Magazine Street, and a rainstorm

 Above: A house on Magazine Street, uptown.
 Below: Also uptown. This tree is huge! That's my Honda under it, looking like a toy.

 Same Spanish oak, with breaker boxes for outdoor lights mounted on it--I think that's what they are, anyway. It's illegal to cut down a Spanish oak in Louisiana, but this is OK, apparently.

 The Circle Food Store on Claiborne Avenue. It's been closed since Katrina. Claiborne Ave was the center of a thriving African-American business district until I-10 was installed on top of it in the 1960s. Now this stretch of Claiborne is pretty bleak--it runs under the freeway for miles.

A summer thunderstorm, with Mardi Gras beads.

A hibiscus flower I found in the street. They start blooming in the fall. They don't last long, but they sure are pretty; I see them in red, orange, pink, and white.