I set out with big intentions today, but the cold that I’ve been denying for a couple days finally kept me to a day in the office and then home again. I needed some groceries before sequestering myself on the couch for a movie. I rode down Arabella headed to the fancy grocery store, and stopped to take a picture of this small cemetery at Arabella and Garfield. Continue reading
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Sailboat on Lake Pontchartrain
A ridiculously hot–RealFeel(tm) 110 degrees!–and sticky summertime Saturday afternoon? Don’t mind if I do! I hopped on the Surly and headed to Mid-City for lovely brunch with A. I meant to go home afterward, get some work done, but I just kept pedaling. I just wanted to see the lake today. I headed up the Wisner bike path, snaking through patches of shade, and then up Lakeshore. Continue reading
The Edible Schoolyard at Samuel J. Green Charter School at Cadiz and LaSalle
Oh, man, it was hot today. When the cloud cover is light there’s simply nothing to do but feel the heat. Which I did, as I rode Uptown to meet R. for lunch. After a lovely meal with good food and good company I got on my bike–the hot seat reminded me of at least one good reason not to wear skirts and ride–and headed toward the river to help N. move something heavy. Continue reading
View From the Fifth Floor of the Odgen Museum of Southern Art
Oh, it was such a lovely day in New Orleans. After catching the second half of the soccer game–I’m sure glad I don’t have to play Germany in the World Cup–I headed out on the bike, destination: post office. The sky was gray and there was a bit of rain, but not enough to put a damper on things. I rode up to the library via Saratoga, watching the neighborhoods change, half a block by half a block. Continue reading
Trash Cans and a Chair on St. Claude Between Governor Nicholls and Barracks
It rained all day long again–the outer bands of Alex, I’m told. I moved my car to higher ground (just six feet one way or the other makes a difference on my street) and stayed inside, writing and reading and listening to weather. I finally had to leave the house for a meeting with a student, so I put on the bike shoes and pedaled, figuring moving faster would mean less sogginess in my umbrella-less future. Continue reading
Lemann Pool at Lafitte and Prieur
Oh, I had a most lovely Sunday! I spent the morning finishing a book and then working on my own. Then I lathered on the sunscreen and headed out on the Surly, to the library for a replacement read, then to A.’s yard sale for a blueberry delivery. I rode to Mid-City for lunch and some iced tea and, frankly, some air conditioning. See how long it took for me to remark on the fact that it is incredibly, outrageously, downright filthy hot around here right now? Continue reading
Truck and Flowering Tree at Camp and Toledano
My legs were kind of wilty today after yesterday’s ride so I kept my ride to the commute to campus for class and then back home. I pedaled along, noticing the lushness that all this heat and humidity give us. Back at the beginning of spring we got the brilliant azaleas and that insidious cat’s claw and the cloying jasmine. I always feel a little sad as the heat comes on because I know it’s the end of that first wild color, but lately as I ride around I’ve been noticing the outrageous fuschias and purples and the sparkling bright whites of these flowering trees. Continue reading
Peregrine Falcon Kite With Realistic Wing Flapping Motion at the Fly
It was another hot and humid day in New Orleans, the sun was shining, and S. was still in town, so after riding our bikes to campus for class, we headed over to N.’s for po-boys at Domilise’s and a bike ride to the zoo. Well, Domilise’s was closed unexpectedly, and the zoo’s closed on Mondays, so we grabbed sandwiches at a terrible restaurant and decided to ride over to the levee to look at the Mississippi River. I could look at that river forever. Continue reading
Pink Skies Over Constance and Valence Streets
As I was cycling Uptown in my black dress under the beating sun, struggling a little to breathe in the heat and humidity, I wondered if every blog for the next six months will start with a remark about the weather. Maybe, maybe not, but today it was hot in a whole new way. It was that choking heat, the kind that makes you slow way down, reminds you why everything’s a little slower in the South. Continue reading
Oak Tree and Gray Sky Over Tulane
All that humidity? Yeah, it was a long preamble to today’s downpours. It was sunny and thick when I left for work this morning, but by the time class had let out the streets were ponding with water and I was wishing I’d gotten those fenders on the Surly yesterday. Always tomorrow with the damn fenders! Anyway, I poured the rain out of my helmet and headed to the library to pick up a book I’ve been anxiously awaiting via that magic bit of socialism known as Interlibrary Loan. Continue reading
What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today 