The stucco house I grew up in had ivy all around one side and I admit to being less charmed by it then because pigeons were always flying in and out of the ivy and dancing on the air conditioner in my window. But once I moved south to St. Louis and then out east I fell in love with the red right angles and the fluttering greens vying for attention, and there is nothing like the solid, cool interiors and dappled light of a brick house on a sunny day.
I drive by this house situated behind a wall on what was once a vast estate (now merely a large one) all the time but there is no safe place to stop and take the photo, so on this stunning May morning I parked the car in town and walked a mile to get this and many shots I have been meaning to take. More to come.
LettersHead 
No everyone shares your appreciation – Dad was always trying to figure out how to get rid our ivy once and for all. It had thick roots creeping up from under the living room window around the house to the second story and up the side.
Once he tied one end of a rope around the base of the ivy and the other end to the front bumper of our baby blue Volare station wagon then asked my sister, who was about 12, to get in the car and back up slowly.
She hit the gas and the front bumper landed in the driveway. Ivy (and spiders) won another round.