Well one expects to see skeletons, etc. during Halloween (formerly only Oct. 31st, but it now lasts the entire month of October), although there are also iconoclasts that just love skeletons.

This cheerful skeleton sits out on the front porch as if to watch the world go by (if only it had eyes). Before television this was allegedly something that people did (I don’t know this personally, it’s just a rumor).

This stern skeleton is encouraging one to get something done to one’s car. I’m not sure what that thing is, but I feel a strong urge to obey.

This skeleton can be found in a rather trendy restaurant/bar. The place is crowded with ephemera and smug young persons. It was once a lovely place to have a leisurely lunch, but now it is infested with hipsters and tourists. Perhaps it is there to remind people of their ultimate fate, or it may be merely decorative.

Skeletons seem to be nosey, like this local, peering onto the porch of a neighbor. It’s ever vigilant to guard against the possible doorbell ringer. In our time, the skeleton is there to prevent whatever neighbors might call. And it’s protection against evangelists, politicians and random solar/window salespersons, so well done Mr. Bones.

Now that the first snow has fallen, I’m finally getting around to celebrating the beauty of fall leaves. Yes, I know that there are masses of fall colors in other parts of the country, but, this is what’s here at high altitude.

Because there aren’t great masses of deciduous trees here I appreciate each individual tree as the play of light on the leaves changes the appearance. It’s brief and beautiful, just like life.

One of the great pleasures of summer is going to an open-air farmer’s market. Sunshine, blue skies, and fresh produce, with finding a parking place the only negative. The locations change from time to time, but this one in a city park has been around for a while.

Oh yeah, it’s located in a funky older part of town (it’s gentrified, but not too much).

This tent features pickles of various sorts that are made by actual farmers from south of here. They are delicious and I have some in the refrigerator right now.

I’m not sure if sprouting seeds counts as farming, but one can also purchase such things here.

Yeah, I guess he would be considered a farmer of sorts. One can also find persons selling fancy dog biscuits, soap, juice drinks, pasta, crafts and other sorts of miscellaneous items.

But surely the best reason to go over to the market is this! Fresh from the tree and grown on the other side of the mountains these are fabulously delicious. The season will soon be over and I will have to wait an entire year for this succulent treat. (Note: store peaches look exactly like this, but they are a fraud, and do not taste the same.) So enjoy the bounty of summer while it lasts, and I will eat a peach just for you.

Well it only took four forevers to get this site back in shape and secure, but it was done, albeit with a lot of fumbling and cursing. There have been lots of improvements in technology, yet there is still plenty of room for user error.

So what’s been happening here in the summertime?

The start of summer is always marked by the Air Force Academy graduation. I have never bothered to watch the air show, but I found myself in a position to catch this and it was fantastic. I could also see the freeway, where they blocked off all traffic so that the President could travel unhindered. It’s always a nuisance when politicians bother to show up.

Summer always means lots of music of all kinds, this was bluegrass played at a church (did you guess this?). Why were we inside on a summer’s day?

Oh yeah, there are often thunderstorms that roll in, and this year there have been quite a lot.

After a slow start to summer, everything has started to bloom, like this, our state flower (yes, it’s official by proclamation of some governor. There is also an official state dinosaur and two official songs).

Jazz in the garden at a different church.

Classic rock at a bar.

And funk at a shopping center. What all of these music venues have in common (besides me) is that they are appealing to old people (also me). I decided that’s because young people might get rowdy and want to stay up late, while us oldies just wish to enjoy some tunes and go home to bed early.

Summers are lovely, and this one is already half gone, so I had better check the schedule to see who is playing next.

My physical dictionary is so old that it does not include the current definition for “graffiti”. It does have the word “graffito: (plural graffiti) which is an inscription or drawing scratched on a rock or wall.” As this was written 60 years ago, it’s not very accurate, the meaning has slightly changed, and graffiti is a common part and annoyance of urban living now.

Only slightly newer than my dictionary, this graffiti bears the symbols of the the later 60’s. Perhaps the current tenant, now an elderly person, put it there years ago after this place stopped being grain storage for farmers (there’s none of them around anyway).

The doorway may have been the first spot for graffiti to appear, but it’s certainly not the last. This building remains a popular spot for tagging because it’s located under a bridge, down by the railroad tracks, so there is no one to notice or complain. The roof on the other side is visible from the highway, so the city paid our money to make a tourist billboard (like we need more tourists).

This one is in the standard sort of tagging with abstract stylized lettering, and one wonders, what does it say or mean? I have no clue, but the artist took the time to beautifully execute this, and it will soon be gone as the building gets gentrified.

In a nod to the style of Banksy, this bird graces an I-beam. (Also it takes much less time to execute before anyone notices what one is up to).

Our city likes to follow the current trends for downtown art and attractions, so they have been mimicking graffiti by adding paintings to the town. This piece is of water is cascading down the side of the bus depot, where those unfortunate enough to be forced to use our pathetic public transportation wait.

Water seems to have a harmless sort of symbolism. This is not a city building, but it’s an apartment for persons who wish to live downtown, instead of near a grocery store.

Yes, even our friendly police station has embraced the trend. This giant building is full of just offices, if you need to be arrested, you have to go to the county jail (which has no graffiti). This sign seems to be melting, perhaps because it is south facing. And again, we taxpayers funded this. Oh well, I guess that makes all of us locals patrons of the arts (and a magnet for tourists).

I have lived in this city for a number of years, and yet, I had never been out to the house of the city founder. It’s hidden away near a canyon in the foothills and is not really visible from the road. Apparently, it is currently owned by a religious organization (you can thank them for the bible in your hotel room) and operates as a hotel and tea room. Since we wanted tea (and had a reservation) this was the day to check it out.

It was one of those spring days where it can’t decide whether to rain, snow or be sunny, so it did a bit of each. At this moment in time it was very windy and warm.

It’s located at the start of the foothills and these upright stones that mark the location were pushed into position when the mountain made it’s way to the surface.

And here it is in all of it’s pretensions to being a castle. The city founder had made a fortune in railroads after the Civil War and he poured the money out into building this for his missus. She however, was unimpressed with the setting, as it was too far from her ideas of civilization, so she moved away (to London, which is a rather nice place to live if one has pots of money).

The house is full of charming period details, massive fireplaces, oak paneling etc. I liked these horse head chairs (really, I would take one home if I could sneak it out somehow.)

We had a choice of teas, and were served a number of dainty eats, but no sausage rolls (and I consider this an essential element of a proper tea).

And on the way out we spotted a couple of residents. The male was all puffed out for the benefit of the hens, and they could not have been less interested in his display. Perhaps this is the real story of the house as well.

At the local sporting goods store, which features a full-size Ferris Wheel inside the store, there are also giant salt-water fish tanks at the entry. I do enjoy looking at fish, swimming and going about their fishy business as shoppers pass them by without a second glance. (Unless they have small children, then they say “Look, fish”). Well I must also admit that I was not there to see them, I was shopping as part of this crazy before Christmas frenzy. But I did stop for a moment to enjoy their finny antics.

The fish live in three pillars of water that are connected by shallow bridges, so they can choose a favorite place to hang out. I was interested in this one, it sort of looked like a Plecostomus (suckermouth catfish) from the bottom (but really, no Plecostomus would be up that high). In the reflection one can see that this is a much taller fish, so I have no idea what sort of fish this is.

Here another species is hanging about, no doubt waiting for some store employee to come by with the food. (I was pretty hungry myself at this point, but I was on a mission).

And why was I there in the store? Well I had to be in that part of town and I had heard through the girlfriend grapevine that they had some interesting shoes for standing about. The recommended brand was too sincerely ugly to buy, so I ended up with another sort. And it shall join the other many pairs in the closet as I search for the ultimate shoe. So see you again sometime, fishes.