Life Several Hundred Feet Up

During our stay at the Buckingham Athletic Club Hotel, Sandra and I had an opportunity to observe the insect population living outside at the 40th Floor. Yep, insects live that high. I saw several fly around and occassionally land on the window and hang around for a while.

We also saw...


High Rise Spider

...a spider work on its web—unexpected and amazing.

Sunrise, 7/2

On our last morning at the hotel, I caught some more sunrise images.


Sunrise Chicago

For more photographs (and larger sizes), check out Sunrise from the 40th Floor, July 2nd on my other blog, Hue and Light.

Wedding Photos

Some photos taken by our wedding photographer, Jill Hornok, are available on her Facebook page in the gallery, Sandra and Bill's Wedding.

Sunrise, 7/1

Another day...
Another sunrise...


Sunrise on the Lake

For additional photographs and larger views, check Sunrise from the 40th Floor, July 1st on Hue and Light.

Sunrise 6/30

Chicago Sunrise

The sunrise over Lake Michigan was spectacular. Even though I'm not an early morning person and the window wasn't the cleanest, the moment was worth capturing.


Light on the Lake

For larger views and more photographs, check out Sunrise from the 40th Floor, June 30th over at Hue and Light.

Chicago at Night

While I didn't have quite the setup to take night photography (I didn't have the tripod), I still think that a couple images turned out okay.


Lit at Night


Willis at 11:23 PM

View from the 40th Floor, the Lounge

Sandra Takes a Look
One of the great finds of the wedding trip was the Buckingham Athletic Club Hotel. Located on the 40th floor of One Financial Place, home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, the hotel is a hard to notice. The building itself is home to the Buckingham Athletic Club, financial company offices, and Everest Restaurant. It's easy to walk past the entrance of the building and never know that a hotel lies inside. I know this, because I had walked past on my way to or from the Rock Island Metra on dozens of trips and never noticed anything about a hotel.

The 21 room hotel feels cozy, and though it does occupy the 40th floor and offers nice views, it is not expensive by downtown Chicago standards. So while it is a bit hard to find and awkward arriving and departing by car, the Buckingham Athletic Club Hotel is a gem. Here are more south-facing views taken from the lounge on the 40th floor:

The Metra Rails Stretch Southward


Rail Truss over the South Branch of the Chicago River


The Alder Planetarium, a Fingernail in Lake Michgan

Two Small Galleries on Hue and Light

I've added a few small posts over at Hue and Light. The first has two miscellaneous photographs taken at Millennium Park in Chicago. In the second, I posted two digitally manipulated images of Gizmo. Check them out.

Goslings Growing Quickly

In these photos from June 13th, you can see the dry grass. You can also see how much the goslings look like their parents. Goslings don't yet look like adults, but the resemblance is close.


Lying for a Nibble


In Motion

Summer Heat

It's been a very hot summer in Nashville. We missed the hottest days when we were in Chicago. Still when we returned, the heat might have eased but it didn't relent. From June 28th through July 8th (that's yesterday), 9 out of 11 days hit 100 degrees or higher and the two days that missed were both 99. One of the days, June 29th, hit a Phoenix-esque high of 109. Quite simply, it's been hot.

Sandra and I actually woke up early to play nine holes of golf with my friend Jim and his friend Chris. Even with the 8:20 am start of the round, it was warm by the last hole—not surprising when the temperature eventually reached 100.

The other issue this summer has been the lack of rainfall. Until a sprinkle Saturday night and then a more thorough soaking later on Sunday and into Monday, rain has been sparse. Hot and dry! The landscape has began to look more like November with the straw-colored grass and the falling leaves. Yes, it's July, and many leaves have changed color and have begun to fall. Particularly, for the smaller trees, it has been a difficult season.

Too Early to be Fall

More Millennium Park

Venetia had been to Chicago, but not since Millenium Park had opened, so we showed her the Pritzker Pavilion and then the Crown Fountains. I love the Pritzker for the free outdoor music performances that I attended when I lived in Chicago.

The Crown Fountain is a great example of interactive public art. The two towers show faces of people, and then timed to the facial expressions, water shoots out. It's a space that many different people, tourists and locals, come to enjoy. Being a fountain, parents bring their children to enjoy the water, particularly on warm summer days.

I snapped this photo of Sandra's father looking at one of the fountain towers:
Sandra's Father Spies the Fountain

Two Sisters in Millennium Park

Chicago, a Wedding, and Sandra's Family

A week ago Saturday, I officially joined "The Club"; at least, that is how some people phrased it when congratulating me. After living together for several years, Sandra and I were married on June 30th in the Chicago area.

My mother was unable to attend due to lingering problems with a sore that she developed when she originally had her stroke. It was very distressing for me and her, especially in light of that her doctors didn't make the effort to try to get her to the ceremony. I should write more about the situation in my other blog, Locked-In and Living.

Sandra's parents and both of her sisters came to the wedding. The next day, Sunday, her parents, sister Venetia, Sandra, and I visited one of Chicago's new iconic locales, Millennium Park. After lunch and a storm, we stopped at "The Bean", the local name for Cloud Gate.


Venetia, Sandra, Mom, and Dad


The Family with a View of Cloud Gate
If you look more closely into the reflections, you can also see me taking the snapshot.

A Photograph's Moment in the Clouds


Us, the Newlyweds

Gizmo

For an indefinite amount of time, we have a new addition to our household, Gizmo. After a day or so of being a little uneasy with the surroundings, he has settled in well.


An Evening in the Life of Gizmo


Lounging on the Porch in the Afternoon
More photographs (and larger views) of Gizmo can be found in Portraits of a Cat on my other blog, Hue and Light.

A Little Bit of Nashville at Night

LP Field at Night
After the Sunday night session on NCAA basketball on March 18th, Sandra and I walked a little ways along the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge, which crosses the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. Above is an image of the football stadium with its lights reflecting in the water. The following shows Second Street at 11pm.
Nashville's Second Street on a Sunday Night

Perched

Facing east outside the apartment stretch the barren branches of a tree.  While the weather this summer has been difficult for many trees, this particular tree has been dead since prior to our move last Autumn.  Its starkness offers a contrast to green (or lately not so green) canopy.

Two weeks ago near dusk, I caught this image of the branches.

Looking at the Branches
Cropping to a Cardinal
Yes, a male cardinal was taking advantage of the view.

Thoughts of July

It has been a whirlwind, it seems, at times.  Though I have opportunities to blog, the desire hasn't been present always.  But the itch to write is coming back, so I might get back on track with posts about geese and wine and a cat and a very special day.

A Bit Pricier Collection

A Collection of Three
A few months back, we had a chance over the course of several weeks to try a few older vintages of more expensive wines.

Pali 2007 Pinot Noir:
From Santa Barbera, this offers the fruit you might expect from a Californian wine, but at the same time, also shows refined eloquence.  This is a Pinot, which can go comfortably with a wide range of foods and occassions.

Il Pareto 2003 Nozzoli:
The Tuscan, almost 10 years old, highlights aged Italian red characteristics of dark fruit swirling into tobacco and leather.  I would recommend this with grilled meat and other hearty food.

Louis Jadot 2005 Santenay "Clos De Malte":
The Burgundian Pinot Noir struck a nice balance between fruit and earth tones.  While not a complete standout, it is a good example of French Pinot in the mid $20 price range

More Goslings

I've been steady on the photographing front, though life has been busy. While I do have time to post, when I have the time, something else becomes a larger priority.

Here's some images of the goslings taken on June 2nd (about a month from the earlier images):



A Gosling Among the Flock


A Tighter Frame


The Gosling Hydra


On the Water