A Hot, Humid Sunday in Carmel

August 15, 2010: Carmel is a new edge city just north of the Indianapolis beltway. It's like a cross between Disney and Brasilia: the city hall looks like Independence Hall in Philadelphia; the civic auditorium looks like La Rotunda but 10 times larger. We had lunch at Shapiro's:

Carmel's Japanese garden seemed out of scale, but perhaps it was the heat and strong sun that made it not seem quite Japanese:

Wildlife on the condo balconies:
The neighbor's cat and an American Goldfinch:












A busy hummingbird feeder:

Our Sunday night supper from the Zionsville Farmers' Market:
Ham and cheese bread braid and sliced tomatoes with basil:









Pan fried boneless pork chops and zucchini casserole:

Our Saturday in Indianapolis

Indianapolis, IN, August 14, 2010: We started at the Zionsville Farmers' Market. Zionsville is a small suburban town with a Bentley dealership and a 19th century American Gothic main street that outbests Disney's Main Street USA.

We bought tomatoes, peaches, sweet corn, bell peppers, zuchinni, carrots, onion, pork chops, rye bread, a ham and cheese bread braid, catnip, basil, and some plants for the garden.

The charming downtown is mostly art galleries, high end clothing stores, antique shops, cafes and restaurants. It was Laguna without the surf boards.

This nickelodeon (l) (priced $10,000.00) played stringed instruments!












Folk art along West 176th Street:

Trader's Point Creamery is an organic dairy making artisanal cheeses and yogurts and with a "local, organic & seasonal" restaurant, which despite the preciousness is really quite good. If nothing else, have the ice cream!

A colorful Ailanthus webworm:
Butterflies:









Zinnias:













We stopped by the greenhouse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art:
Alocasia "Hilo Beauty"(l):









The Fashion Mall at Keystone:

























We ended the day at Kona Jacks: