Posted on May 7th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Nature
I was with some customers looking at a home the other day and encountered these Hostas, growing with some of their companions in a semi-shady area in the gardens surrounding a house we were looking at. I almost always have a camera close by as you never know what you will stumble on. I guess I have this thing for Hostas. Something basic, primal about their shape, colors and demeanor. Not flashy…just sturdy and dependable. Good qualities to have if you are people too. At first, I decided the photo would make an excellent desktop background for my computer screen. So for a few days that’s where it’s been until now when it was time for something else to go there in the rotation. But since I liked these so much I thought I’d share them with everyone today. For me, one of the best things about the web format used here is to be able to change the face of IHB’s home page often too, to suit my mood and what strikes my fancy at the time.
Posted on May 3rd, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Photo Flash
One of the most fascinating thing to me about photography is that it can capture an image that one wouldn’t ordinarily focus on with their eyes, and then save it for them to gaze upon again and again if they wish. And if you add a zoom or telephoto lens, you are rewarded with images of things that you didn’t even know were there. Simple things for instance like this stone carving adorning the peak of a gable of an old church on the near east side. Just one small example. People have passed by the church thousands and thousands of times with probably very few even noticing it was there, let alone the intricacies of the carvings. Taking photos has helped me to appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the world I live in. I can hardly wait to see what the camera has seen after I come back from shooting photos, download them to my computer, and get them up on the screen. It’s like opening presents on Christmas morning.
Posted on May 1st, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Nature, Photo Flash
April showers bring May flowers. We’ve all heard that expression all our lives. But in this part of the country the saying is essentially true. If you travel several hundred miles south or north, timing of the seasonal changes comes a few weeks earlier or later. Right on schedule, all the flowers and plant-life are starting to come on strong the last week or so. Mother Nature apparently has no intention though of honoring the calendar and this time-honored expression by halting the precipitation at April’s end, as the forecasters predict rain and more rain this weekend. Well, that’s OK I guess if it means more abundant flowers.
This lady in the gardens outside of the Eiteljorge is at least one of us that appears to be totally prepared for the weather this weekend. She even looks happy about it with a faint, contented smile on her face. Probably because it’s raining and she’s the one whose got the umbrella.
Posted on April 30th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Market Conditions
As the clock winds down to the last hours of the last day of this month, I can hear Realtors all over the country collectively sounding a sigh of relief. The Home-Buyer Tax Credit gold rush is over. There never has been anything like it before in the real estate market that I can think of. Maybe the Oklahoma Land Grab in the late 1800′s? I know that there was a lot more offers written the last few months because of it…and business the last few weeks and days especially was brisk. To me it was wildly entertaining to see grown people running around crazy the last couple weeks trying to find something they wanted to buy. As always, the good homes were in short supply. I had several customers who wanted to take advantage of it, so yes, I was out there in the mix myself. I turned it into a game, a challenge…one you were trying to win for your customers. It ended up being fun.
It will take quite some time though before anyone will know what effect it had, if any, on the market and the economy. I personally think that hardly anyone bought a home because of this that wasn’t going to buy one anyway. They just did it a little sooner than they would have because of the Tax Credit. The ripple effect though may continue for a while as people whose homes were purchased then buy their next home…and those people then buy their next home…and so forth. That’s what this stimulus was trying to accomplish. We’ll see.
I can hardly wait to learn what the total bill to the American public for this will be. $6,500 to $8,000 credit for everyone who bought a home? A staggering amount I’m sure. Congress will just borrow more money to pay for it I suppose, like they have been doing for everything else. Of course, Congress is full of very smart people, right? They know what they are doing. All of us end up paying for all the borrowing ultimately…or more accurately our children, grandchildren…and so forth. The real ripple effect?
Posted on April 26th, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Downtown, Public Buildings & Sites
Lot’s of long-time residents have probably driven around Monument Circle a thousand times and never really focused on the scenes depicted in the statues around it’s base, like this one with a son saying farwell to his parents as he heads off to war. A camera with zoom lens really improves the perspective. When I first saw what the lens captured there, I was surprised at the detail and life-like quality. There is a lot going on at “the Monument” to see outside as well as inside. If you’re feeling especially hardy, you can walk up the stairs or just take an elevator to the top for a fantastic view of the city. Also, below you’ll find the Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum.
Posted on April 23rd, 2010 by Richard. Categories: Nature, Photo Flash
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a lot of trees with green leaves. Late last September actually. So when I saw the canopy of maples in the woods illuminated by the afternoon sunlight, it was a welcome sight. Strangely familiar. Funny but in a week or so, I’ll probably take them for granted again.
Thinking about the seasonal cycles reminds me that today is Earth Day. I guess I’m happy that it is observed and celebrated every year. Awareness about the planet and issues we face seems to increase around this time of year because of it. So hopefully some seeds will be planted here and there so that awareness becomes a little more automatic in actual practice every day, not just once a year.
