Neglected

Several years ago we put a cast iron and wooden bench in our garden. It was never used much and it has taken the brunt of several years of rain and snow and other forms of mistreatment. Frankly it is ready to collapse, so we will not be sitting there anyway.

There is advancing growth extending from the garden to the bench. Recently the vines seem to have taken a liking to the seat and I have not taken the time to train the growth back.

Nature always looks for the opportunity to recapture. And maybe that is a good thing.

PS: Also that vine might be poison ivy!

Chiropractic humor

I will let you ponder the meaning of the Enter and Exit signs for this chiropractor's office. Took me a minute to realize the cleverness.

Bird on a wire

When I first spotted this view I saw 4 birds along with some interesting utility pole shapes. After looking more closely I now know the "birds" are apparently splices, or some other equipment devices, but the picture still appealed to me.

Breakfast club

I had grabbed some breakfast and sat down at the harbor in Montauk.  In a few moments I was joined by this gull, looking for some breakfast himself no doubt.  He (she?) was only about 5 feet from me and kept eyeing my chow.  But he did not get any of it.

I was surprised by the size of this bird.  Upon more careful observation I came to realize there are a number of species of gulls, and this one was the biggest.

At least he was not so rude as to try to steal my food.  Once he realized there was no handouts in the offing he flew away, looking for a more benevolent benefactor.

Who is that up there?

Tucked away two stories above the street, someone decided to paint these characters up on the ledge. Not sure if they gave up or if it is a work in process. Not sure why they would even do this. It is apparent that whoever the artist is they have some talent.

But the message is certainly not clear... at least to me.

Now that's a superstore

OK, not a great photo... but this is my idea of a candy store (well, at least a low calorie candy store).

Of course this is the world famous B&H superstore in NYC. I have on quite a few occasions left more than a few dollars there. This picture shows only the high-end counter for D-SLRs and accessories. There are over 30 counter stations, and most of the time people are waiting in line to get called up to a postion (this was taken early in the morning so not too busy yet).

And this is only a small section of the store that also includes lighting, pro-audio, video, computers, even musical electronics, used equipment and lots more. And most of their business in done on-line!

24 hour Apple

The famous Apple store on Fifth Avenue exposes itself as a glass cube, but the store is actually down the circular glass stairway and below.  This day it had rained a bit in the morning so there are some drops of water still on the roof.

This is the one and only Apple store that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!  I don't really get it... do people suddenly decide they need a new iPod at 3:00 AM on a Sunday morning?

Look up

They say the mark of a tourist in a big city is they are always looking up checking out the big buildings, like the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building.  I have a friend to instructed me to carry a water bottle so if I wanted to look up I only had to drink from my Evian, thereby not looking like a crane-necked tourist.

But I find that many of the real interesting things to see are not the well known buildings, but glimpses of the everyday.  People live up there and it is certainly a different lifestyle from from what I know. 

Traveling underground

New York has an extensive subway system that is quite efficient but it is not perfect.  During the hot weather it can be really uncomfortable in the stations, although the cars are cooled.  Also you find some very off-beat and curious individuals down in those tunnels, but generally you feel safe.  The tile work in the stations is really quite nice but not always kept up as well as would be ideal.

Color is everywhere but sometimes hidden

Yes mostly gray, but with a bit of Photoshop manipulation color emerges where it is not expected.

Street art

Not sure what all those lines and arcs mean but it must be important.  This is Lexington Avenue at 47th Street.  Perhaps there is construction or resurfacing that is in the works, but for the live of me I could not decipher what the lines meant.

No respect

The birds of Bryant Park do not seem to like William Earle Dodge very much. I guess that is the fate of a statue in a public park.

Mr. Dodge was a successful businessman and supporter of American Indian rights.  He was also a founding member of the YMCA.

That seems pretty respectable to me.

New York City

There are a lot of great cities in this world, and I have visited a few, but none are quite like New York.  It truly is the Big Apple.  I was fortunate to spend a few days there so the next several posts will include some of my photos and observations during my stay.

Fireworks

July 4th is a day of celebration, and one of my favorite parts is the fireworks. The colors and the booming sounds really kick-off summer for me.

By the way, this is my 99th post to this blog. To me it is more fun to recognize 99 than that centurion number of 100.