The recent news that one of my favourite resting-and-reverie spots was to be cleared to make way for something big and modern, reminded me that I took a few photos when I was there in January. So, here for your viewing pleasure and perhaps for posterity are the pictures I took. A developer has snapped […]
A week before I left California I enjoyed another walk with my sister around Lake Cunningham in San Jose. There are lots of different birds, ducks, and geese living on and around the lake, and I cannot identify them all, but I have done my best here as you will see if you click on […]
Humans have invented amazing things, but some inventions are so ubiquitous that we overlook them. Today I am focussing my attention on one invention that owes everything to the ingenuity and industry of ancient civilizations. I am thinking about bricks. Ordinary, everyday, bricks. They have been around since 7000 BC and we have had fired bricks […]
The Mojmir Apartments building on South Third Street was built in 1922 and has been lovingly maintained. It is designated by the City of San Jose as a building of historical interest. The University of California’s website Calisphere describes the building as follows: The 1922 Mojmir Apartment building “incorporates Renaissance Revival influences into its relatively […]
My sister and I both enjoyed the lovely blossoms in the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose yesterday. The Japanese celebrate cherry blossoms as a metaphor for the graceful and ready acceptance of destiny and so there are several such trees in this garden. The transience and beauty of the blossoms create a meditative calm, and […]
Yesterday I discovered some new-to-me murals and a pocket dog park within one block of West Santa Clara Street between Almaden Avenue and San Pedro Street. I went into the dog park to take a picture of the mural and while there I made friends with Lucy the dog.
Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose is just a few blocks from my sister’s home and a beautiful place to go for walks. We are both trying to maintain a regular walking schedule and to keep our step counts over 4,000. Yesterday we did that by walking around the lake and we enjoyed looking at […]
While looking through my photos I realized that I often take pictures of things in rows. I’m sure there is some deep psychological reason for this. Perhaps it is because I have a need for order, or that symmetry is visually satisfying, or maybe rows of things just beg to be photographed. I don’t know. […]
Inspired by the Thursday Doors at Norm 2.0 via The Chicago Files here are a couple of doors that caught my attention. The first two pictures are of the splendid doors to the Post Office on 1st Street in San Jose, California. The third photo is of a doorway in the emergency waiting room at the Royal […]
I don’t watch award shows, and I’m sure that I’m not alone in this. So, for those of us not watching the Academy Awards, here are a few of my photos. They don’t fit any theme or follow any particular order. They just make me feel good.
The city of San Jose, California, was founded to supply agricultural provisions to the missions and presidios (garrisons that protected the missions) of San Francisco and Monterey. In the Parque de Los Pobladores (Park of the Settlers) in San Jose is a monument commemorating the first settlers to the area. It is composed of four […]
The weather today was glorious, and I enjoyed a walk with my sister and brother-in-law at Lake Cunningham in San Jose. We saw Canada geese, hares, mallards, coots, squirrels, kingfishers, and a white diving bird of some sort. We heard all sorts of different bird songs, and I wondered how many there were. Here are […]
If you’ve ever told a woman to smile, you may want to rethink that approach. I’ve sometimes been exhorted to smile, even when I’m not unhappy. Perhaps folks do this because people feel more secure if women are smiling; they think it means that women are happy, or happy with them. In fact, though, a […]
Snowbird of Paradise 