October 29, 2011 - Fall is Purple

For many folks in Seattle, fall is purple.  Young and young at heart share their passion for the University of Washington football team at parties big and small in parking lots, living rooms, bars and back yards on a gorgeous October Saturday afternoon, evening...and Sunday morning!  In this case the party is a just north of the Montlake cut, within easy walking distance of Husky Stadium, and the photo is destined to be someone's holiday photo greeting card.  This weekend was Homecoming Week at the University of Washington and pictured are alumni from the greater Seattle area, but from both Vancouvers, North Carolina and eastern Washington.

The University of Washington has been celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.  It officially opened on November 4, 1861.  The University of Washington was originally situated in a 10 acre campus in downtown Seattle in an area bordered by 4th and 6th Avenues and Union and Seneca Streets.  The University was relocated to its current location in 1895.  The 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition utilized unused portions of campus, the development of which was incorporated into the overall campus master plan and site layout at its conclusion.   The University still owns the property downtown the leases of which generate millions of dollars in rent each year.

The current mascot - the Husky, was adopted by a student committee in 1922 and replaced the weather referencing 'Sun Dodger'.

October 25, 2011 - Profile Pic

Looking for a profile picture to set your facebook page apart?  Why not try this on for size?  "Guardians" are gilded bronze and pearl statues dating to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) that once stood on a Buddhist altar.  This, and his partner, stand in a wing of the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

October 25, 2011 - Black Sun at Night

"Black Sun" by Isamu Noguchi stands on edge at Seattle's Volunteer Park.  The nine foot diameter sculpture is made of Brazilian black granite.  According to the Seattle Public Art information, Noguchi "envisioned creating a fluid and timeless work that would appear to move as the sun does, creating a dialogue between the real sun and the artwork itself."  The sculpture was installed in 1969.  Soundgarden's 1994 number one hit "Black Hole Sun" may have been named for this sculpture.

Mr. Noguchi was born in Los Angeles, but lived in Japan until he was 13.  While studying pre-medicine at Columbia he was taking sculpting lessons in the evening.  He soon left the university and began working as an academic sculptor.  Mr. Noguchi's first major work to be recognized in the US was dedicated to the freedom of the press and commissioned by the Associated Press and installed at Rockefeller Center in New York City in 1938.

At the time WWII broke out Mr. Noguchi had been living in New York for a number of years.  On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066.  This provided the Secretary of War with the authority to exclude Japanese Americans from nearly a third of the country, mostly the west coast.  This resulted in the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans.  As a  Japanese-American living outside of the west coast exclusion zone he was not put in an internment camp.  Mr. Noguchi became a political activist and tried to raise awareness of the patriotism of Japanese-Americans.  He was later placed, at his request, in an internment camp in Arizona.

October 25, 2011 - Black Orange Yellow Sun

Fall is black and orange and yellow.  What might look like fancy jack o'lantern is actually a girl sitting in the hole of Isamu Noguchi's "Black Sun", watching the sun go down at Seattle's Volunteer Park.

Originally City Park, Volunteer Park was renamed in 1901 in recognition for those who had volunteered in the Spanish-American War.  In addition to the meadows, picnic areas and wading pools it is home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, a water tower with an observation deck and a conservatory.

October 23, 2011 - Fall & Fallen

Fall is yellow.

October 22, 2011 - Red Rain

Fall is red.  Rain drops on an ornamental maple tree's leaves.

October 22, 2011 - Gourd Hoard

Fall is orange.  Pumpkins upon pumpkins await their fate outside of a Mill Creek Market.  In the 1800s the potato famine in Ireland drove hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants to America.  They brought with them the custom of hollowing out turnips for use as lanterns to remember the souls trapped in purgatory.  The pumpkin, native to North America, was larger and easier to carve out.  While generally associated with harvest time, it wasn't until the mid-to-late 1800s that jack o'lanterns became associated specifically with the holiday we now know as Halloween.  In medieval times the poor would go door-to-door begging for food on Hallowmas, November 1st.  In return for food, one would receive prayers for the dead on All Souls' Day, November 2nd.

October 11, 2011 - Nothing Fancy

In a brief break from rain and gray skies Seattle's Space Needle lights up at sunset.  The rather sudden change in light made this picture, taken through the dirty window of my office, hard to resist.  It is nothing fancy; just the Space Needle.

October 9, 2011 - Gull Able

As the sun goes down on Whidbey Island, one seagull settles in to sleep on a piling at the Clinton ferry dock while another, appearing most menacing here, follows a ferry across Saratoga Passage to Mukilteo and the mainland.  Seagulls sleep with their bills tucked into their feathers and will occasionally open their eyes to look around to ensure they are safe.  Studies of sleep patterns in seagull colonies have found that the frequency of opening their eyes is directly related to how often the birds near them open their eyes.

October 8, 2011 - Little Gatherer Boots

The boots of a little gatherer at the pumpkin patch of Carleton Farms.  The 60 acre family farm near the Ebey Slough east of Everett, Washington has been in the Carleton family for over 40 years.  Each fall thousands come to enjoy their corn maze, pick out a pumpkin, go through a haunted corn maze, take hay rides, gather some fresh flowers, enjoy the farm animals and buy all manner of gourmet sauces, canned and jarred products with the Carleton Farms label from their store.  Oh, and they have a pair of air cannons that launch 10 pound pumpkins hundreds of yards!

October 8, 2011 - Daily Dahlias

 You pick 'em Dahlias at Carleton Farms east of Everett.  (I prefer to take them home digitally.  I couldn't  bring myself to cutting them down!)  The 60 acre family farm near the Ebey Slough east of Everett, Washington has been in the Carleton family for over 40 years.  Each fall thousands come to enjoy their corn maze, pick out a pumpkin, go through a haunted corn maze, take hay rides, gather some fresh flowers, enjoy the farm animals and buy all manner of gourmet sauces, canned and jarred products with the Carleton Farms label at their store.  Oh, and they have a pair of air cannons that launch 10 pound pumpkins hundreds of yards!

October 8, 2011 - Gatherers

At Carleton Farms, a honeybee and a family take advantage of a nice fall day to do some gathering.  The family, with a wheelbarrow are picking out just the right pumpkins.  The bee, isn't as picky and is just moving on to the next sunflower.

The 60 acre family farm near the Ebey Slough east of Everett, Washington has been in the Carleton family for over 40 years.  Each fall thousands come to enjoy their corn maze, pick out a pumpkin, go through a haunted corn maze, take hay rides, gather some fresh flowers, enjoy the farm animals and buy all manner of gourmet sauces, canned and jarred products with the Carleton Farms label at their store.  Oh, and they have a pair of air cannons that launch 10 pound pumpkins hundreds of yards!