Outside Magazine is currently running a contest in which people can vote for the “Best Town Ever”. Of course, there is nothing scientific about the poll, and it’s merely just a ploy to get people to “like” Outside Magazine on Facebook, but Ashland is currently running second behind Tucson, Arizona. Really? Tucson? Can a city of over half a million people in the city limits with another half a million in the suburbs really be called a “town”, let alone be the “Best Town Ever”?
Anyway, today’s photo is from a real town. This is Ashland Creek which runs through this town, which will soon have less than 20,000 people once the SOU students split this weekend.
I took today’s photo on a recent bike ride I took up Highway 99. The location was somewhere between Talent and Phoenix, maybe 8 miles or so from my home in Ashland. Wagner Butte is in the background. I want to climb Wagner Butte before going to Denmark in a couple weeks, but I don’t think the snow will melt before then. This year, due to the low temperatures and high precipitation, the trails up Grizzly and Wagner are opening much later than normal.
Last night’s Green Show featured Terry Longshore and Grant Ruiz of Duo Flamenco. On a little more than half the songs they played, Monica Morales danced. If you missed it, they will be performing again at the OSF Green Show in September. I’m guessing they will also be performing locally elsewhere as well.
The parking situation was out of control as not only was the Shakespeare Festival in full swing but Ashland High School was having their graduation ceremony a few hundred feet away, AND it was the First Friday Art Walk.
One of my favorite things about driving Ellie to school every morning is seeing this view of Grizzly Peak (from E Main Street between Walker and Wightman). Every day is different–the clouds, the shadows, the level of green (or snow), cows in the field (or not), fog, etc. Today’s photo was yesterday’s view, one of the better ones in my memory so I pulled over to take a picture as I sometimes do.
Ten minutes later, when I got to work, the clouds had lifted and I could see that Grizzly Peak was covered in snow. Grizzly being blanketed in snow is not unusual, but this is June! I don’t think I have ever seen snow on Grizzly in June.
This photo actually looks much better on a big screen. Click on the image after maximizing your browser window for a bigger view.
Way back in 2002 or 2003 I was home alone one warm summer evening so I went for a walk. I ended up in the Bullseye Bistro (now called Larks) in downtown Ashland. Allison & Victor were playing and something about their performance that evening was magic to me. I have probably seen them a half dozen times since then, most recently at the Lithia Artisans Market a couple weeks ago.
In three weeks they are opening for Mary Chapin Carpenter and Marc Cohn on the new Table Rock City Stage at Britt. I won’t get to see that performance as I’ll be on a plane headed for Copenhagen at the time.
Here is a portion of one of the songs they played a couple weeks ago, “La Seine” off of her first CD, “Allison St.”
The weather has been brutal this year. Temperatures have usually been below normal and the amount of rain has to be among the most in recorded history for the area. This rainbow is from two weeks ago, but it has rained a lot since then.
June 1st, 2011 | Tags: rainbow | Category: nature, only in ashland | Comments Off on Will there be a summer this year?
Today’s photo is from Mother’s Day a few weeks back. This is what you are supposed to do with your mom on her special day. The place was Ashland’s newest park, Scenic Park near the Ashland Hospital.
Wenjun Qi is a music major at SOU from China. She gave me pointers on my trip to China last year before we had even met. It was a friend of a friend kind of thing. But now I see her on campus all the time. I look forward to our meetings as she always has such a big smile on her face. On May 22 she performed her senior recital in the Music Recital Hall on campus.
Here is a video of her performing “Libra Sonatine” by Roland Dyens in three movements, India, Largo, and Fuoco.
