Bluestone

 I can't remember how many times I have photographed and then deleted this stacked bluestone sculpture in front of Artis-Naples.  It is Meshaliemet & Menashshe, a 1994 work by the late Israeli-American artist, Boaz Vaaadia.

Cross

In the garden of Trinity by the Cove Episcopal Church in Naples, Florida.

 

Pastels

 There is explosive development near Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.

Many big new buildings serve transportation-related businesses.  A common feature of all these new buildings is that they are painted in quiet, pastel colors.

Hertz Arena

Hertz Arena hosts the Florida Everblades, the Florida Gulf Coast University men's and women's basketball teams and a variety of entertainers.  

 

Hertz, the car rental company, relocated nearby about a decade ago.  They bought the naming rights to the arena.  The arena's yellow, white and gray colors reflect the car rental company's colors.

Dream Big

A big, gleaming hockey player stands in front of the arena where the minor league Florida Everblades team plays hockey.

A plaque in front of the statue reads, "This sculpture is dedicated to the young Hockey Players of Southwest Florida who dare to Dream Big and follow their passion to play the sport of Hockey to the very best of their ability." 

Ponce de Leon and Osceola

 First Citizens Bank on the Tamiami Trail in Naples has a large statue of Ponce de Leon in the front.  Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and conquistador known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida in 1513.  He is usually associated with a search for the Fountain of Youth.

  Ponce de León returned to Southwest Florida in 1521 with the first large-scale attempt to establish a Spanish colony. However, the native Calusa people fiercely resisted the incursion, and Ponce de Léon was seriously wounded in a skirmish. The colonization attempt was abandoned, and he died from his wounds.

Osceola was a prominent leader of the Seminoles in the first third of the 19th century.  His statue hides out in the parking lot behind the bank.  I am surprised that I haven't read anything about native Americans protesting the rather offensive placement of the statue. 

Animal Tracks

 Animal tracks in the snow behind my Ridgefield house.

Deer tracks are the ones I usually see back there.  These look different, but perhaps that is because the snow is much deeper than in past winters.

Back to Florida tomorrow.