A vivid surprise on the sidewalk

I'm walking down the sidewalk on the way to catch the bus Monday morning when I notice this streak of color on the sidewalk. Oh, photo opportunity! Click.

Walk a few steps closer. Click. That's a three-story house the camellia there on the right of the photo. It's been made into apartments, three I think with the digging out of the basement during 2008 which made the third one.

One of the beautiful blooms.

And another one. Don't the leaves look sad, though? Our street is a busy one, 24/7. The traffic volume plus the still-present gravel/rocks put down during the snows in December make for a fine gray dust. You can see that on the leaves, sticking no doubt on one of our recent damp days.