Martin Luther King Day

Today is Martin Luther King Day, which has been observed for 40 years.  As is well known, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., was a leading proponent of nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law and civil society. 

I saw this King bust by Joseph Stein last summer in the Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, Connecticut.

St. Leo the Great

 St. Leo the Great is a big Catholic church in Bonita Springs, not far from where I live.

They also have a bald eagle nest behind the church.  They were there when I drove past recently.

Golden Paws Assistance Dogs

 I visited Golden Paws Assistance Dogs, a Naples nonprofit that trains dogs to serve as assistance dogs for wounded combat veterans, first responders and children with severe disabilities.

Charlotte is the lead trainer.  She worked with Valor, a two year old female golden retriever.  

Golden Paws selects golden retrievers from two breeders, one in Florida and one in Texas, when the puppies are two weeks old.  They look for highly intelligent and highly intuitive dogs, perhaps two or three puppies in a litter of 8 - 10.  The puppies come to Golden Paws when they are eight weeks old. 

At any time Golden Paws has about 50 dogs in its facility.  

They have trained and placed hundreds since opening in 2012.  It costs about $50-100,000 to train each golden retriever over the first two years of its life; they provide the dogs free to the recipients.

Each recipient receives a book about their dog when it goes home with them.  The book has photographs and stories about their dog from the two years it was undergoing training.

Golden Paws is in a former Harley Davidson facility in Naples.

Naples Pier

 

The Naples Pier is the landmark of the City of Naples.  It was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022.  Approximately 460 feet of the pier was damaged, with about 140 feet of the end -- including the shelter at the end -- now sitting on the bottom of the Gulf.

This is how it looked in 2020, with the end of the pier and the shelter at the end intact.

Demolition of the damaged structure began a couple of weeks ago.  Reconstruction of the new pier is aiming for a stronger, elevated pier, potentially reopening by mid-2027. The new design will feature stronger pilings and increased height for storm protection. 

Things that Recently Caught My Eye

 I parked next to a car with unusual pictures between the front and rear windows.

"Girls Ride."  My granddaughters sure do.

Something on his phone.

"Sit Means Sit."  A good name for a dog training business. 

Another New England Patriots fan parked on Third Street South.

More from the Art Festival

 Here are some photos from the art show when I wasn't entering the booths and talking with the artists.

I like art glass.  Some of the glass here was very good.

I liked the works in this display, but I don't need any more THINGS. 

The statue of a man above a big circle is always in Riverside Park.

Bonita Springs National Art Festival

 Last weekend, one of the first outdoor art festivals of the winter season was held at Bonita Springs' Riverside Park.

Kimberly Willcox showed fascinating sculptures of figures created from salvaged materials.

Heather Laurie sold a variety of colorful fabrics.  She matched her offerings nicely.

Adam Turner is from Minnesota.  He offered very good paintings of birds and shoreline scenes, using an unusual technique he calls mosaic impressionism.

Jorge Luis Brito is a local photographer who offered large-scale photographs of well-known scenes in Southwest Florida.

Some sculptors liked extremely thin women.