Central Park Dog People

Central Park has a few different subspecies of dog people.  These are the Before-Work Dog Owners, who wield lattes and fancy throw toys.  There are others, like the Non Dog-Owning Groupees, who carry dog treats and talk to dogs they meet (instead of their owners).

Then the Commercial Dog Walkers appear later in the day, with extravagant leash mechanisms to restrain their fleet of six or eight canines.  They have little tolerance for Groupees.

Golden Gate National Cemetery

Golden Gate National Cemetery is in San Bruno, south of San Francisco.  It was planned and built by the Army starting in 1937. It is full; Bay Area veterans are buried elsewhere these days.

Admiral Chester Nimitz is buried here.  He's probably best known for the class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers that bear his name.

Fur is Murder

Except when Native Indians harvest it. Seriously, this is formal policy of animal-rights folks.

These stylish leggings are a Haida design.

Icy Birch

This urban birch is doubled over from ice accumulation.  Young birches like this are supple and well designed to handle the contortion.  Other trees in the area were not so fortunate, and there were many missing limbs and a few toppled trees nearby.

A few days later, when the ice had melted, it had sprung back and was standing straight without damage.

Locking up to Lake Washington

This boat is temporarily mooring to the floating lock wall at the Chittenden Locks.  He's headed up to Lake Washington, and was the only vessel through the lock in that opening; there's not much traffic through here in the winter months.

Cormorants were diving around the bottom of the fish ladder looking for a meal.  The resident harbor seals weren't around, probably because the adult salmon are scarce at this time of year.

Snowy Fence

Pictured is the sort of snow that visits Seattle most winters: a small amount, wet, and short lived.

This January has been a bit different, with increasing quantities of snow afflicting the lowlands for three straight days.  The temperatures have remained below freezing through that time, so it continues to accumulate.

Commuting has been invigorating, with most drivers choosing to stay off the road.

Icy EMB-120 in Seattle

Unusually severe (and localized) freezing rain affected the SeaTac airport yesterday.  Here's an EMB-120 that isn't going anywhere soon -- the pilot was wandering around it scratching his head as I took this picture.  I think they'll just wait for the warming weather to thaw it out, rather than try to deice it with glycol.

Trivia: I've flown this particular airframe SEA-GEG, in nicer weather.

Nooks Between Hills

As Seattle is a city of hills, there is plenty of land in the city folded into the nooks between the hills: valleys, crags, ravines, and other dark corners.

Real estate agents show properties located in these places only on the warmest, sunniest days of summer.  At other times, the true nature of these places becomes clear.  They're moist and dark, readily cultivate moss and ivy, and are a few degrees colder than anywhere else.  Timber decays quickly.  Yard furniture is seldom put to use.

Dormant Canoes

These canoes are generally available for $10/hour, but are out of season from November through January.  Rent them from the Water Activities Center at the UW.

They'd offer a lovely tour through the water lilies under the western end of the SR520 bridge.

Mustang II Liftback

I believe this is a 1975 Mustang II liftback, in original Medium Chestnut paint.  The 2.5mph rear bumpers (newly required regulation at the time) look to be somewhat of an afterthought.  It is equipped with dual exhaust, and a Pinto-style exploding fuel tank.

To give a hint of its quality and performance, Consumer Reports preferred the AMC Gremlin over this Mustang II.

Anheuser-Busch Wagon

Some kids want to grow up to ride a big red fire truck.

Having seen the beautiful wagons (and Clydesdales) kept by Anheuser-Busch, those same kids might reconsider their vocation and aspire to work in the beer delivery business.

Dancing Elephant

At the excellent (and free) St. Louis Zoo, you'll find the usual array of exotics, plus a few unexpected surprises.

Some of the elephants have to dance for their hay, and this one knows quite a few tricks.  Other animals just get fed with nothing in return -- perhaps it's difficult to train a hippopotamus to do anything other than squish you.

Hand Carts

Also at Crunden Martin: high quality hand carts.  In places where the floor wasn't so buckled, these rolled beautifully and would carry a serious load.

Sadly, it's likely an arsonist will claim these long before anyone can put them to an honest use.

Elemental Mercury

On the ground floor of one of the Crunden Martin Manufacturing Company buildings lay all sorts of interesting artifacts.  They made metalwork in St. Louis, and filed bankruptcy in 1990.

This is a standardized flask of elemental mercury, having around a 2.5L capacity.  It would weight 76lbs if full, and would cost around $2500 at current prices.

Fisheye

I found borrowing a fisheye lens to be both magical, and infuriating.  Composition just doesn't make any sense, because it can see far wider than my eyes do.

This view is aligned to be square with the doors in the upper left, and yet all the other straight lines wander off in bizarre curves.  It would take significant experience to be able to compose a desired shot.

Chicago Long Shadows

I will conclude a series of American Airlines themed posts with long evening shadows in Chicago's H concourse.

Unusually for large US airports, all of the 8 concourses at ORD are connected airside (post-security).  You can walk through all that's visible in this excellent overhead view, though it would take quite some time.  Depending on admission credentials and time of day, you could visit the eleven airline lounges spread throughout the airport.

McDonnell Douglas MD83

This gleaming MD83 in Chicago shows the American Airlines polished aluminum livery at its finest.  I love the eyebrow windows, allowing the pilots a view upwards.

The Super 80 is a successor to the DC-9, and has been in turn superseded by the 717 now that Boeing owns McDonnell Douglas.  This line of jet aircraft has been very successful, with around 2400 delivered since its development in the 1960s.