Sunday, August 22, 2010

My New Sculpture Garden

Look! I now have a sculpture garden!

Work crews have been tearing up our street for the past month, and lookie what they left for us this weekend! Modern art! There it sits, right in the middle of my former wildflower garden. Fortunately, we had just finished killing off the entire garden to prepare it for a new look. Looks like that isn't going to be happening anytime soon!

My curbs are no more.

My curbs are gone, and chunks of clay, cement and stones are strewn throughout the grass. I guess that area will not be mowed for some time.

Look what they did to my parkway!

The major thoroughfare at the end of the block is being widened, and all adjacent streets are being torn up and used as staging areas. They are closing off our street permanently and making us a dead end. I guess we'll get a lovely new Dead End sign for our corner very soon!

I-beams on my lawn!
These I-beams were on the lawn all last week.

It's a mess out there!
So were these bags of cement and some long tube things.

Probably what it looked like back in 1873...
I hope this means we'll be getting sewers at our end of the block... as you can see, we really need them! We are the lowest spot in the area, and our back yard and garage floods during heavy rains. The ground is almost solid clay. I guess this is what our street may have looked like back in 1873 when the house was built. I have to drive through this to get out of our driveway.

Searching for treasure on our street
I peeked out the window one evening and saw this guy with a metal detector looking for treasures in the middle of the street. Hope he found something good!

Let's go around back, away from all the construction, to see what's going on in the garden...

Wonder of Staffa
The Wonder of Staffa asters are really pretty this time of year.

Hyssop & bee
The bees are all over the mints and the hyssop.

Butterfly Weed
The Butterfly Weed still looks pretty.

Faded Nikko Blue Hydrangea

Faded Annabelle Hydrangea
And the hydrangeas have faded to their soft, muted tones.

Hummingbird Moth 1

Hummingbird Moth 2

We now have Hummingbird Moths in our yard! I first saw them last year in downtown Chicago's Millennium Park. They are moths that, at first glance, look like hummingbirds because of the way they fly around the flowers, drinking nectar. I switched my camera over to the video mode and got a quick clip of the moth and a swallowtail butterfly on my butterfly bush! It's only a few seconds, but you can view it here:



All this week, I took advantage of the cooler weather by taking some walks around downtown Chicago on my lunch breaks. Here are some of the sights I enjoyed most:

Millennium Park, monarch & bee
Lurie Garden, Millennium Park, Chicago

Trump Tower & The Wrigley Bldg., Chicago
Trump Tower and the Wrigley Building: Old & New

Wrigley Building & the Chicago River
View along the Chicago River

Navy Pier, Chicago
Navy Pier

Geo. Washington, Robert Morris & Hyam Salomon, erected in Chicago 1930's
Now this is the kind of sculpture I wouldn't mind on my lawn!

Chicago Pigeons
Happy pigeons

One of the many cruises on the Chicago River & Lake Michigan
One of the many cruise ships on the Chicago River & Lake Michigan

What have you been up to all summer?

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20 Comments:

Blogger Terry @ La Bella Vie said...

Wow I can't even imagine having my frint yard torn up! But on a lighter note, the walk around Chicago is lovely, it reminds me of my visit there a couple years ago!
Terry

August 22, 2010 at 8:24 PM  
Blogger Rose ~Victorian Rose ~ said...

YIKES...that is a MESS...I am so surprised that they just put things like that all over your lawn without any kind of notice or permission. Would not be too pleased about that for sure.

But your flowers are delightful...oh my goodness yes they are.

You know it's been about 40 years since I have been in downtown Chicago...but I still recogonzie many of the buildings...of course many are VERY new... since I was there last...but I do have a soft spot in my heart for my old Home Town.
** EVEN tho "BLOGO" is part of that whole mess up there.
What a total... pitiful excuse for a man he is.

Rose

August 22, 2010 at 8:32 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Terry-

Yes, it's getting to be quite a drag seeing the lawn look like this for the past month! I'm glad to have a better view when I go to work every day.

-Pam

August 23, 2010 at 6:47 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Rose-

I'm surprised, too. I do have some rosebushes and other flowers planted way at the end near the driveway, and so far they haven't killed any of those.

They're always building something new in downtown Chicago. There are probably more crooked politicians here than buildings! :-)

-Pam

August 23, 2010 at 6:52 AM  
Blogger Terry @ La Bella Vie said...

Well you hit the nail on the head...we are just wiped out from those two little guys:)

Terry
PS you lucky lady to live in Chicago for the 2016 Olympics! Have i told you that i am your long lost sister and want to come visit?:)

August 23, 2010 at 2:24 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Terry-

You can come visit me in 2016, but unfortunately, the Olympic committee chose Rio over Chicago for 2016. So maybe we can both go there together? :-)

-Pam

August 23, 2010 at 7:12 PM  
Blogger La Petite Gallery said...

What a wonderfulm post you did. Big mess in any construction. Chicago is beautiful. Never been there.

yvonne

August 23, 2010 at 7:37 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Yvonne-

Thank you! Yes, we keep tracking mud into the house. It's getting very old.

-Pam

August 23, 2010 at 8:10 PM  
Blogger Dana and Daisy said...

Daisy thinks you should plop some potted plants in your new sculpture! ;)

August 24, 2010 at 8:33 AM  
Blogger victorian parlor II said...

Pam,

My goodness what interesting modern sculpture-lol! I love the pictures from your garden-they brought a smile to my face-especially the hummingbird moth-it's amazing! Good luck with all the street work:).

As for your question about summer, it can be answered in one word-moving:).

Blessings,

Kim

August 24, 2010 at 6:24 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Dana & Daisy-

Good idea, Daisy! Then it would look kinda like one of those strawberry pots, only much bigger. :-)

-Pam

August 25, 2010 at 7:04 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Kim-

I loved seeing the hummingbird moth almost as much as I love seeing a real hummingbird! It was so interesting to watch.

I hope your move went well and you finally feel like you're settled in to your new house. :-)

-Pam

August 25, 2010 at 7:12 AM  
Blogger Anyes K. Busby - Studio Vignette Fine Art said...

Hello Pam,
Oh my gosh, I feel for you. All this street work! Not to mention those "sculptures".

I only recently heard of those hummingbird moths on the radio and I'm thrilled to see one in action, thanks to you.

Anyes
XX

August 29, 2010 at 6:29 AM  
Blogger Nancy's Notes said...

Oh goodness, that ia a mess, but your gorgeous flowers make up for it! Your photographs and video are awesome and I love seeing Chicago through your eyes! I love Chicago, looks like what I remember it to look like, beautiful.

Thanks for your sweet comments on my blog.

Nancy

August 29, 2010 at 10:06 AM  
Blogger Teresa said...

Well I must say that wasn't the kind of sculptures I was expecting! Sorry to hear of the mess you're dealing with, did it hamper the R&R garage sale? I love your hummingbird moth photos. Wow, Navy Pier is really getting that tacky tourist look- when did they get the giant golf ball?

August 29, 2010 at 9:35 PM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Anyes-

I hope you get a chance to see a hummingbird moth in your region! I was fascinated by it. It's so unusual to see an insect that flies like a bird! :-)

-Pam

August 30, 2010 at 6:55 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Hi Nancy-

Thank you for visiting and for your nice comments! I'm normally a small-scale-building kind of person, but when I'm in downtown Chicago, I can't help but be impressed with the skyline. :-)

-Pam

August 30, 2010 at 6:59 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Teresa-

I think all the street work going on did have a negative impact on the garage sale, which we had out front because nobody could get to the garage!

Do you remember hummingbird moths from years ago? I'm thinking they're new around here because last year was the first time I ever saw one.

That's a tethered hot air balloon at Navy Pier! I guess the pier is the hottest tourist spot in town but to me, it does not represent Chicago at all! I guess all towns have their tourist traps where the locals never go!
:-)

-Pam

August 30, 2010 at 7:04 AM  
Blogger The Rustic Victorian said...

Ahhh ho-ly smokes Pam, how annoying all that mess is, I would be a bit upset inside. I am one who cannot stand even a repairman coming. I over-react I hear. It does all end eventually. Being on a dead end should make less traffic and noise.
I like the balance of the back yard beauty. I have never seen the moth,,,very kewl!
Hang in there.
Love
Marcie

September 8, 2010 at 5:53 AM  
Blogger Pam of Eastlake Victorian said...

Marcie-

I'm still hanging! I just hope they finish by winter. They need to replace my lawn, too, since they killed a lot of the grass and took big chunks out of it.

Thank you for your support! :-)

-Pam

September 8, 2010 at 7:12 AM  

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