Or, How NOT To Take Photographs In Direct Sunlight
Or, “GET OFF MY LAWN!” Said Angry Midwesterners
After over a week of clouds and rain, today finally dawned radiant and azure. While we’d all hidden under roofs and umbrellas, nursing soup and cider, the trees around Des Moines took on red and golden crowns, and now they proudly shone out on the streets, graciously dropped leaves on any passers-by.
I started out in my apartment over a large breakfast of three eggs, three pieces of bacon, and a pile of Greek yoghurt, reading my newest book, The Philosopher’s Apprentice. The epigraph caught me right away (epigraphs are one of my favorite things), and to my delight, I found the book pretentious (it starts out in a prestigious philosophy department in academia), jaded, tongue-in-cheek, and hilarious.
It was a brilliant day to go exploring, and I couldn’t sit at home all morning, so I set off for the famous Sherman Hill neighborhood with a free latte, compliments of my apartment community. Thus fueled by espresso and curiosity I drove around photographing houses of Sherman Hill.
I doubt very much that I captured every house that should have been photographed for a blog post like this. The neighborhood varies widely in the assortment of residences: condos, apartments, single-family homes, large and small, old and new, meticulous and dilapidated. Many have interesting details that I noticed but could not capture without standing on a porch or in a garden. It was much more respectful and legal to stand in the middle of the road with my camera to take photographs… and on those quiet streets on Sunday morning, probably less hazardous.
There was one home that especially impressed me: an old place on a corner. It had been let go for a long time, but judging by the large piece of construction equipment parked nearby (no guesses what it might be called), it is in a restoration process. The house was beautiful, sentimental, and imposing. I love these photos and am very thankful that restoration is not my project. Someone is very, very brave to undertake this beast.
After running around in Sherman Hill, I decided to stop at Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure on Ingersoll for a second breakfast. I ate a chocolate-filled croissant and did a little more reading.
What a beautiful October morning for explorations!
With Love from Des Moines,
~ The Dauntless Princess ~
