Not Quite Gilligan’s Island and The Ruins of Something Along Route 28

It was late when I left for home cause I went to photograph the girl’s softball game and

because the Bigelow Blvd. ramp was closed, I had to follow a lengthy detour.

I found myself in bumper to bumper traffic at a standstill on one of the most awful roads- Route 28. It is ALWAYS under construction.

And there I saw this abandoned boat along the busy highway.

It took my mind of my impatience at not being home yet, having to wait.

I wondered how it got there. To whom did it belong?

It’s like being in a coffee shop and suddenly understanding why someone writing a screenplay is sitting there, working. A snippet of conversation overheard. You write a script. You get ideas.

I heard the guy say to the woman at the next table, “You have a certain lyrical unexpectedness.” (inaudible response from her) Him again, ” I played in a bar last night.”

So what’s the story of the boat? And the next scene just a few feet later, a few more car lengths down?

or the next scene when the traffic stopped again. These scenes just make you wonder.

Or if I hadn’t been stopped, would I have seen them?

Divertido – If you Need Russian, Chinese, Hebrew, French or Greek Building Blocks

Divertido means fun in Spanish.

Saturday afternoon I drove down to the Lawrenceville neighborhood to photograph this fun shop on Butler Street. I’d met the owner, Mary Ellen, when she attended the Christopher Jones house concert at my home last October so this had been on my “to do” list for a time. I knew visiting the store, photographing it and blogging it, would be a good project. Six months can fly by before you know it, though. I needed a college graduation card, too, so what better time to go shopping and blogging? The greeting cards are definitely out of the ordinary and this was a special one for my friend’s daughter.

I loved the Uncle Goose wooden building blocks with the different languages- French, Russian, Chinese, Hebrew and Greek were some of the languages represented.

Everything about the store is fun! The front windows with the swim noodles and inflatable swim rings as well as the trophies in aqua displaying the jewelry in a case are designed by Sean L. Miller.

The turquoise trophies took on a life of their own, like an installation art piece.

I took the window designer’s business card from the counter which has the words imprinted –Think Outside the Box. He definitely does and gets you thinking that way, too. The eye catching colors and design were so inviting.

Mary Ellen wasn’t sure she wanted her photograph taken but she graciously consented. Here she is in front of the counter with a cool, antique door on the front.

Thanks Mary Ellen. Another shot for my People at Work series.

You might have visited the store when it was down the street but Mary Ellen has been in business for nine years. And if you live out of town, no worries, she has online shopping at her website and you can LIKE her on the DIVERTIDO page on Facebook, too.

Pittsburgh Marathon Photos – Almost Mile Twenty

I got down early to catch the first marathoners in the wheelchair division. It was a perfect day for a marathon.

There was a street sweeper operating at the intersection of Highland and Bryant when I got down. I knew the wheelchair participants started about 6:45 AM and I calculated when they’d arrive at almost mile twenty down the bottom of our hill. I didn’t have too long to wait.

When I witness their effort, a catch forms in my throat. It’s inspiring. Accompanied by a bicycle escort, they “run” the course with determination and hard work.

I am dividing the post into galleries. The first shots I stood across the street from the local coffee shop – Tazza D’Oro.

DICK’S Sporting Goods flew about 3 dozen marathoners to Pittsburgh from Boston so they could run the marathon. These runners were ones who were unable to complete the marathon due to the attacks.

There were thousands of runners today for the Pittsburgh Marathon so this is just a small sampling of the day. Perfect weather!

Here’ s the first gallery-

The Wheelchair Participants

The lead runners just flew by, almost effortlessly (well, it seemed easy watching them) Soooo fast. So smooth.

There were lots of dogs in attendance today.

And then there were the fun runners, the monkey, the man with the ~~trumpet.~~bugle?, the guy in a kilt and sandals, women wearing tutus who were texting, and some wild hair and outfits. Many patriotic displays and one guy running backwards. A man wore a Chicago Runs for Boston shirt.

One man ran the whole marathon blindfolded, tethered to a co-runner. He did this to raise awareness and to experience what his 7 year old daughter must experience in life- she’s legally blind. To read about his efforts click here and another article about this father’s running the entire marathon blindfolded- here

A few more runners

And all the volunteers and the workers who made it all possible

The street sweepers, the garbage collectors, the police, the paramedics, the course marshals, the volunteers who passed out water and picked up the cups from the course. The bus who came to sweep up the runners who needed to ride for the remainder of the course. All photos shot with a 70-200mm Canon L series lens on Canon 5D SLR camera

And the partiers, the cheering section, and as neighbor Mike coined the term the CHAIR-ATHONERS. for further coverage you can go to the Post-Gazette

This Little Piggy- Wait, It’s THIRTEEN Piggies- Guest Blog by Marlene and Donald

Down on the farm in Virginia. Mar said it was dark in the barn. Thanks for a fun guest blog. We don’t see this in the city!

Lots of new life appearing at your neighbor’s farm.

Springtime action in corrals and pens and barn.

See proud future Dad. His “wife” is sitting on 17 eggs. (Not sure if Turkeys mate for life like other species you hear about. hmmmm)

Future Thanksgiving Dinner?

Future Dad Turkey

Future Mom sitting on 17 eggs!

Waiting for baby horses- another blog, another day

Click on Video below -A little dark in the barn. That is if you want to see 13 new piglets scramble at feeding time.

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above

There’ve been a lot of directions in the challenges.

Up, down. Round. Forward. No inside out. Yet

this week it’s FROM ABOVE.

I stand over garbage, see a lone glove on the road-

take a shot. A single baby shoe in the gutter.

Weddings from a church balcony, the mezzanine.

Not often, though. Directly above is rare, more likely above from an angled side.

Have they done sideways? I like that movie.

Here’s my From Above Gallery, though not celestial.

Laura and James at Marjorie and Dan’s Wedding Reception. Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.

Seventh (Andy Warhol) and Ninth Street Bridges taken from the Renaissance Hotel.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shadows at the entrance of school

John and Angie’s Wedding

Franklin Park Conservatory Columbus OH

Anna, Baby Jack and Michael March 2007

Roberto Clemente Bridge and PNC Park from the Renaissance Hotel

Last Year’s Rose

French Fries on Carson Street

Porsche Engine

Batteries from a week in digital photo class.

Dunkin Donut apron in the school parking lot.

The Trees Sue’s Dad Had the City Plant, 35 Years Ago

Yesterday Sue commented on the new tulip tree being planted in front of my house. She told how her father had the city plant trees up and down her street, thirty five years ago, and how they were a memorial to him. He was featured on the blog for a Veteran’s Day post- Martin H. Cooper.

Today I was driving by her street on my way home from the Waterfront. Took two cell shots of his trees. Thanks Sue for your good words on the blog.

The City Planted a Tulip Tree

Ten years ago, I lost the giant sycamore in front of my house. It must have been 100 years old. I even called in a tree doctor to see if it could be saved. It was a sad loss when in was cut down. I applied for a new tree through the city,

Last Saturday, volunteers planted a new tree in front- Liriodendron Tulipifera. A tulip tree. A yellow poplar. The leaves are the shapes of tulips. It is a beautiful looking tree and I am so grateful to have it planted. I read it is the state tree of Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee and may grow to 170 feet tall.

Email instructions arrived on how to water it deeply by using a big bucket with holes in the bottom and how to not put mulch touching the bark so fungus doesn’t grow on the bark are a couple of tips.

Does anyone remember the television commercial encouraging the planting of trees? There was a quote – It’s a mature man who plants a tree under whose shade he will never sit. I looked it up and all I could find is a Greek proverb…

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”

How about my crop of dandelions?

Woke Up, It Was a Foggy Morning

My sister and I were on the phone and she had just asked me about my seeing things to photograph and am I always on the lookout for a good photo and I said I think I take fewer pictures now, that I am not obsessing about getting a decent shot blah blah blah and THEN-

And when I got to the red light at the end of the Liberty Bridge before the tunnel, I saw the fog enveloping the PPG building except for the pointy towers peeking through.

I opened the back window and took a quick shot.

On the way to school the next day I didn’t get a red light so no photo.

Day three! A red light and another quick pick of the city without the fog.

The Extraordinary Art of Bodhi Wind

Buddha became the enlightened one, under a Bodhi tree.

This is the name taken by native Pittsburgh artist who tragically passed much too soon, the day before Thanksgiving in 1991. If you graduated from Perry High School, Pittsburgh Public Schools, class of 1968, you knew him as Charles Kuklis. An incredibly talented artist, he was always sketching and drawing.

Recently there was an article by Joe Smydo in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about what to do with an artist’s work after they’ve died.

Bodhi Wind painted the murals for Robert Altman’s 1977 film 3 Women. (Click here to read about the movie and see a photo of Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall and one of the large murals painted by Bodhi Wind.) He designed clothing for Cher and his work was shown in Architectural Digest May 1978. An archived article in the NY TimesApril 26, 1977 by Jennifer Dunning is online.

A blog by Angeliska shows more photographs of Bodhi painting the murals for 3 Women. We read on this blog that his mother, Jean Kuklis (also mentioned in the PPG article) would welcome speaking of her son and his art.

I had the good fortune to meet Mrs. Kuklis, her daughter and granddaughter, Monday afternoon and got to photograph some of Bodhi Wind’s artwork. His mother generously shared his story and creative artwork and I wanted to share it with you. I had the privilege of seeing pieces he created in high school, too.

She hopes her son’s art could be shown in a large space, a bank, hotel lobby or convention center. Some of the painted panels are big.

Many are painted on wood and interestingly framed.

Readers who would like more information about the artworks should email Bodhi Wind’s family Bodhi.Wind.Art(at)gmail.com.

detail from the Octagonal

This is one panel of a series. Very large. It needs to be turned right side up. I left a bit of his sister in the pic on the right so you get the idea of the scale.

Dinner, Sunday

Late Sunday afternoon, I drove across the river to shop for dinner ingredients and some fruit for lunches this week. The larder was looking a bit sparse. It was either go shop or eat another grilled cheese and/or egg sandwich. M and I had just talked on the phone, earlier in the day about wanting a real meal. She was thinking Thanksgiving like. I opted for meat and potatoes.

At the meat counter I asked the butcher for two petite steaks (on sale). Not too big. It’s funny about meat. Sometimes it actually turns me and I can’t even think about eating it, and other times I am actually craving a serving. It was one of those days of wanting it. Not thinking about it having a face.

Came home and sautéed an organic yellow onion in some Amish butter and then sliced up a box of fresh mushrooms. Baby Romaine salad with Steve’s favorite brown Clamato tomato( I swear they look chocolate) and a drizzle of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Garlic smashed Russets.

After I plated the food, I used the phone to capture the dinner. Feeling ready for the start of a new week, fortified.