A week ago yesterday, I bought these tulips at the outdoor farmers’ market, and enjoyed them for a day. Then we went to Michigan for the weekend, had some amazing adventures there, and by the time we got home Barbara and Krystina had thrown the tulips away. Because by that time they were dead, I…
‘I should not be’
You think you know Grant Park, and then. . . . I was leaving the park the other day when I noticed this amazing sign, positioned atop the Art Nouveau-style entrance to the Metra train station at Van Buren. Has it been there forever? Perhaps my readers can say. . . . The Octophant, proclaimed…
Dewes House tree
Last time I walked by, the tree in front of the Dewes House was blooming, framing the caryatids. A swell address, originally built for a German brewer, it exudes baroque style, inside and out. I’m glad these historical old mansions survive, but this one, however beautiful, stirs desolation in me. It needs a Kickstarter project…
On the river bank
Creatures enjoying their place in creation.
Red trees against Chicago
One of the benefits of our cold late spring has been a profusion of bloom. These densely flowering trees line the bottom edge of Grant Park. (For a picture taken from a moving car, it’s not too bad.)
Shrubs in the hood
At this time of year, each fancy high-rise seems to be in competition with all others to be the most lovely. Gardeners are out daily primping the grounds, tweaking the seasonal shows they’ve dreamed up to show off the special structural elements of their property. This place on Oakdale near Sheridan makes beautiful use of…
West-side industrial
Yesterday we had to take our car in for service, which meant driving out to the west side on Division. It’s an old industrial no-man’s-land, with a rusty old bridge over the Chicago River and an old paper factory made of aged red brick. 2018 update: The Burhop factory building has since been demolished.
Silverwood Farm
Last weekend, a friend invited us up to a horse farm in Wisconsin to see a dressage competition. It was quite a drive–Chicago weekend traffic can be murder–but the weather was gorgeous (though still cold). The landscape, decked out in the delicate finery of spring, was lovely to behold. I had never attended such an…
Federal Plaza neighbors
The south end of the Federal Plaza has recently seen an upgrade of the mechanical systems that lie beneath it. After being closed for more than a year, it has been replanted and is again open to the public. I like to imagine what stood on this spot in other days. Before the squat black…
He could have taken the elevator
This tableau with stuffed bears inside Bass Outdoor World is only one of its surreal features. I visited one of these stores for the first time the other day and found it an assault on my gentle sensibilities. A salesman proudly told me that the store contained $2 million worth of taxidermy. Across the US,…
Pretties on parade
It was almost militantly beautiful over the weekend, though cold. Under the trees was one bohemian soul, lying on the grass, careless of the perfect order he was destroying, his gaze bent on the riot of bloom.
Happy Mother’s Day
Peace and joy to the givers and protectors of life! Best wishes, Celia
