Snow White

 I have been in Ridgefield over the weekend for a granddaughter's birthday.  I haven't seen so much snow since the Blizzard of 1978!  White buildings on Main Street really stood out against the high snowbanks.

Lounsbury House was built in 1896 by a former Connecticut governor.  These days it is an event space.  I have shown it from the front several times.  This is the right side.

The Christian Science church has a small structure near the sidewalk to distribute literature.  It is designed to match the church building.

Keeler Tavern dates back to pre-Revolutionary days.  

This is a very nice Italianate residence across from Keeler's Tavern.  Today it is the home of Ridgefield's first selectman (equivalent to mayor in Connecticut cities with a different government structure).

Art Deco

The Edison Theater in Fort Myers no longer shows movies.  It now houses a couple of law firms.

Naples Pier Again

 A month ago I posted about the start of the work to demolish the Naples Pier in preparation for replacing it with a substantially bigger, stronger and more resilient pier.

I visited again a week ago.  The pilings and supports are still there, but most of the decking is now gone.

More from Naples National

 When I am at outdoor art shows in Southwest Florida, I sometimes photograph works and scenes that appeal to me, without speaking with the artists or even learning who the artists are.

I was walking down a different aisle when I turned and saw this brilliantly colored group of paintings.  (The one in the middle looks like the older granddaughter at the starting line of a swimming meet.)

Asian artists somehow have the secret for painting hyper-realistic botanical still lives.

I probably should have taken more time, but I noticed this triptych of lavender rows as I was leaving.

A Naples photographer had some large images of African animals.

This was by far the busiest tent.  I couldn't get close enough to see what drew them in.

I have seen this artist's work at many art shows.  This time I liked the opening that showed him sitting on a high chair under a blue umbrella.

Naples National Art Show

One of the best outdoor art shows in Southwest Florida was held last weekend in Cambier Park. 

Christine Adele Moore painted a wonderful, attention-getting self portrait along with a full range of large, colorful and imaginative works.  She is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Bonita Springs.  Christine works in acrylics and often imbeds things like metal leaf in her paintings.

I have visited with (and photographed) Glory Spinuzzi at art shows countless times over the years.  Originally she specialized in superb tidal scenes, inspired in part by her birth on the island nation of Sri Lanka.  In the past couple of years Glory has begun expanding her ouvre, by adding more environments and wildlife.  This is Glory's favorite work at the show, which she did not have space yet to hang. 

Sondra Wompler is from Santa Fe.  I was taken by her colorful realistic scenes that incorporated imaginary elements like flamingos and elephants. 

In case you didn't notice, Arizona-based artist Jonah Ballard obsesses about the color pink.

Clyde Butcher

 So long as I was out near the midpoint between Naples and Miami on the Tamiami Trail, I drove a bit further toward Miami to visit Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery.

Clyde Butcher is in his mid-80s.  For decades he has made beautiful large format black-and-white photographs, with a big emphasis on photographing the Everglades.

The image on the left is one of the ones I looked at and admired for a long time.

George Washington

 On George Washington's birthday, I honor our first President by presenting an image of General Washington on horseback, at an entrance to the Boston Public Gardens. 

Bored

 

After lunch, a young man had to wait, and wait, and wait, while his parents chatted with their friends. 

More from Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe

 

Before going inside, let's appreciate some of the character on the porch.

This is where I should admit that, even though I am a pretty conventional guy, part of me loves to come across funky places.  Joanie's is that.

Joanie's fills the eyes.  

"If you want fast food, Keep traveling.  42 miles west or 66 miles east.  Happy trails, ya'll."  Should I point out that contracting "you all" results in "y'all," not "ya'll"?  But, heck, I am a New Englander, not exactly the right person to correct Florida crackers.

And, BTW, the food was good.  I had a fried shrimp basket and my friend had a chicken salad. 

Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe

I was coming from Naples and my friend was coming from Miami.  We needed a place for lunch midway between.  The problem is that only the Everglades are there.  I did some research and found that there is one restaurant out there, namely Joanie's Blue Crab Cafe in Ochopee. 

The reviews are very good.  So, why not give it a try?

It sure has character.

 

As it turned out, Joanie's is surprisingly good.

Water Symposium

Water is hugely important to everyone's health and wellbeing.  But it feels even more central down here in Southwest Florida.  Restoring the Everglades.  Hurricanes.  Droughts.  Red Tides.  Algae blooms.  Fishing.  Beaches and tourism.  Providing fresh water to a rapidly growing population.  It goes on and on.

I attended a symposium about water.  One of the more interesting presenters was Dr. Barry Rosen, a scholar and professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. 

Dr. Rosen is a phycologist, i.e., one who studies algae.  Last year he published a scholarly book about identifying freshwater algae, featuring numerous color microphotographs to aid in classification, including those of harmful algal blooms.

 

Dr. Rosen says "I'm all about algae, photo documenting common and rare forms in high resolution, full color images to assist the next generation of phycologists with better tools for their identification. Harmful algal bloom research too."

Fort Myers Art Show

  The recent Fort Myers Art Show was very crowded and I had been doing several other things that day. So I rushed through it.  These colorful birdhouses were near the exit.  I liked them.

This artist did very intricate pencil drawings.

Very odd, very unusual.

Jennie

 Jennie is a Dominican.  She grew up in central Florida, where her family chased storms, doing hurricane repair work.  Her mother remarried and moved to Michigan and Jennie followed her.

In Michigan and now in Naples, Jennie sells real estate and fixes up deteriorated properties and flips them.

Chalk Art

Fort Myers held an art show last weekend.  Off to the side, high school kids worked on chalk art. 

Bad Bunny!  It was just a few days before the Super Bowl.  About a quarter of the Lee County population is Hispanic or Latino, so this was not surprising.

I should have stopped to ask these students what the orange birds symbolize.

Riverdale High School is at the far eastern edge of Fort Myers and Lehigh is even further into the agricultural and rural inland part of the county.  Citrus has been the economic heart of this part of Southwest Florida for decades.  No doubt some of these kids come from farmworker families.

Birds featured prominently.  If I were smarter or better attuned to today's youth or perhaps Hispanic culture, I might have been able to decode some of the meanings.