Your Sunday Squirrel

OK, so this blog hasn't completely switched over to squirrels, but there's still an emphasis on things squirrel - those being squirrels themselves.  I met this character yesterday in Denny Park and though he wasn't considerate enough to hang out in the area of dappled sunlight (which makes for all the best photos), he did stay still long enough for this and a few other good shots.

There Was a Big Gay Parade Today!

Unlike in previous years, I didn't take a zillion photos of the Pride Parade.  I just took this one from my soon-to-be-former workplace in the Darth Vader Building.  I thought I had eliminated my own reflection.  I was wrong.  Apologies.  Anyhow, congratulations on finally being considered full citizens of this great land, proud people!  You sure can throw a fun, elaborate and disco-centric parade.

New Mural

This is on the side of Bedlam.  It's quite nice and will definitely appeal to tourist lenses.  There's a real hodge-podge of everything: there's the troll, Elephant Car Wash, coffee beans, Gasworks Park, sports teams and other stuff.  And yes, that's Jimi Hendrix.  The cynical musician in me always enjoys mentioning that he had to leave Seattle to get someplace.  If he would have stayed, he'd probably still be alive, but nobody would have any idea who he was.  Anyhow, the mural looks good and I hope it stays up and tag-free for all eternity!

The Dream Is Over!

Last year about this time, I found out that the gem-sorting concern across the street was closing down and in its place would be recording studios/rehearsal rooms/cafe all under one roof.  It was fantastic news.  I mean, I imagined that there was a real possibility that I could record my next album wearing my pajamas.  It was a sweet prospect.  Don't get me wrong, I truly love the studios I've recorded at, but having one directly across the street was something else entirely.

Work started soon after I heard the news and continued steadily until the first of the year when it mysteriously stopped.  They went so far as to build something that looks like a box office and then ceased everything.  I had no idea what was happening.  Well, whatever it was, it isn't anymore.  Observe:

 Yep, the dream is over.  No recording studio complex across the street.  Drat.  That would have been so cool.

Your Sunday Squirrel

OK, so I guess this has really devolved into a squirrel blog. I did see a herd of goats under the Viaduct this morning, but I didn't have a camera, so you won't see any pictures of that.  Anyhow, I was absolutely beset by squirrels yesterday in the upper part of Denny Park.  They took me for all the peanuts I had.  This was the smallest, shyest fellow of them all.  I have no idea why he would want to eat a peanut upside down, but squirrels do weird things most of the time.  I got a lot of other good shots, which I will be sharing in the weeks to come.  And yes, I plan on posting about Belltown, too, at some future point.  For now, though, enjoy the squirrels.  And if you have the time, visit them in Denny Park.  Bring peanuts.  They like that.

Your Sunday Squirrel

I had some very good luck this morning.  This was the only squirrel in sight and he ended up being in the best shot of the week.  Thanks, nice squirrel.  There's a spot on the calendar for you!

OK, so this has degenerated into a squirrel blog.  Sure, there's stuff going on in Belltown.  But at present I'm losing my job and preparing for a trip to Turkey.  I'm not happy about one and happy about another.  Strangely enough, they're both interconnected.  Anyhow, such happenings do not make for good or sustained blogging.  That will probably change once I get back and am jobless.  This whole situation is quite horrible, but on the other hand, I'll probably take many more squirrel pictures, so there's that.

Your Sunday Squirrel

Whenever I'm on the verge of running out of squirrel photos, I drop by Denny Park and the squirrels are there en masse.  Yesterday morning was no exception.  The picture above is one of the finest all year.  It has great lighting, an action pose, a quizzical squirrel-expression and it's almost totally in focus.  The camera always tends to focus on the largest object in the frame.  In this case, it's the tree.  But the squirrel is so close to it that he's in focus by default.  Hooray for completely random shots!  He could well have moved at that precise second and - bluuuuuur!  But no, thanks squirrel!  I took a lot of pictures of this fellow.  I'll be featuring him in the next few Sunday Squirrels - if I don't get even better shots in the meantime.