Fun Saturday

Pleasant Saturday afternoon in downtown Littleton with family and gameplay companions. We had a fun day together, but I think I overdid the part about splurging on ice cream, and then still finishing my big dinner, but I have my fingers crossed that it's true what they say... an early-to-bed Saturday night can heal many things. ;-)

Pretty flowers on Main Street, encountered during our walking loop around downtown Littleton.

A few pretty roses in front of a shop on Alamo Avenue, on the second half of our walking route.

Group photo of some of our companion players in Bega Park, where we start our downtown adventure.

Friday Walk

We enjoyed a warm Friday afternoon walk around Ketring Park. More than one short walk in the same week, hooray! I must be doing better. My recovery is clearly not complete, as I still find myself racing home after our walk.

We're sad to see Ketring Lake so low, with many large islands where there used to be one body of water. Looking into it online, I found a 2016 Denver Post article saying that they dug a 700 foot well nearby, just to supply water to the lake. Well, I guess *that* didn't work! More recent articles say they're fighting a losing battle with evaporation and have been considering reducing the size of the lake.

 

Huge thicket of beautiful roses in Gallup Gardens. This corner of the gardens always seems to have something gorgeous blooming, whenever we walk past. What a treat!

Pretty Oak leaves, making me think of Fall... but wait... it's only June! Too soon for a color change! Whaaaaat?!

Kid fishing -- when the water's up, this statue is inaccessible from shore without getting wet to your waist.

This kid fishing heard us talking, and looked up at just the right moment. It made me want to caption this photo: "Watcha reading?"

Thursday walk

Fun but warm Thursday walk around Ketring Park. Lots of nice looking roses in Gallup Gardens nearby. 

Thursday... looking up

We enjoyed a pleasant Thursday, with nothing much to share, except a tentative report of me feeling like I'm finally on the upswing, after too many (7) weeks of dealing with this medical craziness. Maybe a few pics from today will bring my perspective back to something fun.

Here's what our Thursday morning looked like. We continue to enjoy watching the Finches come and go from our feeders over the deck.

Sitting at the breakfast nook table, drinking my 3rd (of 5) big glass of water, and enjoying some French-press coffee, several slices from a Trompeau Bakery baguette that we got at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, along with some chunks of Humboldt Fog goat cheese, some slices of Rattlesnake Cheddar cheese, and oh yeah, some "everything but the bagel" Cheddar cheese. Yum!

We love seeing the Goldfinches out there, and especially when the bright daylight illuminates their beautiful yellow colors so nicely. It was a good day to not venture too far from the house -- you can see the clouds gathering over the foothills.

We came across these pretty roses at Gallup Gardens on our short walk around Ketring Park. I'm feeling like I can start getting out again, a little at a time, without risking the dreaded side-effect of Cipro, "ruptured tendons." This has been a long drawn-out 7 weeks.

Looking out over the deck at the usual Spring rain showers that are making their appearance this afternoon.

Garden of the Gods!

I spent a fun Monday at Garden of the Gods with our local and visiting family! I figured parking wouldn't be a problem on a mid-week morning, but it did turn out to be a challenge. Since we were all ready for walking anyway, finding a spot at the south end of the park was no big deal, and gave us a great starting point for a delightful loop around the park. Here's a family pic from where we started, with Pikes Peak in the background. 

 

 

At one point, we needed to make a beeline for the restrooms at the north end of the park. While we were waiting for each other, I caught this pretty pic of the nearby ridge of red rocks. 

 

This curious Magpie was also hanging out on the edge of the same space where we were waiting. 

 

 

 

 

Closing out with a family photo in front of one of the prettier red rock features

 

 

My favorite quote of the day: "So, where's the garden?!"

Groundhog Day!

We enjoyed our Groundhog Day! We started with a fun breakfast out at Syrup City Park, took a nice long walk around City Park and past the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, spent some frivolous time browsing around my favorite Marczyk’s grocery store, and finished it off by watching Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in their Groundhog Day movie. Fun!

Chandeliers and Cow Art at Syrup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Pavilion at City Park

 

 

 

Flicker in a tree at City Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

American Mastodon outside the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, of course, the classic groundhog scene in the Groundhog Day movie! 

First Walk of 2026

This wasn't our usual day to get takeout breakfast, much less "dine out", but we decided to do something special on our New Year's morning -- breakfast out and a fun walk somewhere we haven't been in awhile. 

So... off we went to the highly popular Urban Egg restaurant for a somewhat different breakfast. They had some cute wreaths outside the kitchen. I love their cinnamon swirl pancake!

After breakfast, we went for a walk, starting at the nearby George M Wallace park in the Denver Technological Center (DTC), and venturing along that trail much farther than I've ever gone. 

Shiny leaf on the frozen creek. It's amazing to me, how much effort it took, to capture this simple little photo. When I brought the camera down lower to capture more of the frozen creek in the background, the bright sun completely washed out the colors, and everything came out in various shades of charcoal. 

Christmas decorations near and far -- at first, we thought the sun was reflecting off the bulbs, but then as we got closer, we realized they were still powered on.

Interesting-looking dried plants in a marshy area -- my phone says this is Pentanema Squarrosum…?

This Sumac seed pod was standing out by itself, just asking me to take a picture. 

Cute goat nibbling on old Christmas tree

Partially frozen over pond by the creek in Orchard Hills Park

Gadwall ducks in a small pond by the creek in Orchard Hills Park

The creek in Goldsmith Gulch, with some interesting clouds in the distance

Happy horses in this field

Delightful blend of subtle colors… my phone says this might be Oregon Grape

Conifer tree with the sun peeking through the clouds just above… puts a cheerful spin on the gloomy sky

October Pics

We’re enjoying the Fall color views from our breakfast table, and on our outings in the Littleton area. Here are some photos from this week. 

Rapids along the South Platte River near the Mineral Avenue overpass, with some nice yellow Cottonwoods

Nice view of Eagle Watch Lake, through a yellow Cottonwood

Nice yellow Cottonwood by the rapids where the rafters and kayakers usually put in, on the South Platte River

Reds and yellows along the South Platte River

Cottonwood trees and clouds, with some pretty yellow in the foreground

South Platte River with pretty yellow in the foreground

Pretty red leaves — my iPhone says this is a Virginia Creeper

Pretty reds — the three-leaf pattern reminds me of the Poison Oak I used to see in California — my iPhone says this is Fragrant Sumac

Raindrops on Blackrock Lake

Cottonwood tree chock full of Blackbirds all enthusiastically singing

House Finche inbound to the bird feeder, with Fall colors in the neighborhood below

My favorite tree for Fall, the Purple Autumn Ash

Kitty Rufus and round squirrel

House Finches, Fall colors, foothills and overcast in background

Blue Jay and Fall colors

Kitty Rufus sprawled out

Blue Jay enjoying the peanuts that we put out for the squirrels

House Finches on our Bird Buddy feeder

Cyclist pausing on the bridge over a creek feeding into the South Platte River

Pretty red Fragrant Sumac along the South Platte River

Fall colors in front of Red Tail lake. My phone says this is a Maple. 

Prickly Pear fruit by the trail