Out and About

Enjoying a quiet morning.

Moorings Presbyterian Church

I went to Moorings Presbyterian Church for a concert.  

The sanctuary has beautiful modern stained glass.

Youmay Restaurant

 

This old abandoned restaurant on Olde 41 in Bonita Springs has murals in the place of windows and a modern sculpture in front. 

Miromar

 I wanted some new shoes, so I went to a factory outlet not far away.

It always surprises me that the developer included lovely fountains at each intersection.

This is a favorite.

Cassandra (and Mary)

 Originally from New York, Cassandra is an artist who pays the bills by working in the gift shop of the Baker Museum in Naples.

Cassandra is exuberantly friendly and outgoing.  The museum currently features an exhibition of works by famous black and white nature photographer Ansel Adams.  So, Cassandra dresses in black and white to mirror the black and white books, postcards and other Adams memorabilia in the shop.

Cassandra was a willing subject for a few photographs.

I was at the museum with my longtime friend Mary.  Cassandra and Mary are both small and slim and have short hair.  But, Mary is a retired head of private girl schools.  She dresses simply and conservatively.  Cassandra and Mary posed for me in the black and white atrium.  I love the contrast.

Another Outdoor Art Show

 There are outdoor art shows nearly every weekend "in season," which means roughly from November through April.  I don't go to all, but I do go to many.  Last weekend I went to one in Bonita Springs.

This time I didn't visit as many  individual artists.  Sometimes I stepped back and enjoyed the scenes.

Riverside Park in Bonita Springs has some good sculptures.  They look good among the artists' tents.

But, of course, I did talk with some artists.  This is John T. Crutchfield, an idiosyncratic man who calls his practice Metal Arts Graphics.    

And the proud owner of this magnificent beard is John D. Anderson, a wood turner from Chattanooga, Tennessee.  He produces very fine pieced wooden bowls, vases and other works.

Bayshore Art District

 Bayshore is a district to the east of Olde Naples.  It is working hard to develop an identity as n arts district.  Many buildings have murals.  A. Jaron operates a jewelry store with one-of-a-kind custom jewelry and limited edition, curated collections in gold, platinum, diamonds, gemstones and silver.

Melissa Blazier

Melissa Blazier is Collier County's Supervisor of Elections.   She oversees elections for the City of Naples and for the county.

She and her office do more than 250 voter registration drives and outreach events every year.  They reach 5,000 students annually through high school registration programs.  I attended a recent talk.

This is an overwhelmingly Republican and white county.  It also skews heavily older, with a shocking 43 percent of registered voters being 66 years old or older!

Florida is tightening its already tight election policies to tilt the state even more strongly in favor of Republican candidates.  (My words, not hers.)  For example, voters must submit new vote-by-mail requests every year.  Ms. Blazier is a registered Republican but administers the office in a nonpartisan manner.    

Ridgways

 Ridgways Bar & Grill is a very popular restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining options at the intersection of Third Street South and Thirteenth Avenue South.

Golf

 

Two young men teed off from the longest tees on the first hole.

A foursome took turns putting on the tenth hole.

A woman hit a drive very well on the fourth hole.

Whenever I have water in front of me, I tighten up.  This golfer got it over, but his aim wasn't good.

Tree-Lined Streets

 I like coming across tree-lined streets in Naples.

A Hovering Osprey

 

A male osprey hovered over the bay, studying the water, before swooping down in a failed attempt to grab a fish.

Dama III

 

Dama III is a 2003 bronze by the Spanish sculptor Manolo Valdes.  It sits at the entrance to Artis-Naples.

Artis-Naples

 Standing at the entrance doors of Artis-Naples and looking back toward the street, we look past a circular driveway and columns toward a polished stainless steel sculpture.

The sculpture by Arik Levy is called RockGrowth370.  If you wonder why a bunch of jutting steel columns are called RockGrowth370, I understand your confusion.  I watched the artist's video explaining it twice and still don't understand.

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.

Hacienda Don Manuel

 

For the younger granddaughter's ninth birthday, we had dinner at Hacienda Don Manuel, which has some wonderful murals, including this one.

The dinner concluded with a mariachi band putting a sombrero on her head and singing Happy Birthday to her.  Very special.

Linked to Monday Murals.