An impromptu visit with some of the city’s finest feathered creatures resulted in a calming afternoon. Through constructed portals, these vignettes transport the viewer all over the world… A constructed, painted, fabricated world.

Happy birthday to the Recyclery. A little background, the Recyclery is: a collective of passionate folks who love/live all things bicycles, unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles… anything human powered on wheels. By providing regular open shop, implementing educational programs, and hosting community activities (see: wonderful fundraising parties), this organization is a shining beacon for cyclists in the city. And at the ripe age of 10, they sure know how to party. Such a beautiful evening full of big feelings and good company. Cheers to another ten years.

There is nothing better than the feeling of being in motion. I am a wanderlust. Today, I’ve revisited three images from an expedition across the Atlantic. This set is from Ireland and the Netherlands, respectively. Both particularly welcoming settings for adventurers and photographers alike.

I posted previously about the closing of Utopia at the Missouri History Museum. I want to share a collection of images — the first time I saw the exhibit with my family. We were alone to explore for the first hour or two. Learning about my heritage, home, and grandfather’s contributions to this vast knowledgebase was incredible.

Utopia presents a multitude of themes for the viewer; I focus now on home. Dutzow. The land on which I grew up, is a centerpiece to the research presented. What is home? The land is constant. It’s the narrative and understanding of it’s inhabitants that is always evolving.

This weekend brought together a transatlantic team to close a project ten years in the making: Utopia, Revisiting a German State in America. Having lived in Chicago for eight months now, I’ve almost forgotten how still and quiet day-to-day can be. Unobstructed sweeping skies served as a great host for pastel sunsets. A winery tucked away in the woods made for an incredible farewell party. Auf wiedersehen Utopia. A glimpse of my weekend in Missouri.

You are standing on Lake Superior. The mighty inland ocean is solid underfoot. Ice to the horizon and back. Your fellow hikers are humbled to complete silence by the ice’s presence. You approach 200 foot tall formations on the side of a sandstone cliff. The hike stretches for miles, with each cave offering a unique frozen sculpture. The ice takes many forms in this landscape: clouded, smooth, splintered, colored by melting land, as clear as glass. It goes forever. And you are dropped in the middle of it to explore, reflect, and have an otherworldly encounter with nature.

I’ve never been very fond of winter. But the season is growing on me. The act of bundling and hibernating now even seem a little romantic to me. Here are some of my favorite images from my winter wanderings.

I love Chinatown. There is a certain radiant energy that’s unmatched by any other neighborhood. And in THE city of neighborhoods, shame on me for playing favorites. But I can’t help myself. Each visit something new offers itself to me — an eclectic storefront, glowing signs I cannot understand, a parade of people soaking it all in.