Random Randomness

I was up at our Troy office yesterday to do a storm water inspection.  Part of that entails me wandering around the grounds and we have some pretty nice grounds.  I also try to take pictures of some of the items highlighted in my report, so I tend to have my camera

 I think this was a spider web but I'm not entirely sure about that.  I thought it looked pretty cool with the little droplets of dew on it.

 I also saw quite a few mushrooms.  I really liked the look of this one.

 There were still some flowers floating around.

 I kind of like this one even though it is about dead.

 I really liked the look of this leaf with the dew on it.

 A group of those flowers.

 The bottom of the mushroom.

 I kind of liked the contrast between the top and bottom of the mushrooms.

Just an almost nice fall scene.

A Chinook Passes By

As I was up in the Troy office today, I heard a somewhat distinctive sound.

Fortunately, I had my camera with me and was able to get a picture of a Chinook Helicopter.  I believe it is operating out of Selfridge but I'm not sure.  It was still pretty cool to see at any rate.

Flowers at the Troy Office

While they are not high on the list of things that I like to photograph, I do like the looks of flowers.  Especially the more colorful ones.

I've been meaning to photograph these for a while.  So during lunch, I did just that.

A nice cluster of the flowers.  I think these are some sort of lily.

I love the red, yellow and green.

A pair of flowers.

A close up of the inside.

Looking down the flower.

One last shot...looking at the side.

The Polar Bear Expedition Memorial

So as I said in the last post, my main purpose for going to the cemetery was because they had a memorial dedicated to the Polar Bear Expedition.

In 1918, the United States was asked by Britain and France to help the Counter-Revolutionary Forces in Russia.  The United States obliged by sending a group of men to Archangel and another group to Vladivostok.  The group that was sent to Archangel was mostly composed of men from Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In September of 1918, the American troops arrived in Russia and were placed under a British commander.  They were used to rescue stranded allied units among other things.  The offensive went well at first but then the lines were stretched and supplies became difficult, so they changed to a defensive posture.

After the signing of the Armistice with Germany, families of the men stuck in Russia started to petition for their return.  In the country, there were several mutinies.  They were finally withdrawn in August of 1919, after which almost 200 men were killed.  Several years after, the expedition was called a mistake.

Eventually, the bodies of the dead were repatriated with 56 of them buried here.  This sculpture was made by Leon Hermant.

The polar bear exhibit at the Detroit Zoo is also a memorial to these men.

White Chapel Cemetery

Every so often, I find myself on I-75 just north of Troy.  As I go that way, I pass this cemetery.  I've seen the building in the milddle of it and have always been curious about it.  About a week ago, I found out that they had a memorial to the Polar Bear Regiment there, so that piqued my interest a little more so I decided to stop there on lunch while I was at the Troy office.

 As you enter the Cemetery, you are greeted by a fairly ornate gate and to the side of the gate are some pretty cool looking friezes.  This one looks almost like a knight.

 This one is an angel.

 I kind of wish that I could have gotten a better angle for the gate but it is a fairly busy road and there's no place I could stand to get the right angle, so I'd have to be content with this shot.

 The detail on one of the columns.

 Looking towards the side of the gate.

 There are quite a few statues in the park.  This particular one is on the road as you leave the gate.  I thought it was pretty neat.  I think the figure in the front is supposed to be Odin.

 Assuming the person in front is Odin, I'm guessing that these are ravens.

 A closeup of his face.

 This is the Chapel.  I kind of liked the view from in front of the fountain and this makes me want to go back in the summer when the pond isn't frozen and the fountain is running.

 Another one of the sculptures.

 A detail on the sculpture.

A closeup of the Chapel.

This was a pretty neat cemetery.  I'm not normally keen on going into cemeteries but they make for neat photographic opportunties.  I'm definately going to have to come back when I have both the time and the weather is nicer.