Take a gander at this gander!

Yesterday while I was at Monument Valley Park snapping pictures for the blog, I noticed an enormous goose across the pond from me. I walked around to get a closer look because I couldn't quite tell what kind of bird he was. He turned out to be the largest gander I've ever seen. As I got closer he got a little agitated and gave me the stink-eye, so I definitely kept a safe distance from him (geese are mean, and they'll chase you!). I snapped this photo from several yards away and cropped it so you could see him a little better. You can't really appreciate it from the photo, but standing he's about the height of my lower thigh! (He's way bigger than the Canada geese in yesterday's picture.)

Today I took Pat to the park to see the gigantic gander. We located him in almost the same spot as yesterday, although with two of us there he wasn't quite as aggressive. As we walked past him, I remarked that this looks like a domesticated goose that must have been abandoned in the park. When we got home I did a little research on the internet, and within minutes I had my answer: this is either an African or a Chinese goose, domesticated for centuries and flightless. And when I say flightless, I mean vulnerable to attack from foxes and coyotes, and not suited to living in wild or semi-wild situations.

Since he is flightless, the only way he could have gotten there is if someone had dumped him. He's huge, so evidently he was well fed at some point! He looks healthy now but there are a lot of reasons why he shouldn't be there (see this website to learn more). Chances are he won't survive in the park for long. I was very concerned, so I contacted our City Parks and Recreation Department via e-mail, photo attached, to let them know about the situation.

I'll update the blog when I know more. I think people who dump unwanted animals are jerks. Whoever did this to this poor animal deserves a swift kick!

The golden hour

Late this afternoon, in search of photo-worthy subject matter for the blog, I stopped by the north duck pond in Monument Valley Park. It was the time of day that photographers and cinematographers like to call the golden hour, because the light is so soft and warm. It's my favorite time of day, especially in Colorado Springs. Absolutely perfect.

These Canada geese were kind enough to pose for me in the golden light.

Elbert Day

One last image from Elbert. This sign was stuck to yet another abandoned building on the town's miniscule main street. I wonder what exactly Elbert Day entails. My guess is it includes some good food!

Dilapidated house

Another image from Elbert, taken last Thursday. I couldn't get over how tiny this house was. It's sad to see it in such disrepair. If walls could talk, imagine the stories these ones would tell.

Elbert, CO

Elbert is a tiny, tiny little town a few miles to the north and east of Colorado Springs. I've lived here for almost 30 years and never been to Elbert. I just assumed it was another one of those little towns out on the prairie: few trees, lots of pickup trucks, lots of wind. I was wrong! Pat took me there on Thursday on a whim, and it was so different from what I envisioned! It sits in a more hilly area, with lots of trees. It's very charming, peaceful and picturesque. Hawks circling in the sky, kids out on the baseball field.

According to this Wikipedia article, Elbert was a bustling little burg until 1935, when a massive flood came and took out half the town. Bummer! Now it's a very quiet little place with just a handful houses and rustic old buildings. (I mean it -- it's tiny.) Most of the old buildings are more or less in a state of gentle decay, but the Gates Mercantile building, though standing empty, has been completely restored. I had to get a picture of its north side with the dilapidated old bench. I wonder how long that old bench has been sitting there.

I'll post a few more pictures of Elbert over the next few days.

A sad day for local cyclists

Colorado Springs is known as one of the fittest cities in the country. For sure there are a lot of fitness enthusiasts here, as well as the Olympic Training Center, which takes it to another level altogether. Cycling is a huge sport in the Springs, especially in my part of town (very close to the Olympic Training Center). There are so many hardcore cyclists here that I run across several of them every day on the roads. Some Colorado Springs residents like to complain about them, but I say if you're going to live here you might as well get used to it. Cycling is an integral part of our city's culture. I for one think that's pretty cool.

Last August there was a terrible tragedy where two popular local cyclists were killed by a lady in a humongous truck. Apparently she was under the influence of prescription drugs (morphine), and she was also driving without her required glasses or contact lenses. She mowed her pickup into a group of cyclists just a few blocks from her house. I can't believe she didn't see them. Guys at this level wear very colorful uniforms, and it was daylight out. A senseless accident. The driver expressed extreme remorse, saying it was she who should have died, since she is terminally ill. The large Colorado Springs cycling community was devastated. This is what you call a lose-lose situation for certain.

There is a shrine to the cyclists in the spot where the accident occured on the west side (and I took a photo of it last year but never blogged it). On Thursday I noticed this ghost bike shrine on Tejon Street near Wooglins Deli, far from 26th and Westend. As you can see, the local cycling community is still mourning the loss of EJ Juarez and Jason Kilroy.

The pooper scooper man!

On Wednesday night we went to the Franz Ferdinand concert in Denver. Our friend Dina and my brother Chuck came with us. This picture was taken on Dina's block as we were stopping by to pick her up. It's the pooper scooper man! He'll come to your house and clean the doggie poo out of your yard -- apparently for free! (Maybe he works for tips...?) That's some way to pass the time, eh? Well, as they say, "It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it."

What a crazy, wonderful world we live in: if you'd rather not clean up after your dog, you can have someone else come and do it for you!

[P.S. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. I had to zoom my lens all the way out and shoot through the car windshield, all in fairly low light.]

The Jiffy Lube wind puppet

My car was due for an oil change, so yesterday Pat and I took it to Jiffy Lube over on Platte and Union. They had one of these giant, wind machine-driven puppets jerking to and fro front of the place. Every time Pat and I see one of these, we crack up laughing. They're just so funny! Flopping up and down violently, arms flailing, a crazed smile painted on. Hilarious! I had to get a picture, then we took it a step further by getting a few seconds of video (I'll see if I can post it here). It just cracks me up every time.

We asked the guy whether or not it helps business and he said no. In fact, one of these crazy wind puppets cost $4,000 and it's apparently worthless for getting customers in the door!

[ETA: Okay, here's the video. Excuse the brief maniacal laughter, that's me -- I sound a little weird for sure!]

Independent Records

Let's hear it for locally owned businesses! Yesterday I was on a mission to buy the latest Franz Ferdinand album. They're playing in Denver tonight and I hate to go to a concert without knowing any of the new stuff they're playing. I know it's bad form to buy the disc the day before the concert, but I just didn't have time to do it sooner!

Anyway, lately I just buy my music from Best Buy, Barnes & Noble or other large chain stores (if not iTunes). I don't know why I do that. It's stupid! Why am I not supporting the little guy? I'm the little guy! I own a small business too! It's literally been years since I set foot into Independent Records, and I should be flogged with a wet noodle for letting that happen. Shame on me! Independent Records has been in business in Colorado Springs since 1978, which is longer than I've been here. When I was in college it was the cool place to work -- practically everyone I knew worked there at some point or other, except for me (I guess I wasn't cool enough). There's an Independent near my house but they seem to specialize more in rap, which is not my bag. The Independent on Bijou Street downtown is the more "edgy" store. They have a great selection of new and used CDs, as well as video games and so on.

So today I went in there and bought my CD. It actually cost less than what I would have paid at Best Buy, and the guy who served me was waaaaaaaaaaay hipper than any bored Best Buy clerk. And he was cheerful (see photo), which is nice. I was very happy to see that they were quite busy on a Tuesday afternoon at 5:00pm, no lack of customers.

The next time you want to buy that CD/book/pair of shoes/sandwich, think about supporting the mom and pops in your town, not the big chains. We're here waiting to serve you, come on in!

The view from the car wash

I love living here! Even when you're doing something mundane like driving through the neighborhood car wash, this is the view you get.

Untitled

Just a photo of an alleyway I took on Friday, April 10th in the afternoon, on Tejon Street between Dale and Monument.

The state of snacking today

Pat and I were at the grocery store the other night doing some shopping when we came across this: cotton candy flavored pudding snacks. Seriously. Am I the only person who finds this disgusting?!? What will they come up with next, nacho cheese flavored oatmeal? Blech!

Take 7 show opening reception

The opening was a success! Despite the crummy weather we still had a big turnout. I had a great time! For those of you who live in the area, the art will be relocated to the atrium of the Antlers-Hilton downtown in a couple of weeks, so you can check it out there over the coming months.

Here's a picture of my friend Lise, who's one of the Take 7 photographers. [Note: I set this shot up, don't assume I just got lucky with the cool motion blur. I should be so lucky, ha! ;o)] Can you guess which of these photos are mine?

Snow today!

Well it's April 17th and we've got snow. I took this photo out of the window of my home office about an hour ago. Very pretty and picturesque, but I have an opening tonight and I'm not happy about the weather! Hopefully people will come anyway. I'll post a picture of the party here tomorrow.

Cheers everyone! Tamera

X in concert

I am a huge music fan. My tastes tend to run to punk and alternative, and I am an avid concert-goer along with Pat. Last night we got to see one of our favorite bands, X, at the Bluebird Theater in Denver. The Bluebird is a great place to see a show because it's so small -- there are no "nosebleed" seats there.

We love X and have seen them many times. Last night we were so close that I literally got to shake Billy Zoom's hand. How cool is that?!? We were right up next to the stage. It wasn't that long ago that you were frisked at the door for cameras and recording equipment, but lately I think the venues and promoters have given up on fighting that battle. Subsequently I was able to click away along with the rest of the crowd. Billy even smiled for my camera.

Here's one of my favorite shots of the night. What a rock star! They put on such a great show for us -- X never disappoints! I love this band!

For more on X see their official site here, or check out this extensive Wikipedia article on them.

Signs of spring?

I know this is not an award winning photo by any means, but it made me want to cheer today when I saw that the rose bush on the west side of our house is starting to leaf out! Yay!

Spring comes in fits and starts when you live at 6,000+ feet. One day it's 70 degrees and sunny, the next day it's snowing. Today is one of the sunny days but they say we're due for another severe snowstorm this weekend. Ah, the joys of spring in the Springs!

Anticipation

I'm part of a group of local professional photographers called Take 7; every year we do a gallery show called "Look Into Our Faces" and kick it off with a big opening reception. This year's opening is on Friday the 17th (three days from now). I was a little slow getting my prints made and framed, so I had to make special arrangements to hang my artwork late today.

The space where the art is displayed is owned by my friend Lise and her husband Scott (Lise is also one of the Take 7 photographers); she and Scott run their respective businesses out of this extremely cool, old warehouse-like space on the west side that they have completely gutted and renovated. As I waited for Scott to come and unlock the door for me, I took a few snaps of their place in the late afternoon light. What a great looking building!

Starbucks

I love Starbucks. I admit it. Tonight in the quest for a couple of fish for my aquarium, I felt the draw of Starbucks a few blocks from the pet store. I'm sure my new fish didn't mind waiting in the car for a few minutes while I picked up my medium decaf in a grande cup with two Sweet & Lows and an inch of milk. As I waited for my freshly brewed cup, I spied these two seals stuck to the back of the espresso machine. Everything is always so cleverly merchandised at Starbucks. It makes me want to buy everything there. I'm sure they're just an evil empire, but I cannot resist the place. Even when I was in Paris I visited Starbucks.

Okay, you can admit it now that I've gone first -- you like Starbucks too. What's your poison?

2000 Wok

Another car -vs- restaurant confrontation! How is that possible? The victim this time is a popular, family-owned Chinese restaurant on Fillmore Street called 2000 Wok. Apparently a very drunk woman heading eastbound on Fillmore lost control of her car and drove right into the building. She was going so fast that she flew through the window on the west side of the restaurant, smashed through the dining room, and exited the opposite window on the east side of the building. Holy cow! The good news is that this accident happened very late at night, so no one was in the place. I can't imagine the carnage if it had happened during business hours. As it is, the driver ended up badly injured and was rushed to the hospital. The restaurant isn't doing so hot either -- there's a sign on the door that reads, "Sorry, we are close for now. Due to an car accident that ran into our restaurant. We will open back soon. Sorry for the inconvenience!" Inconvenience, indeed!

My brother will be so bummed. He loves 2000 Wok!

Memorial Hospital

I took this photo in one of the myriad, endless corridors of Memorial Hospital on Sunday, March 29th. I was there to do some portraits of a little baby named Davian, who was born on December 13th, four months before his due date. Davian is a little fighter! When he was born he weighed only 1 pound, 8 ounces, but the day of his portraits he weighed four and-a-half pounds!

I've been to the hospital twice to visit Davian since he was born, and I got lost both times. Memorial Hospital is HUGE and it keeps expanding. It's like a giant ant hill in there! Very confusing.

You can see my portraits of Davian by visiting my other blog here .

In memory of Tim

This pretty much sums it up.

Behold, the happy snowman!

Just one of the many pieces of public art on the streets of our beautiful downtown. This happy guy lives on Bijou and Cascade, just west of the Pita Pit restaurant. I like him, even though he has to hold up his head with his own hands! I've been meaning to take a photo of him on a snowier day but I keep forgetting. One of these days I'll get around to it.

Election Day

Yesterday was municipal election day in Colorado Springs. There were only four issues on the ballot (plus a vote for city council members in various districts), so it was a fairly "minor" election. The city decided to do only mail-in ballots this time. I prefer to actually go and vote rather than mailing my ballot; there's something nice about going to a polling place and filling out the ballot and putting it into the box. Then they give you an "I Voted!" sticker to proudly display on your shirt.

As it happened, Pat and I forgot to mail our ballots in time. We ended up having to submit them in person, so I got the voting experience anyway. I went to the Senior Center on North Hancock -- I like voting there because everyone's so nice. Here's a picture of me casting my ballot, and the lovely election volunteers who assisted me. (And yes, I got my sticker!)

Today is Pat's birthday. Happy birthday honey, I love you!

Fashion -- it's a b*tch!

I went shopping at the Chapel Hills Mall on Friday night with my mom and aunt. As we walked slowly to accomodate my aunt's very Filipino pace, we heard the unmistakable clacking of high heels behind us. Moments later this gaggle of teenaged girls overtook us, two of them struggling to walk on sky-high heels. My mother got a laugh out of it, saying they looked ridiculous, but I thought they were cute. It reminded me of when I was in high school, trying hard to be hip but not too hip. Pushing the fashion envelope just far enough is tricky business when you're in high school. You want to be seen as cool and on trend, but not too far ahead of the curve lest you become the object of ridicule for having fashion foresight. Deciding on just the right shoes was an emotional minefield!

There is no way in hell I would ever want to be a teenager again -- not for a million dollars!

Bon voyage!

Just a quick snap I took in the Garden of the Gods while giving my Auntie Ellen a final tour last Thursday. Today she moved back to the Philippines, so we tried to spend as much time as possible together before she left.

Bon voyage Auntie Ellen! I love you!

You oughta be in pictures

Here's the main courtroom inside the former El Paso County Courthouse, now known as the Pioneers Museum. What an amazing room! Imagine justice being handed down from this imposing bench. The ornate carving on the paneling alone is mind boggling! Behind me are rows and rows of seats that are also carved wood. Amazing, no?

The Pioneers Museum, and this room especially, has been featured in a few films and made-for-TV movies. Since Colorado Springs isn't exactly a hotbed of movie production it's kind of a big deal to have anyone filming here. I do distinctly remember a couple of these productions when they came to town. When The Incident was being filmed I was working at a local pro camera shop, and some of their crew came into our store looking for various odds and ends (and I remember that one of them was very rude!).

Here's a list of the productions that have used the Pioneers Museum and its beautiful courtroom for location shooting (click on it for a larger view) -- my friend Tony had small parts in all of them, and my friend Chuck was also an extra in The Incident:


Pretty cool huh?

Beautiful workmanship

Here's my mom ascending the main staircase inside the Pioneers Museum on Thursday. We were amazed at the fine workmanship on the balustrade. That was just par for the course in 1903, but can you imagine that being the norm now? You can see that in addition to the balustrade, the ceilings are ornately painted. Many of the wall surfaces are also faux-marbled. It's incredible and it must have taken so much time and dedicated workmanship. These days, a building like this would go up in three months or less and would look like the prefabricated cr*p that it is (pardon my French).

The Pioneers Museum was originally called the El Paso County Courthouse and served in that capacity until the 1970s. It really is the crown jewel of our downtown. Its architect, Augustus Smith, designed it beautifully, down to the last detail. There's even an old-fashioned, ornate cage elevator that still functions like brand new. It really is a gorgeous, gracious old building, and it continues to serve this community as a wonderful museum filled with artifacts of our city's history. I highly recommend that you visit it if you ever make it to Colorado Springs. Admission is free!

Follow the Setting Sun

Here is a slightly better angle on yesterday's image. The metal sculpture, "Follow the Setting Sun" by Harriett Lee, sits in front of the Pioneers Museum on the east (Nevada Avenue) side. This piece has been there since 2005 and I don't remember any kind of controversy or brouhaha surrounding its installation, which surprises me because it's so modern in contrast to the Belle Epoque structure behind it. The juxtaposition reminds me a little of the I.M. Pei pyramid that sits in the courtyard of the Louvre in Paris. (And we all remember how controversial that was!)

My mom, two of her sisters and I visited the Pioneers Museum yesterday in order to spend a little family time together. I had been interested in checking out the Pikes Peak or Bust exhibit there for a while now. But I am such a slow museum browser that I never made it into that gallery before we left! I'll have to go back there with Pat. I am fascinated by Colorado Springs history, so this is right up my alley.

I'll post a few more pics of the museum in the coming days.

A family kind of day

My mom's sister, Ellen, will soon be moving back to the Philippines permanently. There has been quite a bit of preparation going into this big move, including emotionally. She is over 70 now, which means I may never see her again. I have no plans of visiting the Philippines any time soon and she has no plans of coming back here. So there has been a flurry of lunches, dinners and other excuses to spend time together before she leaves. Today my mother, Ellen and another aunt, Tita, and I went to lunch at Applebee's and then spent a little time at the Pioneers Museum, formerly the El Paso County Courthouse.

It was a nice afternoon. Yesterday was a bad day; it was snowy and miserable, and I got some very bad news about an old friend. It was bright and sunny today. Spending time with my mom and two of her sisters helped to make yesterday seem a little less bad.

This is a photo of the east facade of the building. That's Ellen on the left, my mom in the middle and Tita on the right. They're checking out the sculpture that sits in front of the museum, "Follow the Setting Sun" by artist Harriett Lee. Sorry this is such a bad picture! I just wasn't in a good position to capture it well, but I liked the random way they're walking.

April theme day: yellow

A couple of days ago I was on an errand to Godec's Photo Supply to pick up a few things. As I drove I pondered April's theme day, yellow. I thought to myself, "Now what yellow thing can I take a picture of?" I had spring on my mind.

As I parked in front of Godec's and got out of my car, there it was! A sign of spring, and it was yellow! These cheerful little daffodils fit the bill perfectly.

If you would like to see more theme day photographs from City Daily Photo bloggers around the world, click here to view thumbnails for all participants