother Fools coffee house

In commemoration of Mother's Day?

I wanted to snap a photo of it before it got covered up in that tangled block letter crap that passes for grafitti.

I love lilacs.

I was lucky enough to buy a house with a yard full of lilacs.

Not only that, but Barb, my neighbor to the north has lilacs planted all along the lot line. Jim, my neighbor to the south, has a couple smaller lilacs.

Right now, walking into my back yard is like walking into the perfume aisle at Penny's.

This is what happens when I don't mow as often as I should

Why is it so many home owners don't like dandelions? What's not to like about them? They have a beautiful, brilliant flower, they grow everywhere without a lot of fuss, and when they go to seed you get to make a wish. Say no to ChemLawn. Leave the dandilions alone.

The Lamp House

Walking along Mifflin Street during a sunny noon-time lunch hour, I caught a glimpse between two apartment buildings of this Prairie-style house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Poking around, I managed to find the alleyway that lead to the front of the house. It stands in a small lot in the middle of the block, sort of stashed away in a blind spot where it goes unnoticed from the street most of the time.

I've read about it a couple times in the paper, first when it changed hands, and again when its new owner was looking for renters.

"Despite the deferred maintenance, the house has the unmistakable flow and timelessness that characterizes Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. The Lamp House was ahead of its time with its open floor plan. Some of Wright's signature features are present: the flat roof, strong horizontal lines, a central fireplace in the living room with an inglenook off to one side, and Cherokee red trim on the exterior. Sunlight floods the house through the many leaded-glass windows." -- Chris Martell, Wisconsin State Journal

Going Up

Sited at the top of the ridge along West Wash, Capital West is taking a place of prominence on Madison's skyline.

I'm a sucker for construction sites, so I strolled up there to take a closer look at how construction has come along this week.

They've filled in that great big hole on the south side of the building with three levels of ... something. Underground parking? Retail space? Storage? I'd hate to live in an apartment down there, unless they're planning to level the hilltop to let a little more light in.

Exposed rebars at the Capital West construction site appear to roll like a surf. Almost seems a shame to cover them over with concrete.

Pavers

While taking some photos of houses in Madison, I looked down at the uneven ground I was tripping over and saw these bricks making up a back stoop. There was something written on the bricks underfoot, so I snapped this photo, pretty much as an afterthought, to look at later.

"Purington Block" the one on the left says, and "Marion Paver" on the right.

Google "Purington Block" and you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the history of Purington bricks, of Galesburg, Illinois. These guys made enough brick to pave streets from here to Panama City. Okay, not in a straight line, but they did pave streets here and in Panama City.

I remember walking up a Madison back alley that was still paved in bricks, but now I can't remember where it was.

Okay, random thought generator's gone into overdrive ... obviously time to stop.

This may be the weirdest pop machine in Madison. Naturally, it's on State Street. It's about the size of a filing cabinet. It's about the same color, too. I could've gotten a better picture of it if I'd felt safe getting closer, but this is obviously an extra-terrestrial device for stealing the life essence from earthlings, feebly disguised as a pop machine. A shot from the curb will have to do from this intrepid reporter.

Tree Hugger

Big Cheese

Coffee Cake

Early Bird

I was tempted to buy these, maybe for a fun lunch set, but I resolved never again to eat off plastic. Too bad.

Wondering Where The Lions Are

Man, he looks sad, doesn't he?

State Street Hodge Podge

Can you find yours truly? Look between Fontana's and the art museum.

Leafing Out

I love this first hint of spring, when the leaves unfurl.

When we moved into Our Humble O-Bode, the previous owner had stacked firewood alongside the deck in the back yard, where an opportunistic maple sapling had taken root. Over the summer it grew to be almost six feet tall.

There are precious few trees growing in our yard: A flowering crab, a few lilacs, a hawthorn. All decorative. No shade trees to speak of. The maple's base is practically under the deck. Its trunk grows up around the rail of the deck in a wicked dog-leg. I hate to discourage anything as determined as that.

I planned to dig it out and transplant it last fall, but getting under the deck to excavate a root ball turned out to be impossible, and I resigned myself to cutting it down. But not right away. In the spring, I told myself.

I couldn't cut it down this spring.

It's not bothering anybody. It's not undermining the foundations of the deck, or muscling aside the woodwork. When it does, I figure I can prune it back. If it ever overwhelms the deck or encroaches on the house, then I'll have to get out the axe, but it's not a problem now, and maybe in a year or two it'll be big enough to give us a little shade over the deck for a couple summers. So I let it grow.

A hardwood Daruma doll caught the evening light through the window of the front door.

First of all, how long have the 80's been "retro?" The 80's were just ... ah ... okay, they started twenty-seven years ago. But retro? Really? I mean, I know those eyes. That's Morten Harket looking up from a cartoon page in the video Take On Me by Norwegian boy band a-ha. I wasn't into them but I watched a lot of MTV and that one got a hell of a lot of air time.

Retro. Huh. Dammit. That's what happens when I'm not paying attention, I guess.

There's just too much violins on State Street these days ...

... Oh! Never mind

Handy

Scribed into the concrete on Carroll Street beside the Anchor bank parking lot.

I must have walked past these hands hundreds of times and never saw them before because the sun has to hit the pavement at just the right angle.

I think the Roman numerals are supposed to be the date: 9 - 29 - 8 1

I can't read the name below. Maybe "Nate?"

Knitty Gritty Mil-City?

It's some kind of knitted golden fabric, zip-tied to a ginko tree on MLK Boulevard. Does anybody know what this is about?

[ADDED 5-27-08: It turns out to be the calling card of whoever owns this MySpace Page. ]

From the corner of Broom and Main, the new Dane County Courthouse looks ... kinda scary. Almost like it's going to eat the houses across the street.

The skeletal remains of Sacred Heart Hospital as they sat baking in the August sun.

Developers picked it clean, intending to use the carcass as a frame on which to build another downtown condominium, but plans hit a bump and the design had to be jiggered a bit, so it sat like this for quite a few months.

There's a hole in front of it big enough hide a herd of elephants. It's a good thing we didn't get a lot of rain last fall.


Construction's coming right along now that they've got all the details ironed out.

If I've got my head around the concept, this is going to be the glass-faced tower of condos at 309 West Washington.

First the robins, then the kids

Robins aren't the most reliable measure of the coming of spring, you can take that as gold. I've seen robins scratching through six inches of snow, looking in vain for a stray bug or worm. They come back way too early.

But grade-school kids picnicking on the lawn of the capital — now, that's a sure-fire indication that spring has finally come. Gladdened the cockles of my heart to see them out there today.

The Vein in Dane

Some kind of creeper &mdash I'll have to check it again after it's leafed out to see if I can figure out what kind — has been encouraged to climb the spiral ramp to the parking lot at the Monona Terrace. With all its leaves temporarily shed, it looks like nothing so much as a network of veins or nerves stretching across the bare concrete. And made the foundations of the Terrace look creepily alive.