Bridge To Kentucky

 Where there are bodies of water to be crossed, there are bridges: ancient bridges hewn from stones, precarious wooden bridges high over mountain gorges, elaborate iron bridges with decorative details. Even the most simplified utilitarian bridge can be beautiful, especially if its bare-bones structure overlays a dramatic sky. This one, near Louisville, welcomed us to the sixth of eleven states as we were on our way home.

Museum Stickers

 There is an open air lot near the Denver Art Museum. From a distance, all the poles skirting the lot look like they have been festively painted. A closer look reveals that they have become a three dimensional substrate for the sticker each visitor wears while in the museum. As more and more departing visitors added their stickers, these poles have become an impromptu form of public art.

Ginkgo Gold

On a sunny afternoon, the leaves of a ginkgo take on a ravishing range of golden tones. The only tree with truly fan shaped leaves, they flutter and twist but, at the moment, hold fast to their branches. When the time comes, all those little yellow fans seem to come to a remarkable agreement.  It’s not unusual to pass a gold-crowned tree one morning and then, within a day or two, discover those leaves forming a bright carpet under the nearly-bare tree. Ginkgos can be unusually decisive.

 

Chrysanthemums

 This is the time when tired gardens need a boost. Late-blooming chrysanthemums have been lurking under and behind the summer flowers for some time. They now have buds that are opening. I am not a fan of the too-sturdy and stiff varieties that are sold in pots, fully blooming. Instead, give me these daisy-like chrysanthemums. They fit in nicely with the grasses and remaining seed heads in gardens meant to sustain the birds and insects. Best of all, they come in whole range of colors, yellow, pink, orange and russet, echoing the changing leaves overhead.

Not Ready For Halloween Yet

 It takes a lot longer than you might anticipate to set up a really elaborate holiday display. The zombies have taken their position by the stairs but the gravestones are waiting to be set up. One more evil clown is waiting to join the twenty or so who lurk in the yard. How big of a storage unit do you need to safely store all this creepy chaos? A return trip before Halloween is a must. I want to see where the glittery silver skeleton goes.

Werewolf

 We have a new resident in the neighborhood. He is about six feet tall, with a furry face and tail that catch the late afternoon sunlight as he waits at the end of a driveway. He is rather...disconcerting. I am more of a jack-o-lantern and wispy ghost type of person. Tortured prisoners in cages and bloody limbs hanging from trees for Halloween are not my thing but I guess it is still a way to be creative. If you see this guy with a Chinese menu in his hand, you know he is now heading for Lee Hoo Fooks to get a big dish of beef chow mein.

Three Guys In the Sky

 Milan’s cathedral took 600 years to complete. Every surface, inside and out, is embellished in some way with paint, gilding or statuary, all of it the absolute opposite of modern, stripped down architecture. A small elevator and sets of outdoor stairs take you up to the massive roof where visitors can gaze out over central Milan, just as Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde did.  We enjoy the sun and marvel at the stone details that could never be seen from the ground. Of the 135 spires on the cathedral, three men grouped together  rise up high above the visitors on the roof. There they stand, always with the best view, whatever the wind and weather.