This dramatically pruned but still beautiful Ceanothus blooms around the corner from us every spring, and every spring I have to take pictures of it. Especially on the rare sunny spring day when I also have dramatic light and shadow!
And with that, let's look at some more random photos I've collected over the last couple of weeks.
Remember that restaurant in St. John's Wood that got firebombed a year ago? Well, here's what the place looks like now. It's surrounded by plywood (painted black since I took this photo) and the moldering furniture is no longer lying on the roof. The restaurant's license has been revoked and I assume something else will be moving in -- but still no sign of a new occupant.
This bluebell flower is in the process of becoming one with the pavement.
Spotted off Regent Street a couple of weeks ago. "Oh, we're just out walking our dinosaur."
These ornate doorknobs feature on a rather grand but dilapidated building on Finchley Road. It's the one where the pigeons roost. I think it used to be an old telephone exchange -- and maybe it still is. Anyway, great doorknobs.
It was surprisingly difficult to keep Olga from walking too close to this fence -- a risky proposition given that she is mostly white. I guess we should have taught her to read.
Another mysterious sticker, once again from a football club -- this time Bayern FC in Munich. According to Google translate, the message says, "What counts in the end is friendship and solidarity." Am I the only one who thinks that gang looks vaguely threatening? Or maybe that's the joke.
I may already be enough, but I'm tired and smashed and need some water.
The already enough flower says it all!
ReplyDeleteWonderful the way the Ceanothus is pruned to conform to pavement requirements but allow the beauty to show.
I love the pressed bluebell and wish it could be preserved there.
Aren’t there dinosaur leash laws in London?
The back foot of the person in the dinosaur looks like it may be an anatomical, if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteThey gang looks very threatening.
Perhaps the message in the German sticker is that even under a threatening facade you can sometimes find something else, supportive and encouraging.
ReplyDelete"Smashed"? Christ! How many martinis did you have last night Steve?
ReplyDeleteThose are lovely door knobs. I love the Ceonathus or maybe it's Ceanothus?
ReplyDeleteThe shrub looks quite a bit like lavender. Does it have a scent?
ReplyDeleteI had to look up the shrub, it's gorgeous. Of course it doesn't grow here, sigh.
ReplyDeleteThose dinosaur costumes always make me smile. They're so silly, maybe that's why. The world needs more silly.
I like that doorknob, too! I thought at first you meant you were smashed but I figured out you meant the flower! :)
ReplyDeleteI think the receiver of the flower in the bottom picture wanted more.
ReplyDeleteThe blue flowers on the shrub are very beautiful. I'd love one on my property but research tells me my Massachusetts weather is no match. The dinosaur made me laugh. The flowers crushed on the sidewalk are a bit sad. Let's hope for a bit of sunshine and warmth for today.
ReplyDeleteCeanothus..my grandma's favourite flower.
ReplyDeleteSad flower on the pavement looks as if it has had enough
I love those T-rex costumes. there's a video somewhere of two T-rexs have a snowball fight and it is hilarious. love the door knob. there was a time when decorative door knobs and faceplates were common. I also looked up the Ceanothus, also called California lilac, and it should do well here.
ReplyDeleteI love your picture round-ups. You not only take us on a visual journey with them but also give us a little bit of yourself in your choices and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
And yes, the Friendship and Solidarity gang do indeed look threatening. The slogan is too.
While that Ceanothus is gorgeous, I am stunned at how that hedge is pruned for the Gods!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd want to run into that group of "friends" on the street!
I've never outgrown my delight in dinosaurs, so those costumes always make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteThat shrub in the top photo is beautiful. I'm drawn to anything with lavender/purple flowers.
ReplyDeleteThat bluebell is looking quite lovely pressed into the pavement. Too bad it won't stay that way.
A dinosaur walking down the street is not something you see every day. It's one of the reasons I love London. You never know what you will run into next.
Love the door knob.
Something tells me that the flower and message in that last photo didn't really do the trick.
I love the variety of colors and flowers this time of year. The dinosaur costume is cool!
ReplyDeleteI'm imagining Olga with zebra stripes on one side. Well done. Great door knobs!
ReplyDeleteMitchell: Apparently not! Olga has to be leashed but dinosaurs can just run rampant!
ReplyDeleteAndrew: Ha! I didn't notice that.
Yael: That's what I was wondering -- a sort of "don't judge a book by its cover" thing.
YP: Ha! I was trying to channel the flower, there.
River: Yes, Ceanothus -- your second option. :)
Boud: Not really, at least not that I've detected.
Pixie: It's amazing how often I see people wandering around London in costume. English people love "fancy dress."
Ellen D: Yes! I was not the smashed one. :)
Ed: Ha! I guess that's why it was left behind on the pavement.
Susan: The weather did improve, thank goodness! Yeah, Ceanothus is a sort of Mediterranean plant, I think.
GZ: Ha! Someone should alter the tag accordingly.
Ellen: Yeah, I would think it would be fine in Texas. It's a warm-weather plant.
Ms Moon: I try to personalize these posts a little bit so they're not just a stack of pictures, but probably with mixed results!
Bob: Yeah, if I saw those guys coming toward me I'd definitely go the other way!
Kelly: Dinosaurs are pretty hard to beat, I agree. Kids are invariably fascinated by them.
Sharon: It's kind of sad, actually -- someone tried to make a nice thing for another person but it seemed to fall short.
Margaret: Yes, and there's more street life because people are out and about in warmer weather.
Jeanie: Ha! She'd look like a convict.