American Eagle II

Thunderbird, Sebastopol, CA, 2011.

This icon, this logo of APL freight lines, grabs my eye. I have always been drawn to the simple lines, the representation of the iconic Thunderbird, the American Eagle. There are many versions of this, but this one has always been my favorite. Trucks on the highway; shipping containers charging into the San Francisco Bay on huge ships from China; they always stand out to me when they carry this logo.

The Thunderbird, in Native American culture, shoots lightning bolts out of its eyes.  The legends are varied and deeply infused in the culture of many North American indigenous peoples. I am a bit disappointed in myself for liking this particular one, a westernized version of a legend turned into a corporate logo. Yet I do.

I love storms. I get a thrill from thunder that claps simultaneously with a nearby flash. I also dig birds a lot. I once had the nickname "American Eagle" because my friend Andy thought I resembled the Muppet Show character. If I ever dye my skin with a tattoo, it will be this, across my upper back. Maybe his head will poke up above my collar.

This shipping container sits behind a large pet food supply store in Sebastopol. This was another case of stopping for one photograph (forthcoming) and finding something more awesome. [Insert philosophical comment here.]

To have your eyes opened to the ongoing Native American struggle, check out my college ultimate teammate's TED Talk.  15 minutes and powerful.

Taking it Too Seriously

This parking meter farm in Milwaukee's Third Ward struck me immediately as humorous -- people who park in this lot really follow instructions. Notice this isn't the only pole that has been hit by too many well-meaning drivers -- they all share the similar damage. Maybe the instructions should read "Please Pull Car Up Close to Pole."

I found this one morning before work when I had gotten off the Amtrak from Chicago to Milwaukee, circa January 2003. I had gone there to take a picture of a Sen Sen ad painted on the side of a brick building. I still have that pic somewhere, but this is the one I've held on to. This is a scan of a photo: notice the thumbtack hole in the top. This has been making me chuckle for years.

This one goes out to all my Milwaukee friends and family. I love what the city has done with the Third Ward. And, looking at Google Street View, both these meters and the Sen Sen ad still exist today!

Woven Aluminum Chair

Woven Aluminum Chair, c. 1992

Svein "Slim Sirnes (1930-2006)

Nevada, USA

Part of the Exhibition "Second Chances" currently on display at SFO, from the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe.

From the placard accompanying the piece: 

Journalist, inventor, and environmentalist Svein "Slim" Sirnes wove mats and created sculptures from discarded beer and soft drink cans. He developed a special tool to cut cans into strips. Sirnes's work includes sculptures, animals, vests, purses, furniture and lamps. The resulting pieces, including this lawn chair, are examples of one-of-a-kind re-fabricated objects that make use of disposable materials. Sirnes once declared, "As long as they make cans, I'll keep on working. 

Rock on, Slim.

Click on the photo and see if you can recognize any familiar brands... former DU ultimate players, look closely!

Quilt Barn(s) and the American Barn Quilt Trail

Quilt barn near Piqua, OH, 2011.

While in Ohio last weekend, I learned from my teammate Erin about the rural American known as the Quilt Barn project. I'm just learning about this, but it seems like the ultimate retiree hobby and a good way for rural communities to draw enthusiasts of American settler history off the beaten Interstate path. I'm drawn to it because of my love for barns as advertising media. This is even better than that, since it's community-based, not corporate-based.

I'm just learning about this project -- I don't have much info to date, but will supply a link (updated July 2014).

 
(The previously linked site, no longer active, featured a poll. I took it and learned that only one lucky visitor has seen over 150 quilt barns.) 

It seems they lack a page for Miami County, Ohio, so I'll submit this and see if they can use it. We stopped on the highway on our way to Versailles, Ohio. The Denver Omelettes returned to compete in the 30th annual Poultry Days ultimate frisbee tournament; it was about my 12th time back.

Speaking of Calochortus...

Calochortus tiburonensis, 2011.

While I'm on the genus of Calochortus, here's one with no location-specific information needed in the caption. This gem grows in only one country, one state, one county, and one remaining stand of open space in the world. It's The Tiburon mariposa lily, found only at Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve in Marin County.

I was lucky to be able to join a group of coworkers from the Presidio on a hike here a few weeks ago. Cameras went wild, and people gasped. Within this group, the term "plant nerd" is a term of endearment, and there's no shame in emotional outbursts when encountering things of natural beauty while hiking. In fact, it's encouraged.

Thanks to Sam for taking us to his workplace on an evening off and showing us the hidden treasures of this awesome spot. It's so close to the City, but many had never been.

Salt Point Calochortus

This was one of the thousands, nay, millions of blooming native wildflowers at Salt Point State Park over Memorial Day weekend. The genus Calochortus boasts some of the most marvelously sculpted wonders of the California flora -- that I've seen, anyway.

Calochortus tolmei, Salt Point State Park, 2011.

This was one of eight or so plants "discovered," (i.e. first collected and described to Western civilization) and named after William Fraser Tolmie, a Scotland-born Canadian botanist, explorer, and translator of native American vocabulary. He had no sense of humor and was a devoted student of numerous topics; he is also remembered as an outstanding citizen. One of his twelve offspring became the Prime Minister of British Columbia.

The elevation range of this species has been narrowed down to between 164 and 6561 feet. This was growing 236 feet above sea level, so it certainly fits the bill. Actually I have no idea. I'm just kind of poking fun at such specific limitations. I'm guessing these are developed from GPS points submitted to Calflora.

Keep exploring!

After my own heart

Bags on the Clothesline, San Francisco, 2011.

I think it says something about a person who uses a clothesline to dry their clothes. Since growing up, I learned the clothesline is a resource that should be used whenever possible.  The downside can be crispy towels, or the occasional quitter clothespin that drops its pant leg. But the benefits? Reduced energy, great-smelling clothes, longer-lasting clothes, and the simple pleasure of not rushing through something for a change.

It's also telling when a person reuses plastic bags. A person who does this cares about reducing waste to a point that few have reached. A college friend named Barb taught me that the secret is to turn them inside out before washing them. I now have my own methods down for this. I generally hang them somewhere inside, or put a tall object in the silverware bin, like a wooden spoon, and hang bags individually on them. 

So this person, whom I haven't yet met, uses the clothesline to dry their plastic bags! I think they're trying to get my attention.

American Eagle

I haven't taken many pictures of graffiti, but the detailed and humanistic, determined eye of this bird on the side of a boxcar struck me. I am calling it an eagle, but it could just as well be a determined crow. In fact, an eagle's bill would be more hook-shaped at the end for tearing apart flesh. This bird's bill would not have that capability. It would be pretty good at pecking stuff, like tearing apart rotten wood for grubs and stuff, but this is no flesh eater.

Boxcar Bird, Burnham, Illinois, 2007.

This was on the side of a stationary boxcar on the edge of a prairie in southern Cook County, Illlinois. It was a frustrating day on which I took pictures of flowers too. The goal of the day was to conduct a plant survey of all things growing in a wonderful remnant prairie in an odd location. Thanks to challenging weather, a late start, vague directions to the location, and motivational issues, no plant data was submitted. But, I saw this boxcar.

Is this the representation of the artist's self-image? Homage to birds everywhere? General patriotic urban imagery? Also -- I shot this photo South of Chicago -- but where was it created? Will the artist ever see it again? Will he or she ever have dreamed that you would be looking at it right now?

I just returned from a brief American voyage by air. I had the pleasure of hearing freight trains as I slept outside three nights ago in rural Ohio. Before that, I was in Atlanta visiting my friend Scott, who mentioned to me, at one point, that Atlanta (posts forthcoming) is big on its railroad pride.  Between the sounds, the history, and the spirit of travel represented by a bird, I post this today.

Iris douglasiana, China Camp State Park, 2011.

Spring camping at China Camp was very rewarding this year. No one was in the campground except for the loyal camp hosts. Morning sun made for great photo opportunities among the wildflowers.

These are the leaf blades of the marvelous Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana). The faded leaves from last year have a warm  coppery tone with a distinctive sheen. Next to poppy, it's probably the best known wildflower in the state of California* because it grows in many places, can handle lots of disturbance, and it has a marvelous violet bloom.

The intense morning sun on the leaves has burned off most of the dew, and seems a harbinger of a scorching day. It was -- I think it got to -- 60 degrees.

*I am making this up! But it might be true.

Fire-Brewed Flavor

Stroh's Beer ad, outside Chicago, 2007.

I can't remember where exactly I took this. I know I was driving on the South side of Chicago for a work-related task, but that's all I remember. Usually I cement ads like this in my memory, but not this one. I think it's the only Stroh's ad I've ever seen, no less one painted on the side of a building. I wish I'd had a better camera for this -- I used the digital point & shoot I was using at the time. I really like the look of the bricks; something about the phrase "fire-brewed" just seems right on bricks. Although I can't say that I prefer beer with a fire-brewed flavor...I wonder how long this ad campaign went on.

How awesome is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1FKDGLAc4

One of my hobbies has become taking pictures of barns and buildings with ads painted on them. It began in Wisconsin, where Miller High Life silos and barnsides appear along the old State Highways, also old U.S. Highways (think Route 66). These are sometimes the best highways for scenery and old downtowns, diners, and old-school billboards like these. In Jerry Apps' book Barns of Wisconsin, I once read that beer companies would strike a deal with a farmer to paint the entire barn, or at least supply the paint, in exchange for allowing the adspace on the barn. I like the charm of such an arrangement; this seems so American to me.

Taste the Rainbow

Colorful beverages, the Mission.

Last night was burrito night, a tradition that has been going for a while between some friends of mine, and I only recently began to attend. It involves bringing your own burrito, from the Mission taqueria of your choice, to the Attic, which has a cheap margarita and cheap beers before happy hour ends at 8pm. 

I had been thinking, on the way there, that I liked traditions like this one. Oddly enough, without me bringing it up, the conversation did cover the general appreciation within the group of traditions as a whole. It pertained more to getting coffee at the same place repeatedly, to the point of becoming a regular there: to the point where the barista knows what you want when you walk in the door.

I have never been much of a person for these, but I guess they are starting to develop, and I like them too. 

What I was really going to write about was a thought I had about the uniqueness of food in San Francisco. In SF, you can get pizza at Zante's with Indian food toppings. It's outstanding. Also available, in Mill Valley, is Punjabi Burrito, a wonderful Indian adaptation of the burrito. These are two of my favorite culinary discoveries here. I just like thinking about how they are both Indian adaptations of an American interpretation of another foreign food... both the pizza and the burrito are essentially American inventions.

Point me in the direction of a cafe that sells Indian Irish Coffees, and I'll go daily.