I remember when I first got to New Orleans, and I was quite certain that I had never seen a more beautiful place on earth, at least when it came to the everyday flora. It’s all banana trees and palms and brilliant azaleas and oh my, it is just so pretty there. Baltimore, well, it take a minute longer to grow on you–or at least me. But then there was fall, winter, and then springtime. The flower trees flower in waves, first the white crabapples, then the pink cherries, and then, well, I have to wait to let the parks and streets remind me. Continue reading
Month: April 2014
Rows of Brick Houses at Rexmere Road and Chestnut Hill Avenue
Spring is here, finally, and oh, it felt good to be out on the Surly on Wednesday, skirt waving in the wind, sun on my face! That whole rebirth-in-spring business isn’t just for bunny rabbits and Jesus Christ–it’s for bicyclists, too, even those of us who ride year round. I started my ride heading up the hill and to the right for a trip to the dentist before heading to Lake Montebello for a few laps with a slew of pedestrians and one very, very cute puppy: “He’s not as good as he looks–he already ate two pairs of shoes!” Continue reading
Tent and Safety Barrel Under the JFX at Gay & Fallsway
Spring has sprung, and that means the return of the Farmer’s Market under the JFX in downtown Baltimore. That’s on Sunday, though, so on Saturday I walked up to the year-round Waverly Farmer’s Market with N., both of us aspirationally dressed–it wasn’t nearly as warm as we though it should be, apparently. That didn’t stop me from wearing the same outfit for an afternoon ride down to Pigtown to celebrate A. and K.’s impending baby–I can’t wait to get her her first balance bike! So yeah, it was a chilly and super-windy ride, worth it, though, to feel air on naked legs as my skirt blew back in the breeze. Continue reading
Flower Buds and Plastic Bags Waving in the Wind at 24th & Saint Paul
Friday was a windy three-meeting day that stuck me inside when I really wanted to be outside, riding my bike. Then again, I also like having my job, so that day’s ride consisted of a speedy ride down the hill to the train station–I was running late in that way you run late when you’ve got five hours of meetings ahead of you–and a slow ride home to enjoy the early sense of spring. Continue reading
Staring Up at Public Housing at 22nd & Charles
Wednesday was beautiful but windy, and after a morning bike ride to Waverly and back to meet with R. and O., I spent the day inside, starting a new book and catching up on rest after a busy Tuesday. And then N. came home and asked if I wanted to go on a walk. Why yes, yes I would! I followed her lead up the hill and over and up and over, passing road construction on Charles, dogs walking in Wyman Park, non-Zip Car cars parked in Zip Car Only parking at Johns Hopkins, and the Jones Falls, that part you will never see if you stay in your car, or if you never get off your bike. She took me zig zagging down to Falls Road–those switchbacks are easier on foot than on wheels–and down to what counts as a waterfall in Baltimore City. Continue reading
Cops and Brodudes at E. Cross & Light St.
Monday was Opening Day at Orioles Park at Camden Yards, and I was not the only person trying to pass through downtown last evening around 6pm. All was quiet on Maryland and then Cathedral, but oh, near Pratt Street things started getting ugly. Everybody’s in a hurry, of course, but there’s not rushing a stadium full of drunken pedestrians high on a first big win over the Red Sox (we’re undefeated!). I did things I never do to get myself over to Federal Hill: I rode on the sidewalk to avoid the crush of cars right before Pratt; I split the lanes as we waited to cross Conway; and I used my Outside Voice to encourage pedestrians to obey their lights, too. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 