↓
 

words and images

🇺🇦✏️✒️📚📔🌜dreamer 🌕 thinker 🌕 aspirant📱📷🚴‍♀️🏕🍄🌻

Menu
  • Home
  • Articles
  • Book Reviews
  • Letters
  • Photography
  • Poems & Stories
  • About Diane Schirf
  • Site Map

Category Archives: Blog

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Hamburg is no. 1 for snowfall

From a Facebook post, snow totals from the recent storm in western New York, aka the Niagara Frontier. Hamburg is my hometown.

November 22, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Weather Tagged New York, nostalgia, weather Reply

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

words and images Posted on November 5, 2022 by dlschirfNovember 5, 2022

Daniel and Lucia discuss how Edwin Muir wasn’t much of an architect, then Daniel boasts he designed Gull Cottage. Oh, the Gull Cottage in which if you fall asleep on the sofa you can kick the gas on and accidentally kill yourself — THAT Gull Cottage? Brilliant design, that.

(Sadly, this is why I’m not haunted by impossibly charming sea captains.)

Posted in Blog, Film | Tagged film | Leave a reply

The world’s smallest parcel of land one inch square

The “owned by” includes Dwight Eisenhower (bottom of left-hand column). In a quick search, I didn’t find any background on this plaque in Chesterton, Indiana, which itself is more than one inch square — and worse for the wear.

IMG_4970
Ground plaque in Chesterton, Indiana
October 29, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Adventure, Blog, Oddities Tagged Indiana, oddities, photo Reply

Human+Nature: Daniel Popper sculptures at Morton Arboretum

Update: As of October 30, 2022, I’d seen them all.

Human+Nature
Human+Nature
15 photos
UMI
UMI
Sentient
Heartwood
Ephemera
Ephemera
Gingko
Basilica
Hallow
Hallow
Hallow
Hallow
Heartwood
Mycelia
Mycelia
October 28, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Adventure, Blog, Photography Tagged art, photo Reply

Autumn color at Promontory Point

October 8, 2022

Autumn Saturday afternoon promenade around Promontory Point. But first the view on Friday that drew me outdoors on Saturday despite the persnickety and painful nerve.

Untitled

The leaves were colorful in person under a beautiful autumn sun. This year the color snuck up on me, and I don’t know how long it will last.

IMG_4560
IMG_4598
IMG_4621
October 8, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Photography Tagged autumn, Chicago, Hyde Park, photo, Promontory Point Reply

International Space Station (ISS) flyover

words and images Posted on September 17, 2022 by dlschirfSeptember 17, 2022

I subscribe to SpotTheStation, which tells you when you may be able to spot the International Space Station (ISS). Most of the time it’s at too low an angle (behind buildings or trees) or too late/early (or also too cloudy). Today, however:

Time: Sat Sep 17 7:44 PM, Visible: 7 min, Max Height: 89°, Appears: 10° above SW, Disappears: 10° above NE

Almost straight overhead and before my bedtime!

I walked to the park across 55th and got a great look at it until it disappeared 10º above NE. Even in all the light pollution. It took about six minutes from the time I spotted it until it disappeared. Here it is toward the end.

My dad would have loved this. We watched for the burn-up of Skylab together but conditions weren’t right. Still a great moment. And on the way home from family’s house in Eden, we saw a meteorite, which we were both thrilled over. Two of my fondest dad memories.

International Space Station flyover
Posted in Blog, Ephemera, Reminiscence | Tagged Chicago, family, Hyde Park, photo, weather | Leave a reply

Rustic mailbox in Chesterton, Indiana

Untitled

I’ve been to Dog Days Ice Cream Parlor in Chesterton, Indiana, many times, but I hadn’t noticed this until a couple of weeks ago. My first thought was mailbox — where would they get mail? — but I was thrown off by the lack of markings. That is, the Cutler mailing system has many markings, including “U.S. Mail,” so I thought it must be a requirement for a mailbox. The medieval subject with the lions threw me off too. I can’t tell what the design means or what the near stick figures next to the lions signify.

I did a reverse photo lookup via Google and found out not only is it a mailbox, it’s more expensive than I would have expected, even on eBay. And somehow it’s “rustic” — guessing that refers to the finish since I have a “rustic” candle holder of similar finish. However it’s described, this seems to be a common mailbox. Now I wonder if I will notice it everywhere.

August 27, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Ephemera Tagged Indiana, mail chute, photo Reply

Water feature in Furnessville/Chesterton, Indiana area

August 23, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Oddities, Video Tagged Indiana, oddities, travel, video Reply

Sardines (page markers/paper clips)

words and images Posted on August 12, 2022 by dlschirfAugust 13, 2022

I can’t recall where I heard of sardines as page markers and/or paper clips, but as I can’t eat sardines and do love office supplies, I thought I’d look for some. Both of these are available from Amazon.

The page markers have the more clever marketing. You can see a variety of colorfully patterned sardines here. Coincidentally, I found a couple of items at the Morton Arboretum gift shop that turned out to be from the same company.

I like the colors and the shape, but I’ve already bent the tail of one with a skeleton design. They’re thin and lightweight (paper) and can’t be tossed into a bag (which isn’t what I did).

IMG_3257
IMG_3258

The sardine paper clips are more basic and less colorful, but I’m guessing the tin is more true to the shape and feel of a real sardine tin. When I looked up that link, I found I’d seen that company’s kitchen products on Amazon and even have at least one of them: Splatypus, a duck-billed spatula (well, I have two).

IMG_3311
IMG_3312
Posted in Blog, Writing Tools | Tagged writing tools | Leave a reply

“Walk with a Future Doc” at Promontory Point

July 23, 2022

Chicago Parks Foundation is sponsoring “Walk with a Future Doc” at a couple of parks, including Promontory Point. The inaugural walk had three future doctors (in the middle). The sky threatened rain, and when it began to thunder it was time to hightail it home. We got probably a half mile in and information about sleep health as well as a great photo. I missed the next one (every two weeks) as I’m forgetful and it was too hot for me, but maybe later this month I’ll try it again.

IMG_2575
“Walk with a Future Doc” (or three) at Promontory Point
August 10, 2022 by dlschirf Posted in Blog, Weather Tagged Chicago Park District, health, Hyde Park, photo, Promontory Point, weather Reply

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Recent Posts

  • Future of artificial limbs (prosthetics)
  • Hodge, 2001 – 2013 (cat)
  • “Far more happier” (The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes)
  • Pileated woodpecker pair at Sapsucker Woods
  • Eternal flame waterfall at Chestnut Ridge

Top Posts & Pages

  • Top 10 reasons Commander Riker walks with his head tilted
  • Book review: Zitkala-Sa: American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings
  • Memories of South Shore Plaza, Hamburg, New York
  • Wopsononock Mountain, or Wopsy, in Blair County, Pennsylvania
  • Book review: Women in Love
  • Relics: The newsstand
  • Book review: Henry and June
  • Book Reviews
  • Sunset from Coffee Creek Park in Chesterton, Indiana
  • Horseshoe Curve National Historic Site, Tytoona Natural Area Cave Preserve

Archives

Other realms

  • BookCrossing
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram
  • LibraryThing
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Good viewing

  • Art of John Taft
  • bensozia
  • Bill of the Birds (no longer updated)
  • BrontëBlog
  • Edge
  • Karen Winters Fine Art
  • Mental Floss
  • Musical Assumptions
  • National Geographic News
  • Orange Crate Art
  • Sexy Archaeology
  • The Creative Journey
  • The Introvert's Corner
  • The Pen Addict
  • The Raucous Royals
  • Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
  • Woodclinched
  • World-O-Crap

BOINC Stats

Copyright © 1996–2023 Diane Schirf. Photographs and writing mine unless noted.
↑
 

Loading Comments...