It's That Time of Year

On Friday I was tasked with taking graduation portraits of a client who was about to receive her Master's degree. We started off at the Cascade Park Apartments, an old, ivy covered building that looks a lot like a castle, and from there we moved on to Colorado College. These students were clearly also about to graduate, and were taking pictures in front of one of CC's impressive old edifices. We had to wait quite a while for them to finish before we too could take advantage of those grand arches. I bided my time and snatched this photo just as the young man gestured proudly.

The Sobriety Dance (Or Not?)

This guy can almost always be found in the median at the intersection of Uintah and Cascade, dancing while holding up a sign. I've noticed him there many times over the last few months (he's kind of hard to miss). Although it doesn't look like it in this photo, that's actually a busy intersection with queues of cars perpetually waiting for the light to change color, so I just assumed the sign had something to do with panhandling, since he always has a captive audience. But while getting this photo ready to post, I could see that it actually reads "Dancing to make you smile while you wait awhile - 4 years sober." Hm. Part of me says, "Good for you, buddy!" And the cynic in me thanks fat chance, he just takes the handouts he receives and gets loaded. Who knows? At any rate, he's one of the more eccentric characters to land downtown lately.

Silver Birds, Grey Skies

Artist Kent Ullberg's iconic whooping cranes looked so fetching the other day, I had to stop for a picture even though I've featured this artwork here on the blog many times before (here, for instance). Behind it sits the Cascade Park Apartments, looking very spiffy in summer. Do you notice how grey and horrible the sky looks? Multiple forest fires out of state and in Canada have been casting a smoky pall over a huge swath of the United States lately, and it's been sitting over Colorado Springs and Denver for the last three or four days. The situation in Denver was so bad yesterday, I heard on the news that it was literally the worst air quality in the entire world. And we are just south of Denver, so you can imagine how bad it's been here, too. Unfortunately when this happens, it has a very undesirable effect: my right eye will swell up and weep nonstop, and it feels like I have grit stuck in my eye that won't budge. It's pretty awful. For two and a half days, all I could do was keep dumping Visine into one or both eyes, although it didn't much help. Thank goodness the cloak of gloom finally (mostly) shifted away from us late this afternoon.

Feels Like Summer!

It finally feels like summer! Perfect weather for taking a walk with your bestie in the Near North End. I'm loving these warm-but-not-hot days. Bring it!

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Looking west across Cascade Avenue and through the front sculpture garden of our lovely Fine Arts Center rewards you with a nicely framed view of our favorite hunk of granite.

Virginia Creeping

The Cascade Park Apartments are covered in Virginia creeper. I really like the look of it, especially in the fall when the leaves turn crimson. I make it a point to drive by and check it out every year during autumn.

Selfie-ish

I've featured eXe by Michael Shewmaker on this blog before (HERE), so consider this more of a self portrait instead. Can you see me reflected in the giant X? I'm wearing jeans and a pale yellow sweater.

Gold and Blue

The Antlers Hotel in the background, with Chris Weed's cheery sunflower sculptures taking center stage in the foreground.

November 2023 Theme Day: My Favorite Part of Town

It's Theme Day for City Daily Photo bloggers, and this month the theme is my favorite part of town. I very much have a favorite neighborhood, the Old North End. For me this also has to include the micro neighborhoods around it: Patty Jewett, Bonnie Park, Roswell. I just love this part of the city and always have. My studio was located in the Old North End for a decade; it's only in the last three or four years that I've had to relocate. I miss the daily commute into this neighborhood of wide avenues, gracious Victorian mansions and Craftsman homes, big old trees, and nice parks. Still, it's only a couple of miles from our house, so of course I take any excuse to drive through the Old North End and I typically do my grocery shopping there.

The above photo was taken on North Cascade Avenue in 1927 by an unknown photographer, and the one below was taken by me almost exactly a year ago, on October 30, 2022, on Alamo. I did blog the same shot on November 14, 2022 (here). If you saw this neighborhood in person, you'd love it too.

To see more favorite places by other City Daily Photo bloggers all over the world, click HERE. Enjoy!

Sunflowers

A from-the-drivers-seat-while-stopped-at-a-red-light cell phone snap of Chris Weed's sunflowers. I thought they looked nice against the blue sky.

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First Lutheran Church on February 3, 2018. This church has a very lovely old building with a deep, colonnaded, wraparound porch, seen here, and a very midcentury modern building right next to it. An odd combination for certain!

The McAllister House Museum, Again

I know I've blogged about this little museum before, ages ago, and at the time I swore I'd go in there and finally check it out. I've always been intrigued by the McAllister House Museum but never took the time, even when I lived only a block away. For shame! The other day I found myself walking right past it again, and all I did was stop and take a picture. Sigh. One of these days...

A Cost Effective Solution

On the Colorado College campus, the newly renovated Tutt Library's façade is oriented west, toward Cascade Avenue, and naturally so is its main entrance. But there's another door at the back of the building and honestly I have to laugh a little about it. Behold the Tiefenthaler Entryway. Are you a CC alum but don't have the buying power of a Tutt? Is having a building erected in your name a bit of a strain on the old pocketbook? Here's your cost effective solution: just pay for the back door!

Mostly Snow

It snowed for almost the entire day, and yet by the end we'd only accumulated about half an inch if we were lucky. How is that even possible? This winter has been dry, dry, dry.

Red, White and Blue

Seen on Kiowa Street just east of Cascade Avenue on Sunday afternoon, an unintentionally patriotic moment.

Don't Fence Me In

Here's a lovely fence around a lovely house whose address I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure it's on Cascade Avenue. Many of the old homes in the Old North End neighborhood have similar wrought iron fences.

Just Another Great Big House

This one is on the northeast corner of Cascade and Buena Ventura. According to my nosy research, it was built in 1889 and is worth about $1.2 million.

Two Dudes on Horseback

This statue depicting a couple of Range Riders adorns the southeast corner of Cascade and Pikes Peak. I posted a nearly identical photo on this blog exactly six years and ten days ago. I guess I forgot all about that one! Sorry to repeat myself so literally. Ha ha.

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A view of the Cheyenne Building from the upper parking lot of the library on September 19th.

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Mother Nature has been thwarting me these last few days. It seems every time I find the time to go exploring with my camera, the weather becomes distinctly uncooperative. Today we had dark clouds and thunderstorms for most of the afternoon, so please enjoy this slightly crooked shot of Corpus Christi that I took on December 27, 2018. Better luck tomorrow I guess!