Phone cam round-up special edition: the Cleveland Brooklyns

Don't believe in magic? You're a fool. Follow me down a secret path and I'll show you the light.

Start with a jig. A charmed piglet will be your partner as she dances ...

... to the music of dead men.

Tiptoe past enchanted cottages ...

... and meet talking heads.

Behold exotic beasts lurking amid our haunted ruins.

Drink from ruby goblets. Eat from indigo platters.

Dragons? Of course we have dragons ...

... and regal protectors to keep them at bay.

Don't worry. Mysterious machinery will guide us if we lose our way ...

... as we march onward, o'er hill and dale, to the far-off land of Cleves.

* * *

All of today's photos were taken a few miles from downtown Cleveland in an area that was designated "Brooklyn Township" in 1818. Over the past two centuries, the mostly rural township splintered into neighborhoods of Cleveland, a village and a city. I wrote all about Cleveland's Brooklyns for this week's edition of fresh water.

In the article, you'll find Drew Carey and a bevy of alpacas. You'll visit an eatery that puts the famed Rao's of NYC in its place, urban gardens blooming with everything from lavender to garlic, and the final resting place of Cleveland's original beer guys.

As for our dancing piglet, she lives in a place noted by our very own Al the Retired Army Guy and Anthony Bourdain.

I love this town.