Keya's Blog

It’s amazing to me that a person can board a plane and within a few hours be in a very different reality. The following two pictures were taken within a few days of one another.  One was taken outside of Baruch College in NYC, and the other in Olathe, Colorado.

New York City

This was taken as a quick shot looking down the street.  At the time, within the environment of the big city, it wasn’t anything spectacular.  Yet, as I write this in Montrose, Colorado, and reflect on the picture, they buildings are really quite large in comparison to buildings here in Montrose.

Differences?

House in Olathe, Colorado

Each time I drive through Olathe, I crane my neck to see what is hanging from the long poles. The house doesn’t seem so irregular, and while the two pictures denote different environments, the common human desire to be creative, however expressed, is a binding similarity.

It’s a really interesting place.  There are poles with metal pans, poles with fuzzy slippers, poles with stuffed animals, and even ginger bread-like men hanging in the background.

You have to admit, it is creative.

Ma.tt

My next post: The Brilliance of the Open Source Community -OR- Why I Have a Crush on Matt

Sandhill Cranes, From Wikipedia and birdphotos.com

The Sandhill Cranes are migrating through the Montrose, Colorado area. I was up on the roof shoveling off snow last week and heard strange, chirping sounds. As I looked up to the sky, I noticed large birds riding the thermals. At first I thought they were strange geese, as other flocks flew into join the circling thermal riders, they flew in the common ‘drafting’ position that geese usually fly in.

It’s a cheerful noise that they make, and it’s fairly loud, so other people in the neighborhood were also outside and looking up. It think I may have said something like, “Hey, weird geese huh.” But they informed me that they are Sandhill Cranes. “Look at the long legs on the birds,” they said. A full grown Sandhill Crane has a wingspan of 6-8 feet.  I’m going to try to get video of them.  It’s like being in Gotham City, but instead of being dark and somewhat gloomy with bats, the sky is a brilliant blue, the sun is shining, and the large birds make a joyful, loud, chirping sound.

Here’s the picture that I took, but a little imagination has to be used.

I really like the changing of the seasons.  It makes for incredible and sometimes unexpected beauty.

Clouds

Aspen Trees Changing Colors

It’s a beautiful time in Colorado (and other places too). The autumn air is cooler and becoming crisp, vegetable harvests are slowing down, and the leaves are changing their colors.

Aspen Grove

Sustainability Fair, Fort Collins

The 10th annual Sustainability Fair happened in Fort Collins, Colorado last weekend. I went because I wanted to see what type of stuff they had here. I’m interested in energy efficient, passive solar type of buildings, so I have been curious as to what types of companies have been emerging in Colorado. There was a wide array of different ideas and different types of products, from soap, coffee, plants and builders. Here’s some of the other stuff that was there.

SIPS building models

There were huge organic vegetables too.

Organic Vegetables

There was also info about agriculture.

Hydroponic Agriculture

Another way of growing vegetables… and lots of other stuff, like this.

Worm Casting Hotel

A worm hotel of sorts… It creates a really good fertilizer!

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Painted Rock, Black Canyon National Park

The Black Canyon Nation Park is about 15 miles east of Montrose, Colorado. The canyon almost seems out of place, amidst the sandstone canyons to the west and the mountains to the south and east. Yet, steep, dramatic rocky walls plunge down to the Gunnison River, flowing clear and green on the canyon floor below.

http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm

The Black Canyon is really easy to get around by car. There are overlook areas that are just a few meters from the road. It’s also a climbing area and there are great hikes that can also be accessed. I’m thankful to be living in a beautiful place. It’s enjoyable to get out and go exploring in your own backyard. There are more pictures on the map.

Click on a small picture to see the larger picture in a slideshow. Article below.

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The Telluride Film Festival was in full bloom this Labor Day Weekend.  It takes place each year in picturesque Telluride, Colorado.  It does not announce its lineup until the day it starts, yet does not disappoint. This year they had a special tribute to actor Viggo Mortensen, their guest director was Alexander Payne, and others present included Nicholas Cage and Werner Herzog.  The festival prides itself on its ability to bring talented directors, screenwriters, actors and producers in a relaxed, yet beautiful atmosphere.  Not only do they bring in big names, but they also bring in an impressive amount of filmmakers to have Q&A sessions after the screening and create common spaces where the audience has an opportunity to interact with some of the screen giants that are in attendance.  There are discussions with actors and filmmakers in the Elks Park and the Court House, while films play on 9 different screens throughout Telluride.  One of the larger theaters, Chuck Jones’ Cinema is accessible from town by an 11 minute gondola ride.

It is impressive to see the transformation that Telluride undergoes in preparation for the Festival.  Schools get transformed into theaters with state of the art sound systems and large screens to play the films.  I wasn’t able to see that many films, but I did take some pictures. As you can see, it is in a beautiful area.

I only went for a day, driving from Montrose in the morning and attended without a pass.  One of the downsides of attending without a pass is that while I and many others waited in line for 3 hours, in hopes of attending the Viggo Mortensen tribute, we did not get in.  As in most film festivals, the ‘really important’ passholders get in first (arriving 10 minutes before), the ‘other’ passholders get in second, then if there is room, nonpassholders can buy tickets.  I only saw the back of Viggo Mortensen’s head as he arrived right before his tribute began. I thought, “Wow. That was Viggo Mortensen.” Then I walked to my car in the rain.

Adam Resurrected, 2008, is a movie based off of the novel by Yoram Kaniuk.  It has an unusual, fictitious plot line that may be jarring for some, but after seeing the writer, director and actor at the courthouse discussion at Telluride Film Festival last year, I saw the film and read the book, while appreciating the arduous creative process that a story goes through in order to become a film.

The book took over 8 years to write, then funding needed to come together (millions of dollars) the director, actors and crew needed to be assembled, the set was built just for the purpose of the film and built in the middle of the dessert, then after shooting and editing the film, it needs to get picked up and go through marketing to get its idea out.   It features Jeff Goldblum in a potential Oscar winning performance, however, the film did not get picked up for major distribution.   (That’s a different topic that I won’t get into right now.)

Montrose, Colorado Farmers Market

I live in the small, Western Slope city of Montrose, Colorado.  Every Saturday and Wednesday (until the first frost) we have a very nice farmers market.  I get organic garlic, peaches, corn, cucumbers, soap, baked goods like scones and lemon bars, jam, homemade dog biscuits and many other things.  It has progressively gotten busier and busier as more people find out about it.

Here are some businesses with links to their websites:
Straw Hat Farms and Bakery
Spade & Fork Gardens

There are others, but these are the ones that have websites and they gave me their card.  (Good business practices do influence others.)  If you have a website and would like to be here, send a comment or an email.  I’ll also be updating this as I talk to more people.  Support local business!

Montrose Farmers Market