Things Are Looking a Little Better at the Duck Pond

I think the last time I showed you the north duck pond in Monument Valley Park was last November, and it had that barren "we just finished a major improvement project here" kind of air about it. I guess a more polite way to describe it would be that it was bursting with as-yet unrealized potential. Ha! Now that this part of the park has had a whole summer to recover from its facelift, it's finally starting to look a little less grim. I imagine it'll be several years before it regains its former charm. Hopefully it'll be even better than before.

October 2026 Theme Day: Soft

The first day of every month is Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers, and this time the subject is soft. I thought hard about it and figured lots of people would take pictures of their beloved pets, so even though I had our soft (and extremely adorable) feline handy, I decided to go with lamb's ear, or Stachys byzantina. This plant is all over our front garden and has proliferated abundantly there for years -- it really thrives in our sunny, arid climate. And it's very, very soft. It feels like an angora sweater.

For more interpretations of soft by CDP bloggers all over, visit our portal HERE. Enjoy!

Ssserpent

While on a portrait shoot today, my clients and I came across this little western terrestrial garter snake. Do I like snakes? No I do not, they generally give me the creeps. But I was brave enough to take a photo before I vacated the area. Ha. Garter snakes are fairly harmless, I know, but that doesn't mean I want to hang around with one.

Señor Stratton

Early local philanthropist and all-around historic good guy Winfield Scott Stratton looking eastward from his plinth on Pikes Peak and Nevada.

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A detail shot of the large Victorian mansion, known as the Rev. Paul R. Peel House, that's part of the collection of buildings comprising the First Lutheran Church campus on North Cascade Avenue.

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I've photographed this sculpture many times for the blog, but this may be my favorite attempt. Very dramatic.

Griffin + Door

Pardon my bad pun! These twin griffins adorn the front entrance to the Cascade Park Apartments. You walk between them every time you go through the front door.