Photo #187: Peace on Earth

My sister asked my nephew what he wanted for his birthday. He responded, "Peace on Earth." So she gave him many pieces of Earth. Most of the 3D puzzles in the world, probably never make it out of the box, much less end up fully assembled. He is a college student, home for the summer, and the other day he was bored, so he went to work on it. I think the finished puzzle is pretty amazing.

Photo #186: The Good Guys

Des Moines has been a busy place this summmer. Along with all the fireworks and picnics that are held over the 4th of July weekend, we always have the Good Guys Car Show in town. Since it is held at the Iowa State Fair Grounds, we see lots of old cars on our side of town. I was going to go over to the fairgrounds to get some pictures, until I found out that the entrance fee was $18. Luckily when I drove past the 5 and Diner, the parking lot was full of Good Guys cars. This is a Hudson, and that's just about all I know, but I do think it's cool!

Photo #185: Independence Day

I took several pictures today, but I wasn't really happy with any of them. I decided to use these photos from the fireworks display last night. I'm glad I went last night, because it has been raining all day. The family that parked next to me had sparklers, so I took a couple shots while the kids were playing with them. I'm also fascinated with the way photographs of fireworks come out: not at all the way the human eye sees them.

Photo #184: Fireworks

We have a 70% chance of rain forecast for tomorrow, so I decided to catch the fireworks tonight at Prairie Meadows. I found a place to park just east of Menards, where I set up my lawn chair, played with my Droid, and had a very pleasant time. A family from my school, ended up parked beside me, so it was lots of fun. It's kind of interesting the way my camera picked up the fireworks. They didn't really look like this, but it's an interesting photo, nevertheless.

Photo #183: The Center Street Bridge

One of the great things about doing this photo challenge is that I am taking time to notice the things around me. I'm also taking time to go places and walk around in pursuit of the great photo. Today my journey took me downtown.

The Center Street Bridge just opened on Monday evening. It connects the east side of downtown Des Moines with the west Side and is part of the Principal River Walk. It was built exclusively for pedestrians and bicycles, and is unusual in that it is divided into two parts. I love the beautiful curve of the expanse. After all the rain we have had, water had to be released from Sailorville Dam this week, so the water is high and moving swiftly. It was a great view, and very exciting to stand above the rushing river. There have been so many positive changes to our downtown area.

Photo #182: The Anderson Erickson Cow & Calf

I was getting ready to sign off and go to sleep, when I realized that I had not posted my photo for today, so here it is. You cannot live on the east side of Des Moines and have a photo blog without including a picture of the Anderson Erickson Cow and Calf. The Anderson Erickson Dairy is known for two things: the best cottage cheese in the world, and the AE Cow and Calf that stand in front of the dairy. It is a landmark in this part of town.

The cow has been there as long as I can remember, and the calf was added later. Several years ago someone cownapped the not so little calf. They removed it from the base, damaging it in the process. It was recovered a few days later.

The AE Cow and Calf may seem hokey to some people, but they make me smile. They are very appropriately located at the corner of University and Hubbell. After all, just a mile down the road are the Iowa State Fair Grounds.

Photo #181: Thyme Basket

The dailyshoot for today: Make a photograph of something circular and crop it within a square frame.

This is one of my Longaberger Baskets. I love the leather loop handles. It is called a Thyme Basket.