Purple Mountains Majesty

We recently went camping in the White River National Forest, here in Colorado. The camping areas are adjacent to the Flat Tops Wilderness, so we enjoy being able to dip into the wilderness on some quick hikes. Here’s a 2-frame panoramic view across Anderson Lake (near Trapper’s Lake), looking south from the Wall Lake Trail in 590nm infrared, with a few color tweaks — click to enlarge it:

Continue reading

Miss Craigie, later Mrs. Reid

Chalk art by Olivia McLeod (@blackbirdart) based on a painting by Allan Ramsay. Seen at the 2024 Denver Chalk Art Festival.

Miss Craigie, later Mrs. Reid

This won the “Best Reproduction of a Master’s Work” award at the festival. And it’s even a reproduction of a “local” painting — at least, it’s on display at the Denver Art Museum, just a few blocks from the site of the chalk art festival.

The photo above has been rectified, to show what it would have looked like from above. The non-rectified version looks like this: Continue reading

“Spirit Guides” at the Denver Botanic Gardens

I recently had the opportunity to see the “Spirit Guides” exhibition at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Scattered amongst the plants were a series of 8 sculptures — imaginary hybrid animals inspired by the Zapotec calendar — made by Jacobo and María Ángeles of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Armadillo-Insect sculpture

Armadillo-Insect by Jacobo and María Ángeles

This colorful fellow is poised to greet you, right as you enter the gardens. As you can see, he’s a tall one.

These hybrid creatures combine two kinds of spirit animals from Zapotec legend — one represents a protective animal, the other is a spirit animal with personality traits similar to yours. Continue reading