Heavy rain through much of the wee hours Monday morning, as forecast. Not as pleasant as sleep-time rain on a Friday or Saturday night, or in rental property when the risk of sump pump failure isn’t your concern, but not bad.

Also nice to know that February is just about over. Always good to get the bastard behind you, even if March isn’t that much better. The longer days promise warmer air, and eventually will deliver it.

That said, Sunday was warm (over 50 F.) and sunny enough to inspire us to visit Long Grove, Illinois, whose short and genteel shopping streets can make for a good stroll. The last time I was there, I was promised a sock monkey museum. And there it was!

Please use front door, the sign said. So we went to around to the front door. No dice. Closed on Sunday. What’s up with that? I could have sworn that most sock monkeys were Seventh-day Sabbatarians, but maybe I’ve been misinformed.

So I spent some time examining the nearby bricks, and least until Yuriko and the dog wanted me to come along with them. Long Grove has extensive brickwork at one’s feet.

Including named bricks.

Such as “Carlyle Sciotoville,” presumably a product of Carlyle Brick of Sciotoville, Ohio; and “Barr” bricks, probably associated with a factory that used to operate in Austin, Minnesota; and “Poston Pavers,” which must have been the product of Poston Brick & Concrete Co. of Sangamon County, Illinois.

Zounds, I’ve discovered one obscure rabbit hole: brick collecting, as discussed in blogs and articles and facilitated by the fact that brickmaking used to be a highly fragmented industry, with countless local brickmakers advertising their wares on the products themselves, so that there are hundreds (thousands?) of distinct varieties.

There’s also the International Brick Collectors Association, whose web site looks like it was set up in 1997 and not modified since, but why does it need to be? It does me good to know such an organization exists, even though I’m not planning to collect bricks like whoever set up BrickCollecting.com.

I like this Tumblr site, That Was Our Work, which is partly about bricks. “Bricks, manhole covers and sidewalks are cogs that help the great machine of the world run. They have stories to tell, histories and trends hidden in their design, their materials and their installation,” the site says.

No archives or index, though, which makes it of limited use for looking things up. But it is good for browsing. I’ve been known to take a look underfoot, too. It’s part of my style as a granular tourist.