Lake Esther

Some hazy clouds and a little bit of blue sky over Lake Esther last weekend. I took these pictures from the wooden boardwalk that runs along the side of the lake. Those birds in the second shot look like they are doing nothing, but every once in awhile one would jump down and grab a snack out of the water. Most of them are egrets, but I think I see an ibis standing on one leg there on the branch just above the egret coming in for a landing in the right side of the picture..

Linking to SkyWatch Friday and Weekend Reflections.

Listen to the Mockingbird

As I was walking back to my car after taking the photos I posted yesterday, I noticed this little fellow sitting on a sign next to the sidewalk behind the Capitol. Very appropriate since the Mockingbird is Florida's official state bird. He sat there posing for me while I took his picture. Maybe he thought I was a tourist!

Even though it's Thursday, I'm going to go ahead and link up with Wild Bird Wednesday.

It's a big job

But somebody has to do it. These guys were spending their weekend pressure washing the 22 story Capitol Building downtown in preparation for the beginning of the Florida Legislative session which starts next week. There was another crew working on the other side of the building. The small dome in the first picture is the roof of the House of Representatives office building. There is an identical dome on the other side over the Senate office building. Two small domes on either side of a tall building. Let's just say references have been made to this configuration before and leave it at that. If you would like to see a better picture of the whole complex for the full effect and read the story behind how it got built, go here.
Linking to WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD.

Supreme Court

I was downtown over the weekend and I forgot how much I like this building, especially the columns. The Supreme Court of Florida is located directly behind and west of the Florida Capitol. I took this picture from across the street while standing on the steps leading up to the Capitol.

Monday Mural

This mural is a community based art project which transformed the 2,300 square foot Carlstedt’s building wall on Gaines Street into a Tallahassee nature and wildlife scene, featuring hawks, egrets, turtles, and woodpeckers. The Florida State University Department of Art Education worked in conjunction with the annual Seven Days of Opening Nights Festival and the City of Tallahassee to complete the mural in 2012. As you can see from the second shot, I had a hard time getting the entire mural into one photo. I would have had to cross a busy street with bumper to bumper traffic which would have partially blocked the mural. I plan on showing a different section of the mural each week. Today I am starting with a very pretty woodpecker. You can read more information about the mural here.

Linking to Monday Mural.

SkyWatch Friday

Beautiful blue sky with some wispy clouds behind the flag. The second shot shows the plaque at the base of the flagpole. Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Good Fences

I took this picture because of the fence, but there is actually a lot going on. Do you see the train going by in the background? I like the lamp post on the right and the trunk of the palm tree there on the left too. The sky would look better without that big tower, but I like the wispy clouds. Linking to Good Fences.

sushi anyone?

I've never eaten at this place, but I like their sign. Linking to signs, signs.

Update: My broken tooth is getting a crown. Yay. I'm feeling a little better about it, so hopefully I'll be back to visiting and commenting again today (and also eating some solid food)!

Tally Porch Swing Project

I have recently noticed these beautiful porch swings popping up around town. The goal of this project is to make these swings a symbol of Tallahassee and the community. The one in the first picture is located near the Florida Capitol and the second one is located in Cascades Park. You can see pictures of more porch swings in other locations around Tallahassee on their Facebook page here.

Note: I'm sorry I haven't been commenting lately. Not feeling so good after breaking a tooth. It would seem there are more than a few trips to the dentist in my future!

Nap Time

It seems like every time I go for a walk these days, I see someone hanging around in one of these hammocks. I might have to get one.

SkyWatch Friday

I was going through my archives and found this picture I took back in December, looking southwest from the 13th floor of the Doubletree Hotel downtown as the sun was setting. There is a partial view of the 22 story Florida Capitol on the left, a view of the 19 story Florida Department of Education building to the right of the Capitol (I posted a closeup view of this building here) and that other tall building to the right of the DOE building is a condo complex. Off in the distance and about 40 miles south from where I took this photo sits the Gulf of Mexico, but you would need a pretty good set of eyes (or maybe a powerful telescope) to see it!

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Good Fences

This shiny new fence is located just above the mural that I posted a picture of here on Monday. I just love those little palmettos in front of it.
Linking to Good Fences.

Cascades Waterfall

The waterfall at Cascades Park near downtown. I took the second picture while leaning over the railing on the opposite side of the waterfall from where I took the first shot, while being very careful not to drop my camera or fall in!

Linking to Water World Wednesday and signs, signs.

Bus Shelter

Just down Gaines Street from the tree mosaic I showed yesterday, I found this unique bus shelter. The artist responsible for this beautiful work is Mark Dickson and you can learn more about him by visiting his website here. Being the bird lover that I am, I could probably sit here for a long time without ever getting on a bus.

Monday Mural

Located in the revitalized Gaines Street area near downtown, this 26-foot long ceramic mosaic presents an artistic interpretation and celebration of trees by local artist Susan Stelzmann, along with a poem by Mary Jane Ryals. Behind the wall is a live oak tree which is so big that it was impossible for me to get it all in the picture. The mosaic took nearly seven months to complete, with the artist hand crafting each separate tile.

Linking to Monday Mural.

SkyWatch Friday

Declaration, a 20 foot tall dichroic glass sculpture by Kenneth von Roenn, director of the Master Craftsman Studio at Florida State University, is the newest piece of public art in Tallahassee. It is located in the center of a roundabout on Gaines Street near the FSU football stadium, which you can see in the background of the first shot. This type of glass changes colors when viewed or illuminated from different directions. It may cast one color in one direction and reflects the complement of this color in the opposite direction. It is hard to get good photos of it because you have to dodge traffic, so I went late on a Sunday afternoon just as the sun was going down. I like how the colored light hits the sidewalk and street below. It is usually lit up at night, but I'm not sure I want to try going back in the dark, so go here if you want to see what it looks like at night.

By the way, it is no coincidence that this sculpture resembles a spearhead embedded in the ground. Lowell will know why. (Hint: as I mentioned above, it is located near the FSU football stadium).

Linking to SkyWatch Friday.

Good Fences

More of a barricade than a fence, but it does keep the big vehicles out and allows pedestrians, bicyclists and strollers to enjoy the area around Cascades Park safely. Linking to Good Fences.

BACK-IN ONLY

I often wonder why I see so many people backing into parking spaces when they park their cars in public parking lots like stores and restaurants. It doesn't seem easier to me whether you back in or back out, but oh well! I used to see signs in the parking garage where I worked that prohibited backing into parking spots, but this is the first time I have seen a sign stating that backing in is required.

Before everyone starts commenting about the Spanish moss killing that tree behind the sign, I just wanted to say I'm pretty sure the tree is not dead. It has just lost all of its leaves for the winter. Not every tree in north Florida stays green all year! Linking to WEDNESDAY AROUND THE WORLD and signs, signs.

Rubbish Tuesday

Built in 1921, the old city electric power plant building is located at the southeast corner of Cascades Park near downtown Tallahassee. It is currently being renovated and will become a restaurant appropriately named The Edison. You can see a picture of what it will eventually look like at their website here.

Linking to Rubbish Tuesday.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: What would I miss?

Besides my house and my family, this is what I would miss the most. My alma mater, Florida State University, is the reason I first came to Tallahassee over 40 years ago. After graduating, I never left this city and worked at the university for 35 years before retiring almost 3 years ago. This is a picture of the Westcott Building, built in 1910 to serve as the main administration building for what was then known as the Florida State College for Women. The university became coeducational and changed its name the same year my father transferred here from that "other" university down in Gainesville. He was pretty smart to transfer to a former "girls' school" since the men were greatly outnumbered. I'm glad he did because he would never have met my mother and I might not be here now! The interior of the building was almost completely destroyed by a fire in 1969, but was renovated, preserving the original collegiate gothic exterior the building was known for. I decided to use this picture, which I took almost three years ago, because one of the young ladies standing on the steps is my daughter (she is the one on the left). We were taking pictures that day because it was right before she was about to graduate from the university with her Masters degree. It was a cloudy day, but I liked the way the bricks looked in the light. I have already mentioned that both of my parents attended FSU and so did my daughter and my son, as well as my sister. I'm hoping my grandchildren will also be students here one day.

The first day of the month is Theme Day in the the City Daily Photo community and this month's theme is "If you had to leave the city from which you usually post, what would you miss most?" To see other entries for this month's theme, you can go to the CDP Theme Day page here.