On the Camera

We're having a very quiet Fourth of July.  The city cancelled the fireworks since we're still experiencing a high risk of fire and our friends cancelled their annual July 4 party due to continuing Covid concerns.  But since we returned from a little trip up in the mountains on Saturday and  had friends over for dinner last night, we don't mind a relaxing day to catch up at home. 

We returned from our trip to find that the Shasta daisies, lace hydrangea and all the lavender bushes had bloomed. They were all so cheerful that I had to bring a few blooms into house to enjoy.  

Our yard is a pleasure to see this time of the year....

... and it's satisfying to compare it to how it looked just a few years ago.   

But the most vibrant and exciting flowers aren't to be found in our yard, but in the alleys and along the sidewalks around the neighborhood; the tall eye-catching hollyhocks.  I have hollyhock envy, and I guess I always will since I can't find anyplace in our yard to grow them. 

Luckily, I can take photos of them.  Aren't they amazing?

As I mentioned, we celebrated our wedding anniversary last week.  It is our 44th, and my sister Jean texted her congratulations along with this photo of the big day so long ago.  I wrote back, "I remember  those youngsters!"  

We headed up into the mountains to stay a few days at the Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort,  a lovely property near Buena Vista and Salida, known for it's numerous and pleasant pools.  This is one of about six large pools there and you can see what a pretty location it is.  

We did two nice hikes while we were up there, one of which was a killer two-mile climb up to the top of a ridge which offered a super view of Mt. Princeton.  The two-mile descent on loose gravel and down steep switchbacks was particularly exciting.

Mostly we enjoyed just hanging out on our balcony overlooking the creek.

On the way up I-70 we stopped in Idaho Springs to charge up the Tesla.  I have zoomed past the exits for this old mining town many times but had never actually gone in to see what the town was like.  Turns out it has a very well preserved downtown, some of which had been blocked off as a pedestrian mall.  

The Tesla charging station was right near the pedestrian mall and next to a "quickie mart" with snacks and restrooms.  When you are traveling and set your route up in the navigation system, it figures out when you'll need to recharge and suggests options for where to stop.  Charging doesn't take long or cost very much and I like the experience much more than pumping gas.  And while I really dislike driving on I-70, I have to say that the Tesla's acceleration power, smooth and fast braking, and ability to hug the road made it a pleasure to travel in.  

 

The caption for this photo is Where is the moose? On the way over beautiful Guanella Pass we stopped and hiked a couple of miles on the trail up Mt. Bierstadt, a 14, 060 foot peak that Ben climbed a few years ago with a friend.  Last time we were on this trail we spotted a big moose in the lake at the foot of the peak, but this time no moose was to be found.  I'd given up looking for him, but on our climb out the people in front of us stopped to take photos and when I looked to see what they were shooting, there he was!  (If you haven't spotted him, he's on the right side of the photo, just below the middle horizon line.)   

Isn't this a cute little flower?  I made it to include in a bouquet of fabric flowers made by members of the Visions Museum of Textile Art for its 15th anniversary.  This museum is in San Diego and I've been there a couple of times.  But I'm lucky that there are often good fiber exhibitions near Boulder.   

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden currently has its annual Evolutions show on display and I saw it about two weeks ago.  Its goal is to present cutting edge quilting.  Here's a piece by the First place winner for this year, Viviana Lombrozo, a Mexican artist who combines text and calligraphy using her own hand-dyed and painted fabric and extensive machine quilting.  

Here's a piece by Shannon Conley that represents new direction in fiber art, the creation of sculptural forms out of fabric.  She painted, stitched and manipulated cotton fabric into a 3-D piece, Cloud Rim.  

 

I loved this work by Kimberly Lacy called 20 Shades of Gray, which was inspired by her love of ammonite fossils found in the southwest. 

Tomorrow I'm going up to Estes Park to see the FACE of Fiber in the Rockies, an invitational exhibition featuring several local fiber artists.  I feel very lucky to be able to see so many great fiber shows. 

(I have been doing my own fiber art and finished I piece I'm very happy about, but that's a story for another post.)

Well, let me end with one last photo.  Here's Turbo meeting Mars, a "mini Turbo" who I spotted playing in the school playground across the street.  He looked so much like Turbo at that age that I went over and chatted only to find that Mars came from the same breeder as Turbo.   I invited him over to our yard to play and Turbo literally jumped for joy, something he doesn't do all that often when meeting other dogs.  He's polite and sometimes even enthusiastic, but I think it was the only time I've seen him literally jump in the air with excitement.  Very cute!  And Mars' owners were really fun to chat with as well, so it was a nice moment.