Elk Sign

A tiny plastic elk pauses before a sign in an otherwise empty store window on Lark Street.

The Walls Have Hats

A rather pretty doll-sized hat was fastened to the wall of a building under renovations at the corner of North Pearl and Steuben Streets.

Confidential Destination

An empty cart with an intriguing label sits near the Justice Building at the Empire State Plaza.  Actually,  Confidential Destination sounds like a rather good title for a spy film or a mystery novel.

A Bench For Souls

The Pond at the Albany Rural Cemetery (also known as Cypress Waters) is surrounded by benches which give visitors a nice place to relax.  The benches were made possible by donations and there are plaques affixed to each.  This one is particularly interesting.

Given by William D. Dearstyne, Jr. and Peter R Kermani, classmates and lifelong friends, in honor of their families buried at Albany Rural Cemetery, October 1, 2007. This bench is for visitors to use to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of this place overlooking The Pond. When the Cemetery is closed, this bench is reserved exclusively for the souls of the donors.

(Why not follow along as I digitally explore the Rural Cemetery at my other blog?)

State Street Magi

A pair of Wise Men seem to be looking for their missing hands beneath a tree just off Lark Street.

Fresh Air

Maybe the fresh air wasn't quite fresh enough for the person who placed these car air fresheners on a shrub in Washington Park.

Elvis In The Window

A picture of The King adorns the window of the recently closed Cravings on North Pearl Street.

Abandoned House

A festive, candy-adorned gingerbread house left on the window ledge of Key Bank at Lark Street and Washington Avenue.

Odd Duck

Someone placed a wooden duck (possibly a decorative planter) on the board covering the drain at the eastern end of Washington Park Lake.  Perhaps it was a nod to the many ducks that make the lake home.  Unfortunately, a few minutes after this picture was taken, a boy used his fishing pole to retrieve this duck from the board...only to pitch it into the lake.  It was last seen floating forlornly on its side.

WEIRD

A homemade sign in the window of the Van Rensselaer Apartments.  (The building, at the corner of Madison and Delaware Avenue was built in 1901 and was designed by architect Marcus T. Reynolds).

The Bronze Pot

A pot and hatchet are among the details on the Tricentennial statue in the park of the same name on Broadway.

The Fountain of Disarry

The fountain in Ten Eyck Plaza hasn't been turned on this summer and the grates are becoming quite untidy.  Not that the pigeons mind.

Embedded

When I was very little, the city planted maple trees along my street and a number of others in the Center Square area.  The trees were surrounded by little iron fences like this.  As the trees grew, the fences were removed.  But they must have missed this one near the corner of Dove and Spring Streets.  As the trunk has expanded, the iron has become embedded in the bark.

A Dandelion Crown

The flowers are already withered, but someone took the time to weave a rather intricate wreath around the base of a traffic signal on the corner of Eagle and State Streets.

JC

This older building on Central Avenue bears the letters J and C between the windows on its third story.  Perhaps these were the initials of the original owner or builder.

The Eye of Horus

The Eye of Horus - an Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection - looks out from a State Street window.

Found On Lark Street

When I was very little, we'd sometimes go shopping at the massive old Montgomery Wards out in Menands.  Once, I picked up a penny off the railroad tracks that ran across one of the parking lots.  At least one train had passed over the coin and bent it into the shape of a taco shell.  I kept that unusual penny for years, somehow lost it, and wish I still had it.

This penny, however, is the most battered I've ever seen.  At first, I thought it was just caked with dirt, but a closer look shows how damaged the cent is.

Duct Tape Sculptures

Folk-art figurines created from duct tape in the window of a Lark Street gallery.

Birthday Mail

Writing found recently on a mailbox on State Street near the Capitol.

Forgotten Flowers

A vase of withering summer flowers left behind after the Farmers Market on the Empire State Plaza