Goodbye Wicket

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I have always had a soft spot for hippos.  No idea why but something about them has always interested me.  I don’t think it has anything to do with Disney and tutus but you never know what your subconscious is trying to conceal.  I don’t even hold it against them that they are the largest killer of humans in the animal kingdom in Africa (I am assuming that bugs and viruses are not included when that stat gets rolled out) and a creature of which you should be very wary.  In fact, I love those menacing looking teeth when they yawn!

Therefore, I was rather sad to get an email from the Brookfield Zoo announcing that Wicket, the zoo’s lone hippo has left.  We also have a couple of pygmy hippos but Wicket was basically alone and they have decided to move her to another zoo in Colorado so she can be with other animals.  They are going to focus the efforts at Brookfield on the pygmy hippos instead.

We were at the zoo a few weeks ago when Chris was visiting.  We stopped by to see Wicket.  I got some shots of her as she floated – barely breaking the surface in that classic hippo pose.  Chris has good memories of her too.  On a previous visit she left the pool and walked across the enclosure doing something in quite a dramatic way that led to her being known as a hippoo thereafter!

I hope she likes her new home but I’m sorry to see her go.  Have fun Wicket!

What Summer Evenings Should Be

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The Morton Arboretum schedules some pleasant evening events at this time of year. Last year we went to one of these and I blogged about it at the time. In that piece I was a little annoyed with myself because I hadn’t taken my camera with me and had to make use of my phone in a situation that really would have merited something a little better. This time I made sure to be a little better prepared (although I was out of the door before I realized the bag with the camera in it was still in the spare room!).

The evening consists of a jazz quartet, a bar (several actually) and the chance to order some tapas from the countless staff taking care of things. As the evening comes in, sitting out in the fresh air with the lake in the background, listening to jazz and enjoying a pleasant glass of sauvignon blanc while snacking on some tasty morsels is certainly not the worst way to spend some time.

As we headed out to the arboretum, it started to get quite cloudy. This was not what I was hoping for but it was higher level cloud and the temperature was not dropping much so being outside should still be okay. Indeed, that was the case and, as the evening drew in, the clouds drifted away and we were left with some really lovely conditions. We munched and slurped and listened to the jazz. I am not a huge jazz fan to be honest. However, after a glass or two, I became a lot more appreciative. Did they get better, did I get more attuned or does jazz always sound better with a gentle buzz?

As the event was getting closer to the end, we decided to take a stroll around the lake. It was amazing to see how much activity there was from the local wildlife. Normally this is the busiest part of the arboretum so I guess everything gets scared off. In the evening, it felt alive with wildlife – particularly the birds. (There were plenty of bugs in the air so the swallows were feasting!) As the sun got low, the scenery glowed with the evening light and it was a great way to finish off the visit.

Happy Birthday Sara

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The second eighteenth birthday in the family in a matter of weeks.  My niece Sara is 18 today.  Happy Birthday Sara.  Hope you have a great day.  You’re not in the UK so you won’t be celebrating the same way Chris was but hope you have fun anyway!

WWII Memorial

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The World War II memorial opened a few years ago, after we were no longer living in DC.  However, I have been to DC a number of times for various work tasks and have had a chance to visit it before.  It is a very large memorial and impresses you with the scale of itself which is probably appropriate given the scale of the conflict and the loss of life it represents.

There are two halves to the memorial, one representing the Pacific conflict and the other the Atlantic.  Each of the states are represented on columns around the site and there are several water features.  On a hot day, the large expanses of light colored stone can make the temperature a little hard after a while so the running water and the areas of shade can be a welcome respite.

The whole design is very classical in its approach.  Whether this is a reflection of the response to previous monuments to conflicts on the Mall or whether it is just what seemed appropriate to those selecting the bidding architects I don’t know.  I think it works well and sometimes you don’t have to be different.  Since the whole installation is so large, a classical approach seems quite appropriate.  It is interesting that it took so long for this memorial to be built but now it is there, it adds an appropriate element to the Mall.

Fixing a Broken Bridge

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Living in the city you can get a lot of things happening out of the window.  They can spring up and catch your attention but can equally end before you know it.  This can be a problem when you are trying to decide whether to go out and see what is happening.  One such example happened recently.  I was on the phone when I looked out of the window and saw that the Michigan Avenue bridge over the Chicago River was up and didn’t seem to be showing any sign of coming down.  Finally it did lower but not completely.  This is when the fun started!

One of the Chicago Fire Department’s boats came up to the bridge and then started spraying water on the bridge.  It wasn’t clear at all what was going on.  Some fire trucks also showed up spraying onto the bridge from each end.  I grabbed some shots of this from our windows.  This is the time when you have to make a decision.  Do I grab my stuff and go down to get more shots and risk that it is all over before I get there or do I stay upstairs to see what happens and find out that it goes on for ages and I could easily have been out and shooting for a while?  I have got this decision wrong both ways in the past.  This time I decided to go out and see what I could see.

I didn’t find out what was happening since Chicago’s finest were happy to shout at you for stepping in the wrong place but certainly weren’t going to tell you anything.  I later found out the bridges had expanded in the heat and needed to be cooled down.  I managed to get to a few locations and get some shots before they opened the bridge up again and then lowered it.  This time it went where it was supposed to go and a few cheers came from the crews.

Along with shooting some stills, I also grabbed a bit of video.  While this won’t win any documentary awards, you can get a feel for what was going on.

Happy Birthday USA

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Today is a nation’s birthday.  As a Brit living in the US, I often get asked about how I feel about Independence Day.  I point out that, if Brits got upset about the independence day of every nation that we once controlled, we would hardly ever get out of bed.  I don’t mind things that happened over 200 years ago.  I do like having a day off though!  I plan on enjoying it and I hope you do too – wherever you may be!

Albert Einstein

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Just across from the Lincoln Memorial is the National Academy of Sciences.  On the grounds in the front of the building is a sculpture of Albert Einstein.  It is a great sculpture since it is quite sizable and impressive yet is in a style that is very relaxed.  It gets a few visitors at a time but isn’t very busy so is a nice distraction from the business of the rest of the Mall.  It is also just the right size to encourage you to sit in his lap.  I include a picture of Chris doing just that so you can gauge the scale.

Korean War Memorial

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The Korean War Memorial opened around the time I lived in DC in the 90s.  I thought it was really cool when I first saw it and I still think it is an impressive monument.  It is particularly good to see in the rain since the outfits the soldiers are wearing in the sculpture are big ponchos and, on a dull and wet day, the image of the guys out on patrol is particularly evocative.

It was sunny this time so the effect wasn’t quite the same but the sculptures are still very impressive.  I had not remembered the water features around the memorial as much as the sculptures so this was a bit of a discovery for me.  The number of visitors was very high so it was hard to get the alone feeling that seems appropriate for the whole place but it is still a very interesting place to visit.

It was not long after Memorial Day when we were there so there were a lot of flowers around the memorial and many personal messages that people had placed.  This always adds a personal feel to any memorial.

US Capitol

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The US Capitol topped and tailed our trip to DC.  We came into Union Station when we entered the city and so the Capitol is just a short walk away.  Chris went and shot some images there while I was in my meeting so I bypassed it when I was trying to catch up with him.  This ended up working in my favor.

On our return leg, the weather had improved from the cloudy skies we had started out with and, more importantly, the sun was starting to go down so the light was getting a lot more friendly.  Also, a third upside was that there weren’t too many people around any more.  Therefore, while we were a bit bushed and also keeping an eye on the time of our train back to the airport, we stopped off and grabbed a few shots of the Capitol before heading home.

Congratulations Sara

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This piece is a shout out to my niece, Sara.  Sara has just graduated from high school and we got to head across to Syracuse to see her graduate and to help celebrate.

Now she is off to college at Northwestern.  Maybe we will see more of her when she is living just up the street but somehow I suspect she will be finding plenty of other things to do.  I hope so – that’s what college is all about!