Tending The Water Gardens

 Volunteers in hip waders moved quietly among the lilies and reeds at the Denver Botanical Gardens. They removed spent foliage, trimming and tidying. The detritus went into a kiddie-sized floaty tethered to each worker. The water is colored with plant-safe dye that makes it harder for unwanted plants to get enough light to grow. It transforms the surface into a dark mirror, reflecting the clouds scudding across a bright Colorado sky.

Pyramid of Preserves

 The current exhibit at the Renwick Gallery focuses on the wide variety of crafts that are displayed and celebrated at state fairs all across the country. Most are based on the skills necessary to sustain a farm and a family: sewing, knitting, producing crops and raising animals. A pyramid of preserves highlights the necessity of making sure families have food all year. Rod Zeitler has won hundreds of prizes for his pickles, jams and jellies. Now, colors glowing, they rise almost to the ceiling on a brightly lit ziggurat. It’s magnificently impressive and also a reminder of how much easier it is to obtain food these days.

Wrought Iron Arbor

 The plants in the Denver Botanical Gardens are still in the full glory of late summer. We came upon a finely-wrought arbor with delicate iron vines arching up into the bright blue sky. Asters and seed-laden grasses spilled across the gravel paths. Bees hummed and dragonflies darted to and from a nearby pond. It was a perfect day.

The White House Now

 If you want to see the White House, you must first figure out which sidewalks have not been closed off with orange caution tape. Then you will walk between two or more parallel sets of fencing whose main purpose seems to be to severely shrink the areas where groups of people can gather. No one can cross the street. The "Do Not Enter" signs are on every other fence, reinforced by police, FBI, or random National Guard folks. From a distance, you can see what used to be proudly known as the People’s House. Notice that one of the new, redundant extra-large flagpoles partly blocks the view. Then turn around and look at the small Peace Tent, right there on the edge of Lafayette Park, manned (and womanned) continuously for 40 years by peace activists. There are no barriers–you can go right up and talk to them.