My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, your intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your whole being. It means looking beyond the labels of things and discovering the remarkable world around you.
Freeman Patterson
I grew up in a town just south of me, called Loveland, Colorado. Since Friday I have been house/cat sitting for a friend of mine while she visits friends on the east coast, where it’s been warmer. The gig has been okay. The cat, Mittens, and I are getting along fine. The one exception was Easter morning when he decided to wake me at 4:11 am. I told him no we re not going to any Easter Sunrise service. He gave me that look and went back up stairs.
In downtown along main street is a large coffee shop called the Coffee Tree. If my memory serves me correctly this is where a barber shop once was and I began my working life with a shoe shine stand. Made my first million there. 🙂
Needles to say, I have been coming down here for morning mocha latte and loving the memories. I’ve found a comfy chair with my name on it. I like their music and it’s not loud. The kids are always smiling, greeting you as soon as you open the door. This past Saturday morning after coffee I ventured around on the streets with my camera, reflecting back to these streets I use to wander. I remember the Loveland Reporter Herald building where I would pick up my newspapers, roll them and then load them on my bicycle for delivery. I remember the dentist office, the Woolworths store, J. C. Pennys, Drapers Drug store, McCauley’s Jewelry, Hancock’s Photography, Brown’s Shoe Fit, the Home State and First National Banks, the Rialto Theater, the post office, Klitzke’s Bicycle Shop. As a young one I participated in the world famous Pet and Doll Parade down main street. Even though the weather was cold and cloudy, I enjoyed the mocha and the walk through town. Memories and a mocha!
I met this beautiful woman while on a walk around the Loveland Benson Sculpture Park. I started up a conversation with her but found her to be a little on the quiet side, possibly some shyness. I loved the way the wind blew through her hair and the intensity in her eyes. Don’t think she is my Sugar-mama but I’m always open to new relationships. Hope everyone has a wonderful Aprils Fools Day.
I have posted images taken from the park previously so some of the sculptures you’ve already seen. The park is located on the north side of Lake Loveland and showcases, at the present time, 131 sculptures. You can follow the walking path and meander through the sculptures. If you feel a bit tired you can relax on the many benches along the pathway There are a couple of ponds in the park where youngsters can try their luck at fishing, and a gazebo with enough room to seat 50 people.
Loveland has a sculpture park called Benson Park that has 130 pieces on display. Since it is a few blocks from my sisters house, I stopped by and walked among the sculptures one morning on my way to the coffee shop. I wanted to try and show the large quantity of sculptures but nothing seemed to capture that. So I settled on this bronze lady with her hat on and not much of anything else.
A couple of days after the above image I awoke to overcast skies and a light fog. Immediately my mind went to the sculpture park so I spent some time wandering around looking for more images.
I stopped by Lake Loveland with this image in mind. I am standing at a boat launching dock and looking west towards the Rocky Mountains. The taller of the two peaks in the distance are Longs Peak in the park. I was raised just to the south of this image about six blocks. When I was a young kid we would ride our bikes up to the lake and fish for crappie. It’s difficult to see but there are ice fishermen out on the lake.
One of my coworkers lives in the small New-England style Village of Granville, Ohio and suggested I visit the town sometime. Well today was the sometime. We had clear skies and cold temperatures so felt a drive over there was the order for the day. After having my car serviced I headed for Granville which is located about 15 miles from Columbus along Highway 161. The above image was taken on the main street of the older part of town. Just behind me is the intersection of Broadway and Main. Each corner of the intersection was a church. It reminded my of the fact this country was founded and settled with Christian roots.
I do not like to drive major highways so whenever I can, I choose the more scenic routes. My scenic route required a drive through a small town called Alexandria, blink twice and you’ll miss it. The map I used showed a covered bridge on State Route 37 near the town of Alexandria. I’ve only seen photos of covered bridges so off to Alexandria I went. I was disappointed with the bridge as it has been removed from the road and was sitting along side as an old relic. I turned onto Raccoon Valley Road (love that name) which is a narrow winding two lane road leading into Granville. I enjoyed this drive because the road curved along side the river for which it’s named after. Along the road were the barren woods and open farm land I expected to see when I first came out here. Old farm houses with large silos and horse corrals lined the road. One of the barns along the road had its roof painted with our countries flag, a patriotic barn.
I entered the Village of Granville from the west, coming in on West Broadway. I drove straight through to the east side of the small village then turned around and went back to explore the older part of Granville. I walked up and down the towns main street which is not more than 4 or 5 blocks long. I found several restaurants, a pub, some gift shops and of course the locally owned coffee shop. As I was taking a photo of main street, a woman stopped and waited for me to finish before stepping in front of me. I appreciated her thoughtfulness but told her I actually did not mind having her in the image, it would add more to the photo. This led to a short conversation where I discovered she had just moved back to this area two months ago from Berthoud, Colorado. We both laughed when I told her I grew up in Loveland which is less than 10 miles from Berthoud. She suggested I also visit the city of Newark, a larger community farther to the east. I love how things fall into place when we get out and about. This chef was outside one of the restaurants trying to peddle some of the goods he had cooked up for all the folks. Actually the chili sounded pretty good on such a cold a blustery day.
After 45 minutes of walking in the 25 degree temperatures and crisp breeze, I stepped into a small coffee shop called the Village Coffee. It was small with 8 tables, a couple of lounging chairs and a couch. They had a back door entrance for customers who parked their cars in the rear parking lot. Their menu was quite impressive, offering sandwiches, soups and salads, scones and muffins, bagels and of course a variety of hot and cold drinks. I ordered my usual test drink, a small decaf mocha with no whip. I keep it simple and consistent as a way to gage the quality of the shop, makes it more scientific. The clientele were a mix of students from Denison University, a liberal arts university, and the local folks. Some of the students had gathered around a table and were busy with group study sessions. A mother and daughter were in for soup and sandwich. A couple sat across from each other and were deep in conversation. The two young girls behind the counter were gracious and made great eye contact. It had a down home feel to it and passed with flying colors.
Over-all it was a good visit and I’m sure I’ll be back. May try the chili next time.