The view from my window
Notes from my 2023 comics journal.
I’ve been posting comics about my adventures following Bob Dylan’s tour around. To my readers who are not Bob Dylan fans, thanks for humouring me! I’ll keep on alternating between different subjects. Today I have some sketches about what’s happening on my street, now, in 2023. It really started with the view from my window…
There’s a new infill three door down! It’s big, at least by the standards of the small houses on my street.
The big spruce tree next to the new infill actually belongs to the house next door, so luckily it didn’t get cut down. In the past few years, every time a new house has been built on my street, it’s involved some tree-chopping. That’s a trend I don’t like. We need those trees!
But anyway. Right now my concern is mostly about those windows!
The story of 23rd Avenue
My street is only two blocks long. There are only 50 houses. We’ve had some new infills show up in recent years, along with a lot of renovations to old houses (including mine). But for the first time, something really different has been proposed at the end of the street. This wouldn’t just mean a couple of new windows shining in the dark. It would be a really big change.
My street is an artsy, creative street! Ten years ago, I found out that 24 of the 50 houses had artists living in them (!) and organized an “Artwalk & Street Celebration” for our street. I even made a webpage for it, which is still up on my old blog.
Anyway, I know that new developments on the street are inevitable. Our street is near to the future route of the Green Line, a passenger train (LRT) that’s going to be built in the next few years. Here’s one of many pictures I drew of the imagined future train, back when I worked with the City of Calgary’s engagement team a few years ago, listening to what community members thought about the plan. You can find out more about the Green Line here on the City’s website.
So, a lot of changes are coming. I just hope the changes will reflect the artsy character of the neighbourhood and keep it alive.
That’s all for now about the changes on 23rd Avenue. But I do have a couple more pages from my current drawing book, like this picture from my friends’ UKULELE JAM (yes, I have these friends who get together to play their ukuleles and it is a surprisingly fun thing to do!)…
That’s all for now. Tune in next time for more Bob Dylan comics!