Still bright and colorful! Leaves of all shapes ;)

It is absolutely unbelievable, but the Fall is still here. The weather is warm and mild and the colors are still bright. We all enjoy just walking and looking around to find some bright colors here and there...

 

Downtown Denver. Shapes and reflections

Sometimes all of us find ourselves in the middle of something with some free time to kill... This is exactly what happened to me today. I was downtown and had a half hour waiting outside. I was walking the streets and looking around slightly bored... when I saw something I didn't notice before... Shapes... and reflections...

 

Gorgeous day...

The Fall is still here... Can you believe it's November already? I cannot... The days are still warm and nice, the foliage is bright... How much longer can we enjoy watching all this beauty? It doesn't matter... The only important thing that we still can do!

 

Fall in the city. Monochrome...

It felt monochrome (meaning colorless) when I was in the mountains last weekend (you can see it here Fall in the mountains. Colorless...). But Fall in the city brings a different feeling... Also monochrome, but red ;) Really colorful and bright.

 

Fall in the mountains. Colorless...

Fall in the mountains is always beautiful. When the leaves are changing their color, Fall is bright and attractive... When the leaves are gone, Fall turns into something different... And it feels like modern technologies do not really fit to capture this time. It's the time to look between old stuff and bring up old fashion cameras and black and white films. They definitely do better work to take the pictures and capture the feeling of this time of the year.

 

Red and white. Sleepy Morrison...

One cold winter morning we woke up and looked out of the window... And everything around was white and puffy. It was a winter morning after all ;) And we thought it was a good time to explore some places. We decided to go to Red Rocks Amphitheater to see if the snow could discolor all the brightness of the Morrison Formation red rocks...

 

Cruzin' Havana Car Show 2017

It is always hot in June when the Cruzin' Havana Street car show happens every year. I have no idea why, but it never happens when it's cooler. Only when the asphalt is melting and the sun burns everything and everyone...

But nevertheless, this event attracts a lot of people browsing around and looking at the old cars...

 

Snow in May is not that unusual for Colorado ;)

We all know May in Colorado is time for green leaves and bright flowers... But... sometimes you wake up in the night and find the temperature dropping down and the snow falling from the sky...

 

August... How to escape summer heat and enjoy a beautiful place...

August days in Colorado could be hot and exhausting. The sun's heat is streaming down and people could barely handle it. So one Sunday we just jumped into the car and drove four or five thousand feet up to Central City. 

I like Central City, it's close enough and it's always 10-20 degrees cooler compared to downhills. So soon enough we were enjoying the fresh breeze and old weaving streets of this hundred and fifty years old town. And we cannot help not going to the place we like the most - the Cemetery. The old cemetery... or the new cemetery. Stop. Don't let me confuse you and let me explain... It is an old cemetery, cuz it was mostly used during the first half of the twenty century. And it is a new cemetery, cuz it is the youngest of all four or five cemeteries in the Central City and Black Hawk area. See, it is both - old and new.

 

Lavender and other beautiful flowers. Lavender Festival 2019, Chatfield Farms Botanic Garden

Lavender Festival, that happens every year in Chatfield Farms Botanic Garden, is the best middle mark for every Summer...

 

Mmmushroommmms ;)

 Do you like wild mushrooms? I like them... And I love going to the woods and picking them up...

 

A bit more flowers...

More and more flowers can be found every day... And all of them are so nice...

 

Tulip time

This is the time when the tulips are blooming. Even though not many of them can be found in my area... still some of them are just beautiful. Aren't they?

 

Chihuly in Botanic garden

Botanic garden is a great place to spend some time looking at the flowers and plants. But what if we combine nature and man made stuff? I am thinking about glass...

 

Warm days...

The Spring is here, no doubts... Every day is a bit warmer than the day before... Every plant is waking up and more and more flowers are opening up... Isn't it the best time of the year?

 

It is HERE!

How do we know the Spring is here? Many things I guess... but one of the most obvious signs is the dandelions... When you can see their yellow crowns everywhere, that's how you know if the Spring is just across the threshold and ready to visit ;)

 

Independence Pass and Buena Vista

If you are bored at home and like to have some fun... you always can drive somewhere. Driving up to the mountain is a special treat and let's have some fun today. Let's go and see the second highest paved mountain pass in Colorado - Independence Pass

 

One bug show

A few days ago we were talking about favorite (and not) insects and I decided, probably this is the one. And as this is my favorite, let's make it shine and bring as many pictures of it, as we can.

The first time I found this bug, I wasn't sure if I was taking a picture of a small sliver or some creature. I was looking at Lavender Thrift, an amazingly attractive blooming bush when I saw something behind the flower... I looked at this something through my lens and almost dropped it. It was a bug... but... oh my, I've never in my life seen anything like this.

 

Downtown Denver... old buildings and some graffiti...

As I said before, once I left downtown I wanted to come back there again... So I did! Next week we drove there again and walked here without any plan. Sometimes it feels really good just to wander around...

First we parked the car and looked around... The building, a classic example of Denver’s small scale nineteenth-century commercial blocks, is located mid-block on the northwest side of Curtis Street between 20th and 21st Streets in downtown Denver. Designed by Adolf Holmberg and constructed in 1890 for S.A. Grimm, a butcher shop owner, the Grimm Block is a three-story, rectangular brick building with a four bay, ground level storefront and two entrances to the second and third floor residential area. It is one of two structures of its type which has not been demolished or altered.

 

Denver, LoDo district

Downtown of Denver... Isn't it a nice place to take a walk? In fact the answer is not that simple... I don't see any reasons to avoid downtown. But I know many people who don't like one way roads here, hate traffic and don't understand parallel parking (if you are lucky enough to find a spot). But this is a reward too - old town where you can find some pieces of history!
This time we went to walk in LoDo and wanted to see a couple of old buildings. So we started with the Wazee Exchange building. Nothing fancy, pure function. Typical 19 century facade, plain brick walls, some old (i mean it!) ads still visible on the walls. Offices and warehouses - very typical usage for such a building at the time.

 

First flower is blooming ;)

Yeah! The first flower is blooming! I was walking around and just found it all along the edge of the road. Small and nice looking...

 

Finally, I got a spider!

I got this comment yesterday - "Not my favorite insect, but the close-ups are remarkable!" It was about Japanese Beetle (A few minutes of beetle's life...) and I totally agree - not my favorite insect too. But... what is my (your, theirs etc) favorite insect? Do you even have one?

 

A few minutes of beetle's life...

Not just any beetle... but Japanese Beetle. Native to Japan, where they are well controlled by natural enemies, these species are invasive and destructive in the US. When these beetles were first detected in the United States in 1916, they had no natural enemies and were able to grow unchecked. Even though these insects are beautiful like glimmering green and copper jewels, the damage they cause is not.

 

First leaves

It was just a couple days ago when the fresh snow covered everything. And now the sun worked on it and melted most of it. And the buds are really ready to open up and... more and more fresh leaves are starting unwrapping from the buds and turn green....

 

Green, green and green - St.-Patrick's Day parade in Denver, 2010

Saint-Patrick's Day is quite popular all around the World. And the traditional parade is a part of this celebration. By the way, the first time the Parade happened in the USA (not in Ireland) in 1762, believe it or not...

 

Flowers in May

There was a lot of snow during the last couple of days in Denver. And even those who love the snow are tired of heavy wet cover, of shoveling for hours, of white color surrounding us... Let's jump back in time and look at colorful May flowers...

 

Snow storm in March

The snow was so slow and unimpressive yesterday (look here - Snow is falling down...)... There were just lazy snowflakes and we didn't expect much of it overnight. But... in the morning we were surprised with the snow storm blowing and howling from all directions...

 

Snow is falling down...

Right... the snow is falling from the sky... slow and, I'd say, lazy... but it looks so nice when the snow slowly covers the earth... the lawns... the trees... all surfaces...

 

Squaw Pass Road flowers

It was a nice August day in the mountains... I was exploring Squaw Pass road, driving up and down, stopping here and there and looking for flowers... Aren't they beautiful? What do you think?

 

Waiting for snow...

We have had really nice weather lately. Sunny and warm... like 65 degrees warm... And more and more buds are opening and the first leaves are bursting free.

 

Fall colors in Boulder

Boulder is a good place to visit at any time of the year. But Fall time is a special time. Everything looks even better and brighter...

 

Bud's day ;)

Tssss... don't tell anyone, but Spring is here! It is just waiting around the corner and just about to come in...

 

Sunny day... Sunflower day...

I don't know about you, but I always liked sunflowers. Even though we rarely had an opportunity to see them far north, in the area where I spent my childhood.

We, mostly, were enjoying not sunflowers themselves, but sunflower seeds ;) But still, walking in the countryside, we've seen them here and there and always stopped to look at the flower we can call "exotic" ;)

 

Cripple Creek, Jail Museum

As you can see, the population of Cripple Creek grew from 15 people to more than 50,000 just in a few months. And a lot of them were adventure seekers, gold diggers or just people that were ready for everything if they could feel the smell of money. And... also... they drunk! So, work, pub, gambling, ill-repute house and "next stop is jail" ;)

 

Cripple Creek, Old Homestead

Cripple Creek has a long history and endless stories can be told all night long revealing the truth and fiction about this place... Let's listen to a couple of them, before jumping to our today's subject, if you don't mind...

 

Town of Cripple Creek

Cripple Creek is such a nice small town and we are already made a first round of walk there - Winter day in Cripple Creek.

As it said before, Cripple Creek is a great place to feel the spirit of an old mining town. And you can start even before reaching the town. 

 

Winter day in Cripple Creek

There are a lot of small nice towns in the mountains. And most of them look alike... but they are still not the same. They all have quiet curvy streets, small houses, trees... But each has something that makes them unique. Probably this is why we really enjoy spending time exploring small towns.

Cripple Creek is a tiny cozy mining town...It has a rich history, but let's not talk about it now and just walk along the streets and have a first impression of this place. If you enter the town from the West, you drive up and down jumping from one hill to another. And you see a small house or two sitting on the top of each hill... And trees... If you choose the right weather, the trees are covered with snow and everything looks like a fairy tale...

 

Cripple Creek, Ice Sculpture Festival, 2020

Cripple Creek is a great place if you want to escape from a busy city life. It's also an amazing spot to spend a few relaxing hours enjoying the atmosphere of the old mine town. It is sleepy and empty during most of the year, but twice a year this town becomes center of life. It's full of people and feels busy and even a bit crazy. And it always happens in February, when the town hosts the Ice Sculpture Festival. The second time it attracts a lot of people happens during Donkey Derby in June...

 

What color do you like more?

Can I ask you a question? Do you mind? No... so... what color do YOU like more?

I know that the answers vary... We all have different preferences... But what if I make this question more complex... Flowers of what color you like more? I guess now we have even more answers and they would be not as simple as before... What about red flowers? Specifically red roses? Do you like them?

 

Morning walk...

Saturday morning wasn't toasty... but it still was hot. The morning dew still was watering Morning Glory flowers and everything promised another exhausting Summer day...

 

Winter is here!

The snow started late yesterday. And continued all night without a stop. And in the morning everything looked just like Winter finally stopped by ;)

 

White, light and cool

Do you have a time machine? No? What's a pity... I have one, by the way. Don't believe me? Look at the pictures below...

 

Flowers non stop

I know, I know... it is February and not many blooming flowers can be found outside... But the Summer pictures could change it and bring the memories about nice and warm weather, about the flowers that were all around the lawns, streets and fields nearby. So let's turn on our time machine and jump back to July...

 

Once upon a time... quiet Saturday in Golden...

I think everyone at least once in their life feels dejavu... You know, the feeling like this already happened to you before and you relive it again. In fact, I feel it quite often when I visit nice small towns... The weather is the same, the views are the same, even the people look the same. I was looking at the pictures I've taken a year ago (in February 2020) and thought that I could go to Golden and take exactly the same pictures today. The weather would be the same, everything would be just the same... the colors, the feeling, the streets...

 

Snow Sunday

Colorado weather... It is nice, but can be rough... It is pleasant, but might be changing rapidly... It is Colorado weather ;)

It was nice and warm just the day before yesterday (check here Dry goods...). 45 degrees and sun made this day really warm and nice. Even a gray sky afternoon didn't make us think about weather change. So when the snow started to powder the ground lately we didn't flinch. But the morning brought us a surprise - everything was white and a thick layer of snow covered all things around - the houses, the lawns, the trees...

 

Dry goods...

It's February and everything looks dried and lifeless. It is not exactly true, but the impression is quite strong. But it is also interesting to look at these dried things and make them alive again, probably only in your mind, but still...

Looking from this angle all I can think about is a shooting star. That flew all the way from the skies and found a peace decorating this amazing (but quite prickly) flower ;)

 

Christmas Lights in Botanic Garden

Winter night is an interesting time... Especially at the end of December. And particularly if you have a chance to walk in the Denver Botanic Garden ;)

 

Quiet winter Saturday

That was a nice winter Saturday. Really quiet and peaceful. The overnight snow covered the ground and trees and made everything look just amazing...

 

Red, yellow and purple...

Why red, yellow and purple you can ask... No good reason, I guess. These are the most common colors for the flowers and I decided to restrict this story to only those. And let's start from the red. It is bright... it is attractive and grabs your attention immediately. But in combination with yellow and black it becomes even better, aren't you agree?

 

Winter macro

It was a gloomy winter day... You know, one of the days when everything is gray and looks just the same and nothing really catches your attention. You can call this day boring... until you change your point of view.