Another Scorcher

As I type this it's 97° F (36° C) outside, even hotter than yesterday. Here's a shot from a much chillier afternoon, November 16, 2014, when the temperature apparently peaked at about 28° F if my online sources are to be trusted. Hopefully this will make us all feel a little cooler. Incidentally, the beautiful woman in this photo is one of the many friends I've made thanks to this blog. Her name is Nicole and she's a former competitive and professional ice skater. After chatting with her before taking her picture we became buddies, and are friends to this day.

Despite the Drought, Helen Hunt Falls Doesn't Look Too Pathetic

Since I was at the Broadmoor last week I popped over to Helen Hunt Falls for a peek. We're enduring a terrible drought this year and I had low expectations. I thought it would be a mere trickle of water, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the falls still look reasonably good, all things considered.

Dying for Shade

I took this photo on Sunday, when the temperature reached about 95° F (35° C). To make things worse, I had a photo shoot outdoors that lasted two hours. I thought I was going to die, I was so hot! (Thankfully I did bring a cooler filled with ice and water bottles.) I ran by my studio when the shoot was finished and grabbed this shot outside my building. In summer, the sun here is extra intense because of the altitude, so big trees like this are a godsend. I'll take any shade I can get.

It's Hot

It's been hot here on and off but it hasn't been too bad the last few days, mostly staying in the mid eighties to ninety degrees. We did have a record breaking day last month on June 17th when it hit a scorching 99° F in Colorado Springs, which is unheard of. I was blissfully unaware of exactly how hot it was that day, since we had air conditioning installed in our house last year and I was perfectly comfortable. I know that large swaths of Europe have been suffering from an extreme heat wave lately. Most people in Europe don't have AC, and I read that in some places temperatures there have been exceeding 100° F the last couple of weeks. That just sounds unbearable! So I dug into my archives for my European readers and found this nice, chilly moment captured on the grounds of the Union Printers Home way back on January 4, 2009 (yes, this blog has been around for that long). Maybe it'll help everyone feel a little cooler.

June 2026 Theme Day: Sky

Well I took an unannounced break from the blog all of last week. It just sort of happened, I didn't plan to go AWOL! I was on "staycation" and busied myself with all kinds of projects around the house and garden. The weather was rainy for several days on end and that made it difficult to take any pictures, then I was scurrying to catch up on outside projects when the sun finally came out. So basically, I didn't have any pictures to share here. Anyway, I just realized that today is the first day of June, so that means it's Theme Day! This month the theme is sky. I did a little digging in my archives and there were lots of photos that fit the bill, but I thought this one was a standout. It was taken on January 29, 2021, and it sure looks like I was standing in the parking lot of our downtown library to get this awesome view of the Peak.

For more takes on the theme, check out the City Daily Photo portal HERE. Enjoy!

A Sight for Sore Eyes

It's nice to see a blanket of snow on the peak, even though it'll disappear soon. It's been an unnervingly warm and dry winter and we're definitely staring down the barrel at water restrictions in the coming months. The last several days brought us chilly, soggy and snowy weather, which will definitely help, but it's not enough. Send more please, Mother Nature.

Things I Saw in SoCal (Part 1)

April was a busy month for me. Only three days after returning from Las Vegas, Nevada, I was airborne again, bound for San Clemente, California. You may recall that Pat and I visited San Clemente in February. This time I went solo, to visit the same friends. I had a little beach time during my stay, plus a day of just driving around by myself while my friends were otherwise occupied.

Above, here's something so very California that I had to share it even though the shot's a little blurry: a foot powered "taxi" filled with giggling girls as a guy walks past with a surfboard balanced on his head! Below, a practical solution to the $6+ per gallon gas prices in Orange County: a cool vintage scooter. I'm sure it rarely needs a top up.

San Clemente is really just a little surf town. Much of the local culture and economy revolves around the sport. There's a beach nearby called Trestles that's known for its incredible waves -- so much so that the 2028 Olympic surfing competition will take place right here in San Clemente.

The thought of growing a banana tree right in your front yard boggles my mind! It never freezes in San Clemente (as I type this, it's 39° F in Colorado Springs, and we're expecting below freezing temperatures tonight). When I was a kid growing up in the Philippines, we had banana trees just like this in our yard.

Things I Saw in Manitou (Part 3)

Little signs of spring! This seems a bit early in my opinion (even for daffodils), but we had an extremely mild winter after all. I saw another lady stoop down and take a picture of these same flowers as I was about to leave. I guess we're all ready for things to start growing again.

Now You See It, Now You Don't

This is what the weather looked like on Friday, seen from 8th Street looking toward downtown. Twenty four hours later the snow had completely melted away and the sun was shining.

San Clemente (Part 3)

I managed to squeeze in an hour or so at the San Clemente pier during our last day of vacation, and although it looks nice and sunny it was actually somewhat windy and chilly. No one seemed to mind. More tomorrow.

San Clemente (Part 2)

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it rained relentlessly for almost our entire stay in San Clemente, California last week. On Friday the sun finally came out, and although it was still chilly I prevailed on Janet's cousin Arthur to chauffeur me around town. I have been to San Clemente many times and I always make it a point to visit Stewart Surfboards (above) so I can buy a new t-shirt. The surfboard in front of the store says something to effect of  "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy a surfboard and go surfing and that'll make you happy." I'm paraphrasing since I didn't take a picture of the whole board, sorry! After our stop at Stewart's, we made our way to the water. Living in landlocked Colorado, I crave the ocean, even if it's chilly out. I'll share some great views of the Pacific tomorrow.

San Clemente (Part 1)

We spent all of last week in California visiting our good friends Janet and Ethan, their daughter Rachel, and Janet's cousin Arthur. They live in San Clemente, toward the bottom of Orange County. As you can see, it was quite chilly and very rainy. Not exactly what you think of when you conjure up sunny southern California in your mind's eye! It wasn't until our last full day there that the sun came out. The bad weather didn't bother us though; we actually stayed "home" for the most part and didn't do much in the way of sightseeing. Mostly we helped out with projects around their house, which is why you see a picture of a very soggy garden center at the bottom of this post -- I helped them plant an herb and veggie garden in the rain! I love gardening, even if I get soaked. More (sunnier) pictures tomorrow!

Wishful Thinking

Winter must be a lonely time to own an ice cream shop! The Creamery in Old Colorado City is positively legendary, but as you can see, the delights within were not enough to lure in many (or any) patrons on this sunny but chilly January day.

Discussing Strategy

Today was on the warm and sunny side, which means the LARPing crowd was in their usual Saturday spot doing battle in Palmer Park. I've posted about them before (HERE). Palmer Park is around the corner from my studio and I love to see them out there doing their thing.

San Miguel

Yesterday afternoon, looking eastward on San Miguel Street at about Arcadia.

Frolic

As we were warned, frigid temperatures have descended upon us. When I took this today it was 10° F (-12° C) outside and snowing, but these dogs and their humans didn't mind. They were in their element.

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There's a spot in our front yard where the snow takes longer to melt and it can make for some interesting patterns. We're about to get some seriously frigid, snowy weather. In fact, I think most of North America is in for it. Today I was driving around in nearly 50° F temps with the car window down, but as I type this, it's now 20° F (or -7° C) and dropping. Batten down the hatches, it's going to be a very cold weekend.

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I haven't showed you this view in a while. The Garden of the Gods is extra beautiful in winter.

Iceberg in Miniature

I really wanted to try and blog every single day in 2026, as much as possible, anyway, and yet I've already missed a day. I had a good reason for not posting anything yesterday, though: last month a molar at the very back of my mouth cracked beyond repair or redemption, and unfortunately it had to come out. So yesterday was spent at the oral surgeon having a tooth extracted, and I was in no mood to blog anything after that. Thank goodness for modern dentistry -- it'll be replaced by an implant in due course, and no one will be the wiser.

At any rate, no, this is not what sunk the Titanic, it's an iceberg shaped little snowdrift on the patio table in our backyard. After weeks of unnaturally warm weather (I'm talking 55° to 70° F almost daily), Mother Nature finally dumped a bunch of white stuff on us last night. Reportedly it was 9", but I think it was more like 7"-8" at our house. I'm happy to see it! Unfortunately the weirdly warm temperatures are supposed to return next week. It's January, for piss sakes. It's supposed to be cold! Frankly it's unnerving to be wearing t-shirts in the dead of winter. We should be bundled up in coats and sweaters! None of our lakes or ponds have even had a chance to freeze over. It's crazy. I really hope that after the next warm spell winter comes back and stays for a while, and soon.

The Day After

Last Wednesday we got 6" of snow at our house. I love a good snowstorm, because the next day we can expect a view like this.