I spent a good deal of my afternoon and evening reading as much as I could about the oil spill. Well, it’s not actually an oil spill. It’s a river of oil, gushing with no end in sight. A few days ago, we were told this river wouldn’t touch Louisiana, it wouldn’t be a Louisiana event. Today, though, foils reported smelling oil. That’s what happens when they burn the ocean and the wind blows. Continue reading
Month: April 2010
Sinkhole at Baronne and Terpsichore
It was a beautifully cool night for my ride home up Baronne from the Treme after a lovely evening dog walk (read: chase) at City Park with S. and her handsome but mannerless pitbull. I love these nights when it’s cool enough for a light sweater, even on the bike. S. asked me what route I was going to take, and I told her I didn’t know, but probably Baronne. Continue reading
Request to Pick Up After Your Dog in the Carrollton Neighborhood
Today was the last day of classes, and though it started off rainy and windy, by the time the afternoon rolled around the weather was absolutely picture perfect. After toasting the seniors with an afternoon beer and toasting the rest of the School of Liberal Arts faculty at our end-of-the-year BBQ, I took the bike around Uptown coffee shoppes and bookstores as I distributed posters for some events coming up this weekend. Continue reading
French Quarter Skyline from Barracks and Burgundy
Oh, it was another beautiful day in New Orleans! So why was I so grumpy? It was the last day of my introductory course up at school, and even though I love school’s-out-for-summer as much as the next one, I get a little sad to see each group go. After a nice lunch and a ride home for some pleasure reading, I headed back out on the bike to meet J. at the gym. Continue reading
Spoke Cards in a Wheel on St. Peter Street
I haven’t blogged in three days, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been riding around! Thursday caught me driving around to recover from Wednesday’s long ride. Friday’s evening post-downpour ride to Mid-City left me remembering why I bike (Jazz Fest parking) and why I should finally get a flipping rear fender (fifteen minutes in the restaurant bathroom wiping the mud off my legs). I decided to forego biking in the tornado conditions on Saturday, but I was rewarded for a weekend of buzzkill weather with a positively perfect day today. Continue reading
G. Joseph Sullivan Pumping Station #6 in Old Metairie
I woke up this morning with a major case of senioritis. The semester is almost over, but it’s not over. I, however, am over it. After classes–which went well in spite of my spring fever–I rode the Surly to lunch and then set out to try to get lost. It was a perfect day for that kind of ride, and it was exactly what I needed. I rode around Mid-City and then up Canal to Old Metairie for a frozen yogurt. Yeah, a long ride for TCBY, but sometimes we’ve just got to do it. Continue reading
Wildflowers at Perrier and Valence
After yesterday’s disappointing duckling search, I decided to take T.’s advice and ride my bike around Audubon Park in search of Uptown baby birds. No such luck–I must be catching them all at their naptime–but I did see a whole bunch of herons, egrets, grown ducks, and turtles. It was a lovely day, and lots of folks were running and walking and rollerblading and biking and staring at birds. Continue reading
Piles of Traffic Signs on Lafitte Near N. White
I hopped on the Surly a little after five o’clock with a single-minded focus: ducklings. I saw some a couple weeks ago when I went kayaking with K. and M., and I heard through the grapevine that the ducklings were getting big. And there’s nothing cuter than teen ducks. I cheerfully zipped over to Bayou St. John, fully expecting to see dozens of the furry little guys. Continue reading
Fleur d’Eden Rose Garden at 2111 Baronne
I woke up early to make the final day on the training with the Alliance for Biking and Walking with my fellow dedicated bike activists. It wasn’t easy on this Sunday to drag myself onto my bike and pedal over to OC Haley for more small group work; Â my fatigue was showing, but it was a really useful wrap up session. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I think we’ve also got some good plans coming out of the weekend too, and that’s fantastic. I sleepily pedaled home in the afternoon, looking forward to a nice nap. And then I smelled roses. Continue reading
Cat’s Claw on a Power Pole in Central City
It was a truly beautiful day in New Orleans, yet again. Unfortunately, I spent most of it inside instead of out. I wasn’t riding my bike, but I was talking about bikes at the Winning Campaigns training put on by the Alliance for Biking and Walking. I got up at 7:00 in the morning–on a Saturday–and rode down OC Haley to the LANO building for a full day of learning. Now, I’m a skeptical kid. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you might think I’m fairly sunny and optimistic, but I have this knee-jerk reaction to the whole idea of a meeting. And one that lasts all day long? Please. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 