30 June 2011
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Today's post comes a little late in the day, but better late than never! This is a tall window in the stairwell of the Hagia Sofia coffeehouse in Old Colorado City. I took this photo a long time ago (no time to go out and take fresh photos with wedding season weighing down on me at the moment!), so actually I don't even know if the Hagia Sofia is still there. I'll have to go and check it out again one of these days, if I ever get a minute to just sit down and breathe!
29 June 2011
Hens and chicks
28 June 2011
Colorado Springs Bike Fest, Part 2
27 June 2011
The Colorado Springs Bike Fest
26 June 2011
Town 'N Country Launderet
23 June 2011
Mr. Squirrel has something to say
22 June 2011
Clematis
21 June 2011
Hibbard's Department Store
20 June 2011
An indecent proposal
Yesterday I went in to my studio to get some work done (Sundays are so quiet, it helps me to get caught up). Sometime during the late afternoon I took a peek out the window to see what the weather was doing, and I spied this note on my car, pinned under the windshield wiper. Huh? "Debra? Will you marry me sweetie? XOXO" -- what on earth?!? I must admit that it was an alarming thing to find on my car! My first thought was, of course, oh no, somebody got the wrong car!, quickly followed by what the heck do I do with this piece of paper? After all, if it's legitimate, it's important that it get to the right person.
Sigh. Why does this weird stuff always happen to me? What an awkward position for me to be in! If I throw it away, does that make me a bad person? I feel compelled to find this Debra person and deliver the note to her! On the other hand... this is a little fishy for several reasons:
1) If a person is in love enough to want to spend the rest of his life with someone, presumably he'd be able to identify her car.
2) Who the heck proposes on a note stuck to a windshield? Seriously?!?
3) The writing looks suspiciously female -- not that it's so unusual that a female would want to marry another female, but women are usually more sensitive and romantic than to just leave a note on their beloved's car!
So what do you think? Should I throw it away with no guilt? Should I try and find this Debra? Do you suppose the whole thing was a lark?
19 June 2011
A benefit for Janet
My friend Janet was involved in a single car accident on April 23rd. Janet and her husband Dave live here, and Dave is a competetive cyclist so they travel all around for races. On this particular day Dave was participating in a super endurance road race in New Mexico and Janet was providing race support in an automobile. She rolled the vehicle after missing a blind turn and overcorrecting. Dave was the first to come upon Janet only minutes after the accident, and luckily there were some medical professionals also participating in the race, so she got immediate medical attention. But since they were in the middle of nowhere it was some time before an ambulance was able to come and rush her to the hospital. To make a long story short, among other injuries Janet suffered, she fractured her C6 and C7 vertebrae, and I don't have to tell you that this is very serious. She has basically been in a coma and/or under heavy sedation since the accident.
The good news is that Janet is slowly stabilizing. The doctors are keeping her sedated pretty much continuously, but she has had a couple of semi-alert moments. She is also in the best hospital for spinal cord injuries, Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver. So please wish her well, she could use all the prayers and well-wishes you have to spare!
18 June 2011
The little red caboose
17 June 2011
The arts building
I love the color of this building on the Colorado College campus and use it all the time for shoots -- I hope they never paint over it! As far as I know, this is still the Arts building. I didn't go to CC but I had several friends who did, and if I recall correctly, all the art and music majors get their own private studio here for their senior year. What a luxury!
16 June 2011
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15 June 2011
Winfield Scott Stratton
This statue on the corner of Nevada and Pikes Peak depicts one of our city's most important early residents, Winfield Scott Stratton (apologies for the odd angle -- I shot this out my car window while waiting for the light to change!). No doubt countless people have rolled past Mr. Stratton's stern countenance without realizing who he was and what great contributions he made to Colorado Springs.
Originally from Indiana, Mr. Stratton moved here to pursue a career in carpentry but was soon swept up in the gold rush. After many years of prospecting for gold during summertime and working winters in the carpentry trade, he finally struck it rich on the south slope of Pikes Peak, near Victor and Cripple Creek. His discovery was christened the Independence Lode and it soon made Winfield Stratton a very wealthy man.
By all accounts Mr. Stratton was a generous and philanthropic soul. He donated important tracts of land to our city, including the block where City Hall sits. Our stately downtown post office, which is named after him, sits on a parcel acquired from Mr. Stratton at a fraction of its actual value; he also donated a large sum of money to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, one of his alma maters. He bailed many a friend out of financial difficulty, and when Cripple Creek burned to the ground he provided assistance to the thousands left homeless. Mr. Stratton was especially generous to the poor elderly and children in our region, and for this he forever wins my heart. Upon his death in 1902, his millions went toward establishing the Myron Stratton Home, named after his father, which to this day fulfills his original mission of assisting "poor persons who are without means of support and who are physically unable by reason of old age, youth, sickness or other infirmity to earn a livelihood." More than a century after his death, Winfield Scott Stratton continues to give generously to our community. Bravo!
13 June 2011
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12 June 2011
The trees have... sweaters!
This afternoon I made a quick run to the Pita Pit, and on the way home I noticed that the trees on the north side of Acacia Park were wearing sweaters! I had to stop and get a picture of course. I was a little baffled by the sight, until I read "International Yarn Bomb Day 6/11" on one of the sweaters. Ah. Well I wish I'd known about it, I'd have knit a tree sweater too! (Oh well -- there's always next year.)
11 June 2011
This fisherman's on fire!
10 June 2011
Blunt Mortuary
The west facade of the Blunt Mortuary building in Old Colorado City. When I was in college we used to joke about they must be very blunt about death there, a la Captain Kirk ("He's dead, dammit!"). Please don't listen to the bad comedy of drunken college students! I'm sure the opposite is true of Blunt Mortuary; after all, they've kindly guided many generations of Colorado Springs families through grief. I like to think I'm a little more mature now than I was in college, but I admit that I still giggle a little when I drive past Blunt Mortuary and see the name on the building.
09 June 2011
Mountain Shadows
08 June 2011
Arapahoe Acres
My brother Chuck and I went to Denver the other day to check out the HGTV Green Home (see yesterday's post), and while we were there I thought he'd like to see Arapahoe Acres, a small neighborhood crammed with amazing examples of midcentury modern architecture. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that Pat and I are HUGE fans of modernism, and so is Chuck! Arapahoe Acres really is the coolest neighborhood ever, and it's literally two blocks from my best friend Jenn's house. Because of the architectural significance of the homes, the entire neighborhood has been designated as a historic district (and I would be willing to bet that a high percentage of architects live there!). I snapped photos of a couple of homes as we drove through -- it was hard to restrain myself from photographing every last one of them, but I didn't want to look like a creepy stalker! Here's one of them. Sigh. Wouldn't it be awesome to live in such a groovy house?!?
07 June 2011
The HGTV Green Home
05 June 2011
Rocky Top Resources
This is the bed of Pat's truck receiving a quarter ton of topsoil! We've been doing massive amounts of yardwork and gardening lately, trying to make up for a couple of years of neglect. Pat took it upon himself to till up almost all of the grass in our backyard (and our backyard is HUGE), then dress it with new topsoil and plant new grass seeds. This explains the trip to Rocky Top Resources for the above-pictured load. Actually it was way more than one trip! Pat discovered Rocky Top a couple of years ago and they're great. If you have yard waste you need to get rid of, like tree branches, piles of leaves, garden debris, etc, Rocky Top will take it off your hands for a very reasonable fee. If you do it on a Saturday they'll accept a can of food for payment, and it goes to Care and Share. I love that. They also sell topsoil, mulch, rock, stone... all the stuff that you need for your yard.
I for one can't wait for all this yardwork to be finished. Pat did the lion's share of the heavy work, and I did a lot of planting these last few days, including a vegetable garden that is going to be bursting with produce in a couple of months! Only one more garden to clean up and replant, and we can sit back and watch the grass grow.
04 June 2011
A faithful companion
03 June 2011
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Another nice photo from my stop at Hillside Gardens a couple of days ago (see yesterday's post for more).