A Living Magazine - Day 74 - Art On Structure

Good night. Woke up at about 5:30 am, but lied around until 6:00. Pack up went fast, once I was ready to get up.

This time I promised myself I would find an easier way to the street. So I followed the path along the creek, past where I would have climbed up the steep hill. I noticed that the graffiti on the bases of the columns that held up each of the three bridges was so intricate...  

I found my way out of the park at the far corner. The path led out through a fire gate, and I was able to walk downtown form there. Most importantly I saw many better sleeping places on the other side of the creek that I made mental notes of for this coming night.

My new commuter route was already becoming familiar. I noticed an interesting phenomenon, while walking downtown. Streets were easier to make it down, without being begged by street folks,once I realized what side they are always on. This rule worked well when coming into town or going out of town, but fell apart when I was actually downtown...

I was on a real mission to find art either on structures or as structures (like sculptures or buildings). Some things were unintentional art...

And, two will stand out from the crowd. Or, they laid these

concrete stops on the first day cannabis was legalized.

When I walked by the library I noticed they were open until six this day, so I decided to work on my post later, after doing some more exploring...

Neat black building with one-way windows.

The Spokane Arena.

Very nicely kept business.

This was the kind of stone used in all the walls around Riverside Park.

I've seen an awful lot of information boards in a lot of cities and towns, but something really grabbed my attention about this dam area...

The Red Lion Inn was a sprawling complex of multiple levels.

Autumn's on its way.

Some of the park was reserved for the construction and preparation of a "Chinese Lattern Fesitval"... 

So many bright colors! It's going to be quite event, apparently.

Looking up as I walked along the path, I thought these two people were real at first...

I love this!

Not sure how much they paid Sam Elliott to pose for this (kidding),

but they sure seemed to capture his likeness.

Eternally a mason.

All around the perimeter was an intentionally rusty fence with

various themes added to it. In this case, fishing nets. 

Apartments with a killer view.

Willow.

I love to see this presentation next month--but alas, I will be far away from here.

This statue honors astronaut, Michael P. Anderson, who was lost in the Columbia disaster.

A big, scary, blue spider!

I thought this was worth the shot, out of irony alone. A moon crater

sculpture that somebody left a religious creationist pamphlet on. Jesus, he's everywhere!

By 9:45 am I was near a bench in front of a small flock of geese, so I decided to sit, rest and watch them do their thing. Most of the birds were clipping at the short grass, being very discriminating about the blades they chose.

Some were tagged. And, one poor fella had the burden of a rigid cardboard collar on...

I thought this looked uncomfortable, and it certainly affected the feathers at the base of the neck.
Researchers aren't too concerned. They are trying to track why nesting is in decline. I looked up the study...

Crews mark eastern Washington geese in ongoing study of nesting declines

OLYMPIA – State biologists and a team of volunteers plan to fit up to a thousand Canada geese with leg bands this month in a study by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) of goose population trends in eastern Washington.

Now in its fourth year, the study is designed to develop a better understanding of nesting declines, hunter harvest patterns and the birds’ use of urban and rural habitat, said Mikal Moore, a WDFW waterfowl specialist.

“Goose nesting counts have been declining for over a decade in most rural survey areas, while complaints about urban geese have been rising,” Moore said. “This study will help us determine if urban birds are year-round residents or migratory, and to what extent they are hunted.”

Moore said urban goose numbers can rise dramatically when they do not migrate, or are not exposed to predators, hunting or other factors that normally limit populations. Geese may become habituated to urban areas that are closed to hunting or when people feed them, she said.

The marking project runs June 13 through June 21, when geese are molting and thus unable to fly. WDFW crews will capture, band, and collar the geese, using boats and portable trapping panels at urban and rural locations in or near Wenatchee, Moses Lake, Yakima, the Tri-Cities, Spokane, and Sprague Lake.

The age and sex of each captured goose will be recorded, and all will be marked with numbered aluminum leg bands. Some adult geese also will receive white neck collars with number and letter codes.

Moore asks that waterfowl hunters report leg band information if they harvest a marked goose. Anyone who spots a goose with a white neck collar is asked to report band or collar codes, along with locations and dates, to the U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory at 1-800-327-BAND or online at http://www.reportband.gov.

To date, biologists have banded 2,523 geese from eight distinct areas in eastern Washington, Moore said. Of that number, 406 were observed with neck collars and 359 marked geese were taken by hunters.

“Several of the band returns came from as far away as northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, although most were local,” Moore said.

More information on Canada geese is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/canada_geese.html.

I guess it's all for the best...

This collared guy seemed to be the leader of the flock.

Sitting with the geese, I heard the clocktower chime 10:00 am, and then it played chimed song. I pulled out my digital audio recorder, but was unable to record the whole thing. So, I waited until 11:00 and recorded the song after the time toll. There were many noises around the area, and the chimes are a bit faint, but the melody for "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" came through. Interesting, considering my recent stay in Seattle. Here it is, if you want to hear it...

The Riverside Park Clocktower chimes

"Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"

11:00 am, Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Awwww... Cute little red wagon.

This is the second time I'd seen this sculpture. Interesting to note that even

though these are made of metal plates, the shadows and profiles are always smooth.

There's always a Wall Street.

I walked back through the park on my way to the library, and the "Pig Out in the Park" was going strong. With two musical stages. The first was a bluegrass band, that frankly, I thought really sucked. The singing was off key and the bass player didn't know the songs. But then I ran across this guy...

I looked for his name online, but it is not listed on the music schedule.

I'll keep looking though. Great talent.

Here is an audio file of him with an old recognizable Jazz standard thrown in at the end...

Unknown Guitarist in Riverfront Park

Pig Out in the Park Festival

Listen for "Mack the Knife"

  

I spent the time I needed in order to publish the daily post at the library, and then headed back toward the creek just at sunset...

This time I went back by the new way I'd discovered, and instead of following the same path when I reached the entrance, I walked on and across the creek bridge. There was just enough light left to scout around that side of the creek for a new sleeping place. And, I had wonderful success in this endeavor! I found a place with no rocks, soft grass, inside a group of acacia trees. Unless someone was walking by, off the trail, the spot was unable to be seen from any direction. This was a great find, and will probably be my place of rest for the remainder of my time here. We'll see. I slept very well...

Simple set up.

Spokane Sleeping Place 2