Kirk and Gina's tree

Wells

Winter in the Chi

I Can Smell Spring

Surprise Fort

Just the other day I went out to the porch to holler for Claradog. I looked over the rail and was surprised to see this awesome fort, built by Evan and Graham, my neighbors.

Chicago - Late Winter

Cabrini Demolition

One of the few remaining buildings in Cabrini, 660 W. Division begins its slow demolition.

Funeral Wreath

+ a dead rat = a threat on your life. Pretty sure.


Click HERE or HERE to read examples of a Funeral Wreath used as a threat.

Snowy Chicago Rush Hour

Milwaukee Avenue

South Pulaski

Same Day, Different Light

Cloudy Streets, South Side

Last Snowy Sunday (hopefully)

Above is a picture of Clara and my newest Craigslist find - an Eames (esque) Terrarium! Not sure if I'm gonna put an animal in there (a turtle perhaps) or some plants.
Well, this is what it looks like 2 days before the beginning of April....does winter in the Chi ever end???
Below is a shot from Jessica's wonderful dinner party last night. Many, many bottle of wine were drunk, and we observed Earth Hour for 5 hours! You're welcome, we made up for all you non-eco freaks.

The Monster Pothole

Below is the pothole that ruined my Wednesday night.

Cock Van

You gotta love this Cock Van! Not one, but TWO cocks* and of course, windshield fringe. Logan 4-EVA!









*A late night drive by revealed a Third Cock on the street side of the Van.

Snow Scenes

Winter: So Far

For the umpteenth time in the last three months I woke up to a blizzard of snow outside my window and temps hovering around 0˚.
So, I put on my snow pants and grabbed my dog to run a few errands. This garbage can really spoke to me...this is just the winter so far. Wanting it to end will not make it so.

see above for a Claradog cameo.

Meltdown

Hit 40 ˚ in the Chi today.

Ode to a Long Winter

Dibs

As some of you may know, in Chicago we have an unofficial system of "dibs" whereby you can claim a parking spot as your own. This only goes in winter during times of snow. The idea is that you shovel out a spot and you get to keep it. To mark your territory you put something (usually some piece of garbage) in the street to hold your spot. Preferred items are buckets and mops or milk crate/two by four type combinations. Here the bucket or box or what-have-you is placed to one side of the spot and the longer item is laid longways with one end propped up by the first object. The effect is like junk sculpture. This year I have seen a lot of really sorry looking chairs and even a busted up kids kitchenette set.

Below are a few examples from my block in Logan Square.

The problem is lots of lazy idiots don't shovel the spot - they just throw some trash on top of some snow in the street. Additionally, by moving someones dibs you can expect to have your car keyed, tires slashed or worse.



In what may or may not be a related incident, a Honda Fit was stripped of all four of its wheels and left balancing on a milk crate last night a few blocks from my house. I was kicking myself for not having my camera, but it looked a lot like this picture to the right. Hahahahahaha. Sucks to get your wheels stolen in negative 10 degrees! That's hard core.
For all you Chicago transplants in LA right now! You know you miss this!