More glimpses through the windows

I don't want to leave the impression from my previous post that my bus route to work is lined on both sides with old mansions.

Actually the more common residence size is much smaller, but many of these houses are also quite charming...

There are also a lot of apartments and other multi-family housing, some of which are really handsome:

(Of course, there are a lot more houses and apartments that are definitely not charming or handsome, but since I prefer to accentuate the positive, I didn't take pictures of these.)

And there are all kinds of other sites. From double-decker freeways...

(this particular bus really needed to have its windows washed)

...to public art...

The grand street entrance art above is right across from the avenue's eponymous lake (a few pictures of which I have shown you. These were taken from the other side of the lake; It's somewhat ironic that the best views of Woodlawn Lake are not obtainable from Woodlawn Avenue).

(this blurry view was the best I could get of the lake from the bus window)

And, to finish up, there's even a religious shrine, at least almost. This unassuming little house offers a lovely ceramic (I think that's the medium) representation of Our Lady of Guadalupe. You see other pictures of her all over town, but few are this attractive (left click and you can get a slightly better view of it, the best I could do from the bus window).

Wordless Wednesday: an experiment

Through the bus windows

Normally I spend the bus rides to and from work with my head buried in a good book. (There are so many, you know, and so little time!)

However, on Friday mornings I to listen to Diane Rehm's Friday News Roundup on my phone (especially since I got my comfy new earbuds—thanks, Sally!—and it's so easy with the Texas Public Radio app). And this means I get to look up and out the windows during these rides.

What strikes me right away are the amazing old houses one can see along Woodlawn Avenue, where the good old #90 plies its trade.

They're not all as spectacular as this beauty, as most are not in very good repair. Although some are some are trying:

But, boy, do they have good bones! The street, at least some parts of it, must have been, at some point in the city's history, a really grand avenue. And, with a little imagination, you can still see it. 

Looking at these homes realistically, though, I don't see many of them getting the full refurbishment treatment, at least not before I retire and stop riding this bus.

If you had the amount of money that would be needed to bring this "disheveled dryad loveliness"* back to its glory days, would you want a house on such a busy street? Probably not, and for that reason I don't see a good future for most of these beautiful structures. But I hope I'm wrong.

And I'm encouraged by the fixer-uppers that have been fixed up....

...as well as those that are in the process...

Please excuse the tilt in this picture of one of my favorite houses. Remember these shots were taken through a moving bus window!

An advantage, landscape-wise, that many of these houses have, are a variety of attractive palms that adorn the corridor. (The small median running along the street sets the tone.)

I'm sorry window reflections interfere with the view of this beauty, but I thought it was still worth including. And it doesn't detract from the look of these structures that they've been made into apartments, if they're well-maintained like this one:

There are reflections in this one, too, but I love the second floor patio-porch—wouldn't it be a nice place to sit, sip tea, and read (on the 3 or 4 temperate days per year that we have, that is). And, of course, watch the buses go by.

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I've got some more pictures from my bus ride that I'll show you in a future post, highlighting different types of sights along the way.

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*Tolkien trivia question: to what countryside is this poetic phrase referring?

Wordless Wednesday: light without and within

I like sunrises, too...

...the problem is, as spring approaches, I'm not up early enough see them as often as I do sunsets. 

But the other morning, waiting for the bus, I couldn't help being awed by this sunrise sky.

I might have snapped a similar scene on this corner before*, and if so, I apologize to long-time readers. But aren't clouds amazing?!

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*Yep, I had. Oh well, I might snap another, if I get up early enough to see another sky like these!

Wordless Wednesday: another tower

Sunset

I was on my way home one day last week and couldn't help but stop and snap when I noticed the color of the sky.

(I also couldn't help but think how much nicer this shot would be
if they'd ever get around to burying the utility lines!)

Love the "sunset" setting on my camera. I've always enjoyed trying to take pictures of sunsets but am almost always disappointed in the results. The ones I've taken when I remember to switch to this setting, however, turn out pretty good, I think. At least the picture bears some resemblance to the memory I have of how it actually looked.

Not only was the sky amazing that evening, but its reflected light on my busstop church also demanded a photo: