Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA

Retired, with two dogs and a boat. For them, it must be a dream come true. The Pasquotank River and the re-purposed Elizabeth City waterfront make a beautiful backdrop for the day's activities. The captain and his first mate may be navigating the Intracoastal Waterway with enough time to explore some of the Albemarle's tidal creeks. [2020]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Artists, like geographers, are adept at exploiting scale. What you are looking at may be the world's largest fireplug, deliberately scaled up to outsize the one in Beaumont, Texas. By the way, the Jersey barriers are part of the sculpture. [2016]

Beaumont, Texas, USA

What breed? A Dalmatian, of course: announcing the importance of Beaumont's fire fighting museum. The outsized sculpture goes back to a time when Dalmatians were all over the cinematic arts world. Was this fire hydrant donated to Beaumont by Walt Disney in 1989, 1999, or 2009? Yes, this is a test of your knowledge of movie history. [2022]

Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA

If you happen to catch the unveiling of a historical marker, consider yourself lucky. Usually there is only a small gaggle of people lurking around. Some have been asked to take an active role in the ceremony. Others have planned their day around being a spectator. Still others (me!) just happen to be in the right place at the right time. [1982]

 

Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA

If you live in Florida, you may spot some parakeets at your back-yard feeder. They are descendants of house pets which have been set loose and gone wild. Albeit invasive, at least parakeets are colorful and cute. The rest of the world calls them budgies, by the way. [2018]

Sanders, Kentucky, USA

Under the gable: K + B in Love. The interior of this declining barn (no longer needed for farming) may now look like a parking garage, but the exterior has become a lodge for the spirit of place. How do you personalize your landscape? [2022]

Laurel, Delaware, USA

It may be called a potato house, but it is really a potato barn, a place where potatoes, especially sweet potatoes, could be stored as they were harvested every fall. Temperatures had to be controlled (see the chimney?) and air had to be kept circulating (see the high-up ventilation doors?). Unique to Delaware and Maryland, few remain on the landscape. [2022]