CITY DAILY PHOTO, THEME DAY-NOVEMBER 1: BROWN

BROWN IS THE COLOR OF . . .

My first thought about the color brown is, "Ewwww. Not brown. I hate brown." 

But on second (and third and fourth thought) I realized that brown is the color of nature, which I love. Brown is the warm neutral which provides an earthy backdrop for all of the wild colors of the surrounding flowers, grasses, shrubs, trees and leaves. Case in point.

Autumn on the Whitman College campus never disappoints with the color brown acting as a perfect foil for a myriad of other colors.

For more BROWN photos by other CDP bloggers, click below: http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com/

MOVIN' ON

Imagine That!

I was off to go shopping, and what did I see?

A big yellow house right in front of me.

I whipped out my camera,

my iPhone that is,

And took all these photos,

For my blog not to miss.

Imagine my surprise as I turned north onto Isaacs and drove a couple blocks only to be stopped by this sight at the bend in the road where Isaacs becomes Rose Street. Since there was no traffic, I stopped my car and snapped a picture before the house moved too far around the corner. Then I made a quick U Turn as there still was no traffic and drove around to the next block where I parked and ran to the corner, iPhone in hand, ready to capture this historic event in photos.

The funny thing is, I had previously read about this upcoming house move in the local paper last week, but I didn't really give it much thought until I happened upon it today. By the time I met up with it, it had already been moved several blocks from its original location on the corner of Linden and Otis on the Whitman College Campus.

This house was one of 12 houses offered for sale by Whitman College to make room for a new sophomore resident dorm and dining hall. The cost of each house was $1, with the new owner taking full responsibility for hiring a professional mover to relocate the structure.

In the photo above, the man in the bucket has just stopped the move and called for someone to raise a wire that was in the way.

At the ready was this worker who arrived with an expandable orange pole which he lengthened, and lengthened, and lengthened until he could lift the wire way overhead. Quite impressive!

A look underneath the trailer shows the massive steel beams on which the house sits along with the drive train and turning mechanism that allows the long trailer to make turns such as this.

The house appears to be in great condition and will make the new owner a nice home in its new location, somewhere up Mill Creek Road.

Having made the right turn onto Park street, the house on wheels heads for Highway 12.

This photo taken last spring by Greg Lehman for the Walla Walla Union Bulletin shows the house in its original location.

FRIDAY AT FOUR RECITAL SERIES

Free and Open to the Public

Whitman College Fridays at Four Recital Series presents Gary Hemenway, piano/voice, and Dave Glenn, trombone, performing original compositions. Both performers are on the Whitman faculty. The recital series allows faculty and students to perform and share their talents with the community. Each free performance last an hour and is a great way to end a work week and/or begin a weekend.

This restored 120-seat recital and lecture hall was named in honor of Ruth Baker Kimball '31, 

who served the college as a distinguished volunteer for many years.

Early attendees await the start of the recital in Kimball Theatre on the Whitman campus.

Kimball Theatre is located within the building known as Hunter Conservatory. It was designed by Portland architect Ellis F. Lawrence and is an example of Neo-Classical style and Georgian Revival as seen by the detailing in the wood pilasters and railings.

 Additionally, the atrium and recital hall are distinctive with leaded stained-glass skylights in both.

A rapt audience listens intently while a lone student looks on from the balcony.

FIRST SNOW--Part 4

A Dandy Day for Ducks 

Whitman College campus, Walla Walla, Washington

FIRST SNOW-Part 3

Two Bridges, Four Views

Whitman College campus, Walla Walla, Washington

Playing with basic editing tools, and B&W conversion.

Any preferences?

FIRST SNOW-Part 2

Whitman College Water Feature

Whitman College is centrally located between my house and the downtown retail corridor. In addition to offering a stellar liberal arts education for its students, it is a wonderful addition to the community with its well-landscaped campus, interesting architecture and outdoor art, and wide variety of cultural offerings for the community. 

I took advantage of the new snow and the absence of students (due to Thanksgiving vacation) to stroll through the quiet, undisturbed grounds.

 I am always drawn to reflections in water and the natural painterly look they have.

Same photo as the one above but with a painterly effect using the Brushstroke app on my iPad. Learning to paint is on my bucket list of things to do now that I am retired, so I feel a bit dishonest to find how easy it is to turn a photo into a painting.

CARNIVAL

Whitman's Public Art

Carnival, by nationally known Pop artist Jim Dine, is one of 20+ sculptures located throughout the Whitman campus. 

This headless abstract version of the classic Venus de Milo was installed in 1997 and stands in a prominent spot across the street from the Administration Building along Boyer Avenue. It is part of a body of sculptural work in which Dine has dramatically reinterpreted one of western culture's most prominent portrayals of feminine beauty. 

Dine used a chainsaw to create the sculpture from the trunk of a tree, and then cast the tree in bronze at the world renowned Walla Walla Foundry.

According to one source, "In all of his depictions of the Venus de Milo . . .the head has been removed. However, all the other compositional components of the original have been retained: the left leg juts forward while the right one receded; drapery covers the legs; the pivoted upper torso is exposed; and the arms remain lost to time."

RED & YELLOW FROG FOOT CHANDELIER

CHIHULY GLASS

I took a different route home tonight after sorting books for AAUW, and was pleasantly surprised by the sight of this luminous glass chandelier hanging in Reed Center on the campus of Whitman College.

 Not one to pass up a good photo op nor a spectacular piece of art, I went inside.

I wasn't disappointed. This two-tiered red and yellow blown glass chandelier is by Dale Chihuly, a world renowned glass artist from Seattle. I learned that the sculpture is a relative newcomer to the campus having been installed just last summer and dedicated in September.

The piece was commissioned and paid for by an anonymous donor. A very generous and beautiful gift, I'd say.

See the video of the dedication of the sculpture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlEbHKZ5Ig

Read more about Dale Chihuly: http://www.chihuly.com/learn

2015 TOUR OF WALLA WALLA

"Racers, start your engines."

Walla Walla is a great place to ride a bike. With miles of rolling country roads surrounding the town, the biggest choice a road rider has is which direction to go. And if you're a mountain biker, the Blue Mountains are in our back yard with endless dirt roads and single track trails for all levels of bikers. And there's even an annual USCF event for the serious racer--the Tour of Walla Walla which draws competitors from all the Pacific Northwest states and California.

The Tour of Walla Walla is what's known in the bicycle racing world as a 3-day, 4-stage race. In layman's terms that means over the course of three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) riders compete in two road races, one time trial, and a criterium--resulting in one champion.

These photos are all from the criterium race on Saturday morning where I volunteered as a corner marshal. The start/finish line is on Main Street in downtown Walla Walla.  Racers ride on streets closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic in a circular course the equivalent of 0.9 miles which includes eight corners. Depending upon the racers USCF category, each criterium race lasts 30, 40, or 70 minutes. There are eight separate races with the first race starting at 8:20 AM and the last race starting at 1:45 PM.

Here the pack of Men's Category 3 riders race down Boyer Ave which bisects the campus of Whitman College, a private liberal arts college.

For more information: http://www.tofww.org/