It’s a beautiful day. I walked outside to go to lunch and the sun was shining brightly … and for the first time in quite a while, the sun felt warm. 42 degrees has never felt so great. As I walked through downtown Bloomington, I felt a sense of wonder at the bright sun, deep blue sky and small puffy clouds in the distance.

Minutes later, I found myself brooding. Just as winter’s grasp begins to weaken, I have to have surgery. I won’t be able to take advantage of the nicer weather for at least a couple of weeks. Hell, I won’t even be able to walk to lunch for a while.

The further I walked, the more my foot hurt. Soon I was limping along, still enjoying the sun, but having a little trouble getting around. I’ve had a few doubts about my surgery, as my foot really doesn’t hurt too badly most of the time. But at that moment, I realized, quite clearly, that the surgery is definitely the right thing to do. And that in the long run, I will recover and be better off.

All of this feels a little melodramatic. My foot doesn’t hurt too badly now, and the surgery is supposed to be relatively minor. But, now I feel much more relaxed, focused, and confident. Sometimes a good walk does wonders for clearing your mind.

Sometimes, I feel compelled to photograph the less scenic areas I encounter. Sarah and I used to do more of this kind of urban decay photography, particularly when we lived in the Chicago area.

Yesterday, I was itching to get out, and a walk sounded nice. So, I decided to walk through downtown Edwardsville, a neighboring town that is quite run down. It’s sad to see the state of this place, but it makes for some interesting photography. It’s a weird combination of abandoned buildings and buildings that look abandoned, but aren’t. It’s hard to tell, walking around, what is abandoned and what isn’t. Here are some of my photos from this outing.

First, the map:

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And the photos.