” i love places where there are crowds of trees.”
-nitin namdeo
—
scio woods county preserve, ann arbor, mi, usa
note to this townie and his car
who’ve made so many smile:
Shout out to the person driving the smart car that looks like a little tykes cozy coupe!
Everyone loves it and it brings all of the smiles and laughs every time you are spotted! 🙂
—
“whimsy doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is that you are on your way.”
-bob goff
stopping by this amazing wonderland of a store
was like stepping right into willie wonka’s factory
all joy and color
sweets of every kind and shape and size
old favorites, new delightful unusual treats
happiest place in town
nothing was impossible.
—
“Mr. Willy Wonka can make marshmallows that taste of violets, and rich caramels that change color every ten seconds as you suck them, and little feathery sweets that melt away deliciously the moment you put them between your lips. He can make chewing-gum that never loses its taste, and sugar balloons that you can blow up to enormous sizes before you pop them with a pin and gobble them up. And, by a most secret method, he can make lovely blue birds’ eggs with black spots on them, and when you put one of these in your mouth, it gradually gets smaller and smaller until suddenly there is nothing left except a tiny little dark red sugary baby bird sitting on the tip of your tongue.”
-Roald Dahl, ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory’.
i love that someone has created a poster
with some of our more interesting twists and turns
and wonder about the mindset
of the road planning engineers.
were they perhaps going for
more of an ‘artsy’ and unexpected approach to the roads?
more like the road of life?
—
“life is full of surprises and serendipity. being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. if you try to plan every step, you may miss these wonderful twists and turns. just find your next adventure – do it well, enjoy it, and then, not now, think about what comes next.”
-Condoleezza Rice – Former U.S. Secretary of State
finding a mushroom village – autumn in sugarbush park
—
“mushrooms were the roses in the garden of that unseen world,
because the real mushroom plant was underground.
the parts you could see – what most people called a mushroom –
was just a brief apparition. a cloud flower.”
-margaret atwood, the year of the flood
Ann Arbor has innumerable large- and small-scale murals already, but they have new company as the result of a crowdfunded project to bring art to walls and alleys around town.
In July, the Ann Arbor Art Center (A2AC) raised more than $50,000 to commission 10 murals around the city. The fundraiser was through Patronicity, and once the goal was met, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) matched the donations to double the money available to the mural artists. At the onset of the project, 10 artists paired with local business owners on the sites of their future murals. In October, two additional murals were announced, raising the total to 12. This initiative is part of the ongoing A2AC Art in Public program that aims to make art “accessible and equitable to everyone,” relying on community-based donations.
Since the Art Center helped crowdfund two other public murals in the recent past, those have been added to the A2AC Murals Map, which features a walking tour of all the works. Currently, 13 murals are finished, with the 14th debuting sometime in 2021.
“one can speak poetry just by arranging colors well.”
-vincent van gogh
thanks to artist david zinn, for his lovely sidewalk chalk ode to the library
—
the day has arrived at last
the library has reopened
after what seemed like such a long, long time
our community couldn’t be happier
it has been so greatly missed by so many.
—
‘Libraries: The medicine chest of the soul.’
—Library at Thebes, inscription over the door
it’s been 17 years and they’re back!
they been sitting around underground
patiently waiting
for a dramatic return
no reason to stress
instead
our library has created a city-wide bingo game in their honor
what could be more fun?
and i’ve already got my free spot filled.
—
Cicada Summer
Brood X has ARRIV- er, EMERGED from the depths to see YOU!!!!
But have YOU seen THEM? HEARD them?? READ ABOUT THEM??? FOUND THEIR SHELLS????
If you have, you may have one or more boxes checked off on our CICADA SUMMER BINGO!!!
From your friends at the Ann Arbor Public Libraries
—
“i work even in the middle of the day, in the full sunshine, and i enjoy it like a cicada.”
-vincent van gogh
—
source and photo credits: ann arbor district library, cicada@aadl.org
on my frequent walks to the river
each time passing this sign
i wondered –
often someone chopping wood
putting up canoes, cooking outside
peaceful communal living
until i learned the intriguing backstory
and understood
the amazing spirit of this society.
—
Society of Les Voyageurs
As the oldest continually active student group on the University of Michigan campus (founded in 1907), the Society of Les Voyageurs upholds a long-standing tradition of convening over the love for nature and the out of doors. The Society owns a cabin on the Huron River just north of downtown called Habe Mills Pine Lodge that was built in 1927 to house the Society, its activities, as well as those members who choose to live there. The group also hosts potluck dinners every Sunday at 6pm, followed by a program from a professor or a community member pertaining to learning more about the out of doors. The group is known to embark occasionally on casual outings such as hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, caving, cross-country skiing, etc.
—
*”si le voyageur n’espere rien, il ne verra ce que voient les yeux.”
-eric-emmanuel schmitt (franco-belgian playwright, novelist, film director)
*(If the traveler does not hope for anything, he will only see what the eyes see.)
argo park, ann arbor, michigan, usa – april 2021