August 29

.

 Gotta love August............

I think more effort is going into attractive display, these days....

Isn't this pretty?  I think the orange ones are nasturtiums, but the blue ones.....??

Some of everything, please!



Speaking of which....  One of each, please!

My daughter wanted to pick up some things at Zingerman's deli.  I amused myself by taking pics while I waited.  So many shapes/kinds of pasta.....

These days, we tend to take salt for granted.  Having read Kurlansky's Salt book, I know how incredibly huge salt was, in the course of human history.  Now ordinary salt is so cheap that most of us eat way too much of it.

Only fancy kinds of salt are luxury items now.  So many kinds.....

Butter......  We had Kerrygold on bread, to help cleanse our palates at a cheese tasting.  It was delicious.  Amazing.  Yum.

My daughter visited Fran's, when she was in Seattle.  She reports that the salted caramels are very good indeed.

Before we leave Zingerman's, I'd like to note that they are fine with people taking pics.

I've been scolded in other places that sell food, for taking pics.  I hate that.  It surely doesn't make me want to shop there, when they treat me that way.  (Really, Krogers?  I can't take pics of a potted plant you have for sale?  Really?  Sheesh!)

Thank you, Zingerman's, for having the courage of your convictions and letting me have fun recording the wonderful things you offer us!



Home from the farmers' market.  Our peaches and beans and raspberries and grapes were stored.



I walked downtown to meet work friends for lunch.  Note brand-new fire hydrant, lower right.  You can't tell it's brand new, probably, from so tiny an image, but it is.  Replacing the old with the new was a quick job.  Less than a morning.

Maple seeds.

Okay...............................

Did you spot the anvil, on top of the bug?  I was standing there, waiting to cross, and he was sitting there, waiting to turn left.  It seems like an odd way to transport an anvil.  I hope they all made it to wherever they were going without incident.

(ps -- Yo.  Dude.  Hang up and drive!)



In planters, outside Back Alley Gourmet.

Lantana.

Barberry.

I enjoyed lunch.  It was good to see my friends!

After a bit of light retailing at the bulk food story next to Back Alley, I walked my buddies back up to work, and then headed toward home.  I stopped in the library.  I miss the downtown library!  Now that I don't work downtown any more, it's not on my beaten path.  I used to go in all the time.  Multiple times, most weeks.  We used to always go there, on the weekend, too, but without the parking lot next to the library, parking was so difficult that we just gave up and started going to the Pittsfield branch.

Maybe we'll try going downtown again, now that they've filled in the AnnArborsbad Cavern, and there's a bit of ground-level parking where that nice big lot used to be.

I'd gotten brown rice at the bulk food store, and I picked up a few books at the library.  (They have a much bigger collection, hence a much better selection, downtown.)   I decided to take the bus home. The place where the buses converge is right across the street from the library (and about a quarter of a mile from where I worked).  Very convenient!  I love public transportation!


This patch of lily-of-the-valley is between our house and Huron.

I've never seen the berries so big and fat and numerous.

The 29th was "just packed," as Calvin said.  In addition to the above, I had a lovely conversation with an old friend.  We should do that more often!  We exchange a lot of email, but it's nice to hear each other's voices....

.