Little Lambs Eat Ivy
Sunday, March 25th, 2007From Truly
I’ve always really liked the phrase “In like a lion, out like a lamb,” but growing up in Michigan, where March tends to be a sullen slop of rust and slush, I never really found it very applicable. But as the ever-growling clouds in Glasgow parted this week, revealing a gentle warm sun, I smiled and said “Baaaa.” Springtime is here.
Yesterday, the first truly warm day of the year, I spent the afternoon walking and taking photos. I started my journey on our favorite hill in the city: The Big Hill. There are surely larger hills in Glasgow, but this one cracks us up because it has a sidewalk going up it and you can see hearty Scottish people doing everyday things on it–pushing a pram, carrying bags of groceries–while wimpy Midwestern flatlanders like Shaun and I huff and puff just to drag our scrawny asses up the darn thing. The Big Hill has been a part of our evening walk since we moved here, so we’re no longer panting like dogs by the time we reach the top, but its still not a route I’d lug a rolling suitcase up.
The Big Hill is so big and twisted that it takes three shots just to document the whole thing.
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After an 90-year old man, a baby just learning to crawl, and a dog with one leg passed me on the way up (and I go running for a sweaty hour most mornings!), I reached the top of The Big Hill and continued en route through the West End and into Kelvingrove Park, where spring was in full bloom.
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Pretty flowers aside, Kelvingrove Park is also home to one of my favorite graffiti’s in the city: Ghost Baby. There are actually many ghost babies painted all around the city. Sometimes the city cleans them away, but just around the corner, a new ghost baby will appear.
As I carried on downtown to meet Shaun at the end of his shift at work, I found another Ghost Baby peeking out from an ally.
While I was in city centre, I thought I should take some shots of the urban bustle; I think my photos create a misleading image of Glasgow. My camera lens consistently drifts to quiet small bits to offer respite from the constant barrage of cramped bodies, the pressing smells, the smashed fries on the sidewalk, the drunks vomiting their liquid lunch onto building sides and walkways. This is a city, after all. It’s not all pretty. But on a spring day, even the crowds look good, don’t they?
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Has spring sprung where you are?