My Top 10!

Ten things I've noticed that I never have before and also will never forget:

These little birds were drinking and bathing in dirty water at the construction site behind my apartment. They really stood out to me because here was a situation where the earth was being torn apart and yet they returned to do the simplest actions. I'm not sure if they realize it all.

This is my bedroom window. I always have the shades pulled down and never look out of it because my view consists of an apartment building wall. I finally pulled up the shade and snapped a photo of the window frame and it was shocking how old and grimy it looked.

My friend's garage building has an interesting composition of concrete , lacquered material and who knows what else. What I took a picture of looked to me like old brown paper slapped on concrete and then a layer of varnish over it. I tried to peel it back but it was stiff and I broke a nail in the process.

As I walked through the little garden area between the English building and Lincoln Hall, something caught the corner of my eye. I stooped down to look at the small plaque on the bottom of the lamp post. It was a memorial plaque for a sorority sister who died in 1994. I have never noticed it before and it was a solemn moment.

My friend's apartment is over in Urbana and he has a slightly woody area behind his building. I was walking behind his building and heard something meowing. This little cat blended into the bushes so well that it took me a few seconds to find him. He's not screaming in the picture, just stretching. He was so relaxed just sleeping in his little hideout.

The Armory House is about a block away from my apartment and I walked by there every morning. One morning as I walked by the benches they have set out, I noticed that one of them was chained to a tree. It stuck out as practical (probably due to past experience of people stealing them) but also extreme. The chain was rusty and cut into the tree like ropeburn.

I've had my rabbit, Mr. J for over a year and a half now and his markings seem to change every few months. As I started to take pictures of him, I noticed that he's starting to get a little brown fur on his nose. You can't really see the detail in the picture, but it amazed me that I've never seen it before.

Right by the McKinley Health Center is this really cool garden area and even a small pond, complete with fountain. As I walked home with a friend Sunday morning, he stopped and asked me if I ever saw these sculpture sticking out of the ground before. I replied no and proceed to learn that the entire setup is called a "Rain Garden" and the sculpture are intended to represent prairie fire. Very interesting.

This picture is really simple but for some reason it stood out so much to me. On the walls of the English Building, there are random spickets for water I'm assuming. It's random but I thought it was so interesting that it redefined the walls for me.

This picture is someone's office window with their plants set on the ledge. In the center is a small giraffe that ironically is twisting his neck to look back into the office, not outside. I never stop and stare at people's windows but for some reason the little giraffe made me stop and take a picture.

It's amazing how differently you look at places/things once you see something that stands out to you.