A spring snow and other notes

For those you who are not in Rensselaer today, the picture below shows what the weather is like here. We are getting some spring snow--spring weather often includes some snow. It will be gone in a day or two.

 The re-roofing and remodeling of the Fifth Third building was making rapid progress last week, but snow today stopped work.

 Below is a picture of the men at work on Friday morning.

Construction of a street has begun north of Drexel Drive. The street will go east from Fountain Stone Theaters and then south to Drexel Drive. The project, if I remember correctly from various City Council Meetings, will cost about $1 million. It will include not just the construction of the road but also the installation of utilities. I do not know the purpose of the big hole that was being dug on Friday morning.

Below you can see the outline of where the road will go and also some of the pipes that will be installed underground.

While in the area on Friday, I stopped to check out the quarry. It is now ice free. In a few weeks the turn in the road that is on the right should be under water.

I was going to use the picture above to illustrate that spring was on the way but then today's snow came. I did see crocuses blooming over the weekend, but they were south of Indianapolis. I also saw my first turkey vultures of the year, one near Indianapolis and another by Lafayette. They should be soaring over the quarry any day now.

The geese by the quarry have paired up and are trying to establish nesting areas.

The new storage units on Vine Street have signage and also a website. It does not appear construction is finished--the units do not appear to have a floor--but maybe that is the way they are supposed to be.

 Tuesday March 24 will be the last day that Jack's Uptown Service will be open. The owner, Marvin Nagel, is retiring. The Rensselaer Republican had a nice article about him on Wednesday, March 18. A lot of people have depended on Jack's Uptown Service--Marvin did not rename the business when he bought it from Jack McNeal--for reliable car care and will now have to find another mechanic. I am one of them.