and then the thaw

Belle Isle, winter thaw.

I am a couple days behind. Today it is 7 degrees and howling wind and it snowed again and the snow is blowing around. Haven't been out yet to attempt a capture.

Sorry about the trash--I tried to pick a place with the least possible trash, but trash is everywhere on Belle Isle and I wasn't about to go wading to pick it up.

After the Ice Storm

We had an ice storm, then snow, the rain, then a thaw. Tonight it's
supposed to get very cold again.

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's opened a new store in our area and last night we went for the first time. After all the hype, we were surprised at how small it was, how inconveniently located, and how annoying it was to have to pay to park. We did buy stuff, since we were there, and there were some interesting and unusual items we haven't seen elsewhere. The man in the first shot was a stranger posing for his wife. I did not get his name--if you know it, I will be happy to include it. The last shot is the infamous parking garage. We did NOT park in it, which meant we had to carry our groceries down ice-covered sidewalks quite a distance. Paying to shop for groceries is a new and horribly hideous invention, in my mind.

Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Waterworks and two Church in Snowstorm

Biker Buddy and I went for a walk last night in Grosse Pointe Farms in a snowstorm. We took the tripod and camera And stood in the snow with the snow falling on the camera taking long time exposures. The falling snow does not show because of the long exposures.

The first two are of the Grosse Pointe Farms Municipal Waterworks, and then two nearby churches. The second one is St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church. I've misplaced the name of the first but will add it later if I find it. All three buildings are located on Chalfonte, which is one long block from the border of Detroit (Mack). The municipal building is on Chalfonte and Kerby. Click images to view a little larger. (They also look sharper when you click on them.)

On the map below, the push pin marks the municipal building and the arrow marks where the two churches are located, just off the bottom of the map. The yellowish area on the left is Detroit, so you can see these buildings are quite close to Detroit. Click map to view it a little larger.

See a couple more shots from last night here and here. (Front view of first church and trees around municipal building.)

Ice on Lake St. Clair

With alternate freezing and thawing, high winds, rain, snow, more
freezing, the ice on Lake St. Clair is varied, broken, patchy and
interesting. This ice fisherman caught about 6 small perch while we
were there, three of them big enough for dinner.

Detroit in Fog

I had a class down in the cultural district last night. I'm relatively new in Detroit, and somewhat unfamiliar with driving since BB usually drives. I also tend to navigate by landmarks. However, it was SO foggy (more so than the pictures indicate) that I could hardly
tell where I was going. It was really scary.

1)looking down Farnsworth street from the Scarab Clun (where my poetry
class was held.)
2)CVS
3)Looking down Mack toward auto sales (the light across the street--you can't even see the hundreds of cars.)
click images to view larger.

A Postcard from Slovenia; Looking Toward Croatia

I thought I'd send a postcard from our summer trip to Slovenia. We
stood on the Slovenian border near Piran and looked toward Croatia. I
wanted to go, but Biker Buddy was worried. He was afraid of violence.
AK! There wasn't any violence. I was really disappointed.

Back at home, we are having a "wintry mix," but is supposed to turn to
all rain later and will probably melt all our snow. I wish you
sunshine on a cloudy day. Warmth in your heart if not in the air.

Monoogian Visual Resource Center, Wayne State

It looked interesting inside too, but it was closed. This is on the
Wayne State Campus in Detroit's Cultural District. Click iamges to
view larger.

Lighthouse Theme

I was surprised when I came to Detroit at all the light-house-themed
buildings. I always associated Lighthouses with the ocean and wasn't
that familiar with those at the Lakes. This is the Grosse Pointe
Family Dentistry Office. It is in Detroit, but adjacent to the Grosse
Pointe area and apparently, they want those customers who generally
seem to ahve a little more money than people in Detroit.

Ladies

We went to the DIA yet again last night to see a movie, "Note by Note, the making of piano #L1037" at the DFT. (The Movie was very interesting, informative and good.)

At the DIA, I found myself enthralled by portraits of ladies in the European Gallery. I only got two names though, Lady Beechley and Baby by George Romney (#1) and Mrs. Alexander Campbell by Henry Raeburn (#3) I thought I was recording all the names and artists, but I missed a lot--again--I apologize. The fourth one is taken at a weird angle because of the reflections. I apologize for that, too.

There are three kinds o portraits in this gallery, whole body, half body, and bust or head. In the last picture, you can see examples of each.