Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Pillars, Nature and a Ski Resort


It's time for another random selection of iPhone photos!

First, Olga and I pass this pair of brick pillars every morning on our walk. A while back someone started working on them, and they looked like this -- with the surface of the bricks all chipped away and the tops covered with blue tarps. It was very mysterious.


Then, within a week or two, they were covered with new cement stucco. I'm not sure I'm a fan. I kind of liked the brick.


A fierce dinosaur on a deflated balloon amid some sidewalk rubbish. Who throws away whole uneaten apples?!


I found this under a tree on my way to work. Turns out Les Diablerets is a Swiss ski resort. That's just the kind of trash I would expect to find in fancy-schmancy St. John's Wood. (I think it might be a magnet, but I didn't pick it up to find out.)


Fun with shadows, part 12,457!


The Japanese magnolias have come out in our neighborhood. It seemed to happen so quickly!


This little leaf caught my eye -- it seems to have been broken, causing the lower half to die. Love that red color!


A girl at school carries around this pencil case, which cracks me up.


Olga, trying to figure out whether she can get to that cat through a window. She tried, believe me. I think she sees our walks as basically hunting expeditions.

13 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Not only did someone throw away a whole apple but the label tells me that that is a "Pink Lady"! "Pink Lady" apples have a premium price and are reliably sweet and tasty. It's surprising that you didn't bring the fridge magnet home.

Vivian Swift said...

This is my favorite gallery of iPhone pictures ever. So much to enjoy.

I hope someone paints those hideous cement pillars Majorelle Bleu. I LOVE the shadow picture! Even if I were not bitter about you having magnolias in bloom while I sit here on the north shore of Long Island looking at five inches of frozen snow, I dislike magnolias because when their petals fall, they fall onto the ground like trashy bits of old kleenex. I love the bi-colored leaf -- that's something I would stand and start at (if it was a warm day, otherwise I don't like standing out in the cold). I want that pencil pouch. And lastly, I love the picture of that beautiful black cat (all black cats are beautiful) diagonally across from Olga.

Olga and her pursuit of cats make me laugh. It's like all the cats in her life are road runners, and she's the Wiley Coyote.

Patty said...

I agree with you on the cement pillars. In that same photo I love that look on Olga's face while looking up to you. She is one happy dog!
We are expecting temps to finally rise and melt this disgusting snow and ice. Hopefully in another month I will see Magnolia trees blooming!

Ms. Moon said...

Mr. P. is right- pink ladies are a fine apple. Probably some kid whose mother lovingly bought and packed that apple for him threw it away. He wanted a bag of chips!
One wonders what Olga would do with a cat if she somehow managed to catch one.

ellen abbott said...

the japanese magnolias are in full bloom here, or really just past peak. and I've seen redbuds in full bloom but the two in my neighbors yard have yet to come out. I'm not a big apple fan but I wouldn't have tossed it.

Sharon said...

I'm with you on the pillars. I think the brick was better. I've seen a few photos on Intsagram of those Japanese magnolia trees on the streets of London. They really are very beautiful. I love that pencil case! Long walks for you, hunting exhibitions for Olga; that sounds about right.

Anonymous said...

Another lovely collection of iPhone photos. It will be interesting to see what happens next for those cement pillars.

The Bug said...

I almost can't handle the shadow picture. That leaf tip can't quite reach the leaf shadow - the sexual tension & is killing me!

Catalyst said...

The pillars may be modernized but that don't make 'em desirable. Good thing you didn't have Olga with you when you photographed that pencil bag!

jenny_o said...

When you wrote "I think it might be a magnet" I read it as "I think *I* might be a magnet" (for interesting junk)!!

It was probably cheaper to seal the pillars in cement than replace the brick, but it's still a shame.

Sabine said...

Every one of these pictures tells a story. Great stuff, Steve!!

37paddington said...

Love the Japanese magnolias. It's odd to me that spring comes to London before it comes to New York.

John Going Gently said...

The cat bag pleased me