Your Sunday Squirrel

Here's more of the fellow from last week, the one with the short tail.  He appears to be praying to my camera case.  Enjoy!

Something to Get Excited About?

Well, the place that used to be Kelly's at 3rd & Bell spawned two restaurants.  Sadly, one has closed.  Hey, it happens.  What we see in the window is this terse sign:

OK, then.  I, uh, can't wait...

The Onslaught Continues!

Instead of creating Bell St. Park in a coherent fashion, they've decided to skip a block and start in between 3rd & 4th.

This was the scene on Wednesday or so: chainlink fences and metal monsters.  But on Friday...

...Destructo-rama!  Wow, folks in the Adams are in for some noise!  Not as bad as having uncontrollable children as upstairs neighbors (as I formerly had), but noisy just the same.  Remember, the louder it is, the prettier your stretch of the park will be!  Good luck!

Prade 2013

Well, it's that time of year!  Proud gay people parading and being very happy.  This year, of course, they have more of a reason to rejoice, as they can get married and be as miserable as straight people.  Nicely done, folks! Here are some highlights:

As usual the she-bikers were first.  They were super-loud and rode around forever, but hey, it's their day.  Let the ladies ride.  From my vantage point at 4th & Blanchard, this was the only OK shot I got of them.  They're pretty tough to photograph - but not nearly as difficult as squirrels.    

Then non-rainbow flags...

Hey, you get a free Bradley Manning with every purchase!  No, but seriously, these folks - and there were quite a few of them - want Bradley Manning freed.

And then the gay marching band...

And the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.  I've always found them a bit off-putting because of the Insane Clown Posse-esque makeup, but I'm told that they're a genuine service organization.  Hmmm...OK, I'll buy that.  And here I thought they dressed up like nuns for fun.  

New feature!  Marriage!  Congratulations!  Note the giant wedding dress in the background.

 Here it is more or less in the foreground.

This is a guy singing "Come Fly with Me" in a cartoonish-looking house.  It's not something you see every day.

And there it is, folks, Seattle's entire gay scene right there!

After that, it was just mobs of Pride-friendly corporations and whatnot.

This was Whole Foods' thing.  From their signs, you can tell they're into labeling food, not people.  But to paraphrase Homer Simpson: "Labeling people is so much easier!"

They did have a cool unicorn float, however.  

OK, so even though I didn't stay for the whole wingding, here is my top three from Prade 2013:

3.  This cop car...

2.  A guy riding a giant burrito...

1.  People dressed as airplanes

And there you have it.  I didn't bother to photograph the very sizable leather/fetish contingent or the naked old/fat people.  I find both a bit disturbing.  But hey, gay marriage!  All right!  

So there it partially is: Prade 2013.  See you next year, proud gay folks!

 

Your Sunday Squirrel

I've met this guy before.  He seems to have only half a tail.  I don't know why that is, but it doesn't hinder him at all.  He was really quite friendly.  Unfortunately, my camera wasn't quick enough to catch him hanging upside down on the bench's back rest.  This is the best shot I got, but I took many more.  I will post them in the coming weeks if I don't manage to get any better photos in the meantime.  Enjoy!

Bell Street Park So Far...

 From 1st Ave....

And from 2nd Ave....

OK, so it's only like four and a half years late, but it's finally taking shape.  Sure, it looks pretty crappy right now, but you shoulda seen it two weeks ago.  It was just mounds of broken up pavement and trash.  Last time I checked, the budget for the park was something like $9 million.  Maybe that's changed, but if you'll picture in your mind's eye what this will look like when it's done, would you say the $1.3-odd million per block is well spent?  I think ultimately it will be worth it, but at this point, it looks a bit like we've been sold a bill of goods, as it appears as if it's less of a park configuration and more of a traffic revision or a repaving project.  Of course, there will be six blocks of this.  Like I said, it will probably turn out to be quite nice.  I'm guessing that they'll be done by fall. 

Your Sunday Squirrel

Here's a fellow from a short while ago.  I spent all this last week writing music, so I should have had time to venture over to Denny Park on a break, but alas, I did not.  I was so looking forward to finishing a bunch of songs.  And while that did happen (and then some), it turned out to be quite difficult.  There are still certain details in finished tunes that don't sound right, so now I have to take additional time and correct them.  Well, I do have the time, as I'm not going to record till early next year.  I was thinking about recording again in August, but since my album is currently being played at quite a few stations around the country, I want to give it a chance to sink in.  Of course, since I'm always writing music (I'm currently in the middle of about 15 different tunes), putting something out is the top priority.  I love recording and it's a joy to spend time in the studio.  Unfortunately and additionally, I can't afford to do anything this summer.  That's fine.  By next year, I'll once again have the funds.  And the great thing is that I'm constantly reshaping this new album.  It's gonna super-fine.  You have my word on it.  Enough about music.  Enjoy the squirrel.    

Your Sunday Squirrel

 This guy looks really fat, but he isn't.  He merely has bad posture.  Here's another shot of him:

See?  He's totally non-obese.  Immediately after I gave him a peanut, I saw another fellow.  Something appeared wrong with him.  He was very wobbly when he walked.  When I got closer, it turned out that he was just very young.  Maybe it was his first time out of the tree.  He didn't want a peanut in the worst way.  All he wanted to do was stagger away from me.  I let him go.  His eyes were open, but he looked like a little old man with buck teeth.  I'm hoping that he found his way back to his home tree.  

Your Sunday Squirrel

Well, it's been quite a tough few weeks in the squirrel photography department, but at last, success!  I know that this fellow looks a lot like the guy from a few weeks ago.  He is not.  Completely different squirrel.  Anyhow, for a youngster he wasn't skittish and, best of all, he was good at holding still.  This led to many photos which you will eventually be enjoying.  So you've got that to look forward to. 

Another Sunday, Another Horde of People Walking Up/Down 2nd

 

Well, this sort of thing seems to happen every Sunday.  OK, last Sunday, nothing happened, but the week before, yes.  Anyhow, it's happening very often.  This particular event seemed to be just walking and the cause was some form of Komen.  It may have been called "Inspiration" or something.  I'm always pretty surprised that thousands of people get up bright and early on a Sunday morning just to walk down, and then back up, my street.  From my casual observation, there were far fewer tutus this time around, but many more tiaras and crowns.  Once again, I'm not sure of the significance.  Maybe this is an event-specific practice or perhaps it's part of a real trend among my fellow humans.  

The Merciful Parking Pylon

I don't know what you call those parking machine-things, but I've taken to calling them "parking pylons." Is that OK?  Anyhow, I walked past one the other day on Vine that said this:

How very nice!  It could have said: "You suck" or some such, but it wants me to forgive myself. I think I will.  But since I haven't done anything evil lately, I'll forgive myself for a future evil.  Thank you, Merciful Parking Pylon!