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Sunday, August 21, 2016

Wildflowers on Parade in South Valley Park



I am back from a wonderful trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, and the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta, Canada!  It was a long drive, to and from, and my husband put on over 3,000 miles on our car. We loved the sights we saw along the way on our drive through three states, and we especially loved our visits to the two absolutely beautiful scenic parks. In fact my camera has now over 1,000 photos on its memory discs waiting to be downloaded, and so a lot of editing is ahead for me before I'll be able to share, but I look forward to showing you all the beauty we saw in future posts.

In the meantime, I wanted to show you another beautiful place that I visited this summer. It is South Valley Park, a mile walk from my house.  I've blogged about the two trails that we walk often, that are located in the park in the past--Coyote Song Trail, and Swallow Trail.  Now I'd love to show you the beautiful wildflowers I saw on my walks in this park this summer.  All photos and photo collages will enlarge if clicked on.


The park has natural dirt trails that are surrounded by natural grasslands, trees, shrubs, wildlife, as well as beautiful red rock formations.




On one side are the foothills, and the other side...


...a Fountain Formation hogback.  

I feel so fortunate when spring and summer arrive and bring such a wonderful array of wildflowers to enjoy in this park.  I hope you will enjoy the collages I made of many of them...please click on to enlarge them.


"Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet." 
~ Jeremy Bentham.


"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." ~ Iris Murdoch


"May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day." 
~ Native American Proverb


"I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one."
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay


"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
~ Lady Bird Johnson


Even the shrubs, grasses and trees have a wild beauty.

Bindweed -- Common Mullein -- Thistle

"A weed is but an unloved flower." 
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Even though the wildflowers I saw all looked beautiful to my untrained eye, I found out that some of them are considered noxious weed species by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.  They are non native and aggressive, replacing native species. You can see the list of noxious weeds on this link. Noxious weeds are spread by animals, humans, water and wind, They can be introduced as seeds in soil, ornamental planting mixes, nursery stock or hitch hike on vehicles.  Colorado, like most states is taking aggressive action to decrease the impact noxious weeds make on the landscapes of open space.
South Valley is a peaceful place to walk to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature...


...even the noisy chatter of crows!


Time to go as a thunderstorm quickly approaches over the foothills. I just about made it home in time before the rain came. I will be back in my next post to show more of what I have been doing in Colorado this summer.  I hope you have also been enjoying these wonderful summer days!

I'm linking this post to the following blog events:


Thank you to all the blog hosts!



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Wildflowers on Parade in South Valley Park



I am back from a wonderful trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, and the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta, Canada!  It was a long drive, to and from, and my husband put on over 3,000 miles on our car. We loved the sights we saw along the way on our drive through three states, and we especially loved our visits to the two absolutely beautiful scenic parks. In fact my camera has now over 1,000 photos on its memory discs waiting to be downloaded, and so a lot of editing is ahead for me before I'll be able to share, but I look forward to showing you all the beauty we saw in future posts.

In the meantime, I wanted to show you another beautiful place that I visited this summer. It is South Valley Park, a mile walk from my house.  I've blogged about the two trails that we walk often, that are located in the park in the past--Coyote Song Trail, and Swallow Trail.  Now I'd love to show you the beautiful wildflowers I saw on my walks in this park this summer.  All photos and photo collages will enlarge if clicked on.


The park has natural dirt trails that are surrounded by natural grasslands, trees, shrubs, wildlife, as well as beautiful red rock formations.




On one side are the foothills, and the other side...


...a Fountain Formation hogback.  

I feel so fortunate when spring and summer arrive and bring such a wonderful array of wildflowers to enjoy in this park.  I hope you will enjoy the collages I made of many of them...please click on to enlarge them.


"Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet." 
~ Jeremy Bentham.


"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." ~ Iris Murdoch


"May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day." 
~ Native American Proverb


"I will be the gladdest thing under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one."
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay


"Where flowers bloom so does hope."
~ Lady Bird Johnson


Even the shrubs, grasses and trees have a wild beauty.

Bindweed -- Common Mullein -- Thistle

"A weed is but an unloved flower." 
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Even though the wildflowers I saw all looked beautiful to my untrained eye, I found out that some of them are considered noxious weed species by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.  They are non native and aggressive, replacing native species. You can see the list of noxious weeds on this link. Noxious weeds are spread by animals, humans, water and wind, They can be introduced as seeds in soil, ornamental planting mixes, nursery stock or hitch hike on vehicles.  Colorado, like most states is taking aggressive action to decrease the impact noxious weeds make on the landscapes of open space.
South Valley is a peaceful place to walk to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature...


...even the noisy chatter of crows!


Time to go as a thunderstorm quickly approaches over the foothills. I just about made it home in time before the rain came. I will be back in my next post to show more of what I have been doing in Colorado this summer.  I hope you have also been enjoying these wonderful summer days!

I'm linking this post to the following blog events:


Thank you to all the blog hosts!



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Saturday, August 13, 2016

Last Days of Summer..


"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don't believe in magic will never find it,"
~ Roald Dahl


Do you see it?  I took many photos of wildflowers this summer in an open space park near my home, and as I was editing them I almost cropped this photo to concentrate on the flower. At the last moment I saw the beetle hanging onto the blade of straw in the upper left corner.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see the beetle was looking at me!


"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in
 humble places where other people see nothing."
~ Camille Pissarro


I also captured this ant clinging to a flower stem with my camera lens.....



"To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles."
~Mary Davis


...and three beetles on this daisy.


"Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, 
for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers."
~ Ray Bradbury


My husband and I have been "busy as bees" this summer. We drove up a 14,000 foot high mountain, visited a historic ranch, two historic houses, and a fort that was on the Santa Fe Trail when immigrants crossed this country in covered wagons and Native Americans lived on the plains.  We attended a lavender festival and saw two operas in a 1872 opera house in an old Gold Rush town. We enjoyed barbecues with our family and had fun with our grandchildren. Now we are looking forward to an upcoming visit of a niece and great nephew from New York.


If you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere."
~ Vincent Van Gogh

As the month of August winds down I'm taking a little break from my blog to enjoy the end of summer.  A little more time to enjoy the flowers, hummingbirds and young fawns that I see in my backyard, and a few more family barbecues and last trips to the community pool.  I will be back soon!  



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Sunday, August 7, 2016

Battery Park, Manhattan


During my visit to New York, my husband and I had a dinner date with friends in another of our favorite restaurants that was located in Battery Park in lower Manhattan. We often spent time in this southern shoreline park when we lived in New York, and I've blogged about it in the past, click here and here if you would to read those posts.

 This area has been known as "The Battery" since the 17th century when the area was the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. At the time an artillery battery was locate there to protect the seaward approach to the town.   The park was created by landfill beginning in 1855, as a landscaped open space in a heavily developed downtown. Skyscrapers now rim the original land surrounding the park.
(All photos in this post will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)


Much of the park consists of an esplanade along the shoreline with views in the distance of the Statue of Liberty. This bench area and garden was called "The Garden of Remembrance." Planted with native grasses and perennial flowers it is dedicated to "those who lost their lives on September eleventh, to the survivors, and to those who come seeking renewed optimism and hope."


 We noticed that The Sphere was in a new location from when we saw it last. It is a large metallic sculpture by Fritz Koenig, as a monument to world peace. It once stood in the middle of the plaza that was between the original World Trade Towers and was salvaged after the disaster.  It is a temporary installation and may be moved to Liberty Park in the future.  We remember when it was surrounded by a fountain and flower boxes when it was in the World Trade Center Plaza and it still gives us chills to look upon it and think back to that fateful day.


Toward the northwestern end of the park stands Castle Clinton, the last remnant of the defensive fort that was built in 1811.  It was named in honor of New York City Mayor DeWitt Clinton in 1915.  It is perhaps best remembered as America's first immigration station, prior to Ellis Island, where more than 8 million people arrived in the US from 1855 to 1890, when it was called Castle Garden. Afterward it was re-purposed with many other functions, including being one of the first aquariums in the United States. Today is is administered by the National Park Service as a National Monument, and is a departure point for visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.


Nearby is a stirring sculpture entitled "The Immigrants."  The inscription on the base of the sculpture reads: "Dedicated to the people of all nations who entered America through Castle Garden in Memory of Samuel Rudin 1896-1975 whose parents arrived in America in 1883."  According to the NYC Parks web site the sculpture's "figures expressive poses emphasize the struggle and toil inherent in the experience of the immigrant or dislocated person."  It's a very dramatic and poignant sculpture to see.


A happy new development we saw in Battery Park was a beautiful and very unique carousel called the Sea Glass Carousel.  


Built with a musical underwater theme the rider sits on an iridescent fish that glides through and aquatic adventure. You can watch a video of it on this New York Times web site. It was quite enchanting!


If you look closely at the bottom of the photo above you can see the East Coast Memorial eagle.This memorial commemorates those soldiers, sailors, marines, coast guardsmen, merchant marines and airmen who met their deaths in the service of the United States in the western waters of the Atlantic Ocean during World War II.


A total of 4,067 lives were lost, and their names, rank and home state are inscribed on nearby eight 19 foot high granite walls.


The New York Korean War Veterans Memorial was of interest to me as my father was a vet of both WWII and Korea.  The memorial, dedicated in 1991, was designed by Welsh born artist Mac Adams and it is notable as one of the first Korean War memorials erected in the United States


This sight of the juxtaposition of old and new in New York City made me smile.  The red brick building in front of the towering black skyscraper which is located at 7 State Street, between Pearl and Water Street is the James Watson House, built in 1793 and extended in 1806. James Watson was the first Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a Federalist member of the New York and United State Senates.  He later became a prosperous importer-exporter. The house was also the residence of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first America Catholic Saint. The home is currently occupied by the rectory of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church and is part of the Seton Shine.


We had time before meeting our friends for dinner so we walked across to see the buildings close up...


...and we went inside the church.  The story behind this church is very interesting. It began through the inspiration of Charlotte Grace O'Brien, who was the daughter of the famous Irish patriot and rebel William Smith O'Brien.  Charlotte's concern for young female Irish  immigrants who were being victimized in America in 1881 led to her establishing of an Irish immigrant mission and then a church serving the people of lower Manhattan.  You can read more of this history on the church web site and the Irish Mission at Watson House on this link.


As we walked back towards the restaurant in Battery Park we saw the "Cool Globes" art exhibit designed to raise awareness about global warming and spark practical solutions.  It will be on display until September, 2016. Unfortunately, we did not have time to examine the twelves globes too closely but I though they made an interesting foreground for the new World Trade Center building.


We finally arrived at Giginos Trattoria at Wagner Park, located at 20 Battery Place.  In summer the restaurant places a large tent outside in the back, so that diners can enjoy dining al fresco and.....


...appreciate this view of the Statue of Liberty!


Since we were dining with friends, I did not take any photographs of our dinner, but if you look at Giginos menu you can see that they have wonderfully authentic Italian food. Everything was delicious!


After dinner we took a stroll along the esplanade as the sun set.


 We saw this pretty view of Jersey City, New Jersey across the river....



...and had a last look at the World Trade Center in the distance.  

We had a wonderful time in New York, and we saw and did many more things on our trip, but I'm going to save them for a future post and return to what I have been doing in Colorado this summer on my next post. When people ask me if I miss New York, I have to admit it will always hold a special place in my heart.  I am happy I lived in the city so many years and experienced much of its attractions, but I am happy to be spending this time of my life in the west and living a different lifestyle, and especially living close to our children and grandchildren. It has been a wonderful summer so far....hope you are also enjoying everything good about this season!




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