I will add Parts 2, 3 and more as I walk more Ashland streets.
I stopped to smell the fragrant honeysuckle as I walked past this gate last summer. (Harrison Street)
Creativity makes our lives more interesting and enjoyable. Creativity can be expressed in many ways. Here I recognize people who have expressed their creativity through the normally little noticed entry gate.
Wood and metal complement each other in this gate. (Auburn Street)This alley gate looks like it has been here for many years. (alley between A Street and B Street)Let’s hear it for the metal artists in our community. (Morton Street)
“When I open the gate in my protective personal wall,
my little world becomes more spacious.”
Peter Finkle
Did a bicycle rider build this gate? (Beach Street)A creative metal artist either lives here or is appreciated here. (Morton Street)This gate is on Forest Street near the corner with Morton Street.
The gate above has a good story. I noticed this unusual gate and stopped to take a photo. A woman (Anna Beauchamp) was in the garden and I asked her about the gate. She told me her husband Stephen Bacon made the gate. He carved the two side posts from cedar logs and the top post from a Russian olive tree. The center spirals are made from their garden grape vine trimmings. Stephen has decades of experience working with wood, but not normally these types of wood. He has built and repaired violins and other string instruments since he was 17 years old. His shop in Ashland, Bellwood Violin, serves professional musicians, schools and more. And I learned all of that by stopping to look at a gate!
With a formal entrance like this, it should be a formal garden. (Liberty Street house address)The gate has attractive lines, but the colorful flowers we see through the gate make the scene. (Harrison Street)I don’t think this gate is used very often. (Almond Street)Alley gate near the library. (between Siskiyou Boulevard and Allison Street)Copper spiral and fragrant star jasmine flowers in our yard. Eric Cislo made the gate and Cheryl Garcia created the copper spiral. (Beach Street)Can you tell which day of the year this photo was taken? Hint: starts with an “H.” (Oak Street)Here is another nice combination of metal and wood. (Rock Street, I think)The house you can see through this gate was built about 1904. Could the gate be that old? (8th Street)This one is simple but memorable. (4th Street)Is this “art” or is this “gate?” Let’s just call it “art on gate.” (Ohio Street)This is the most dramatic gate I have seen so far in my walks around Ashland. Do you have a nomination for a more dramatic gate?
I hope this photo essay will lift your spirits. See how many you can recognize! Photo Essay of Funny, Strange, Artistic and Historic Sights & Sites in Ashland.
Now that’s a cool house numberYes, there really are unicorns in Ashland (on the 4th of July, anyway)
As I walk the streets of Ashland, I am stopped in my tracks again and again by a surprising sight I have never noticed before. This post trades the written word for the visual image. My hope is that these photos will lift your spirits.
Halloween 2009 Ashland – a REAL wiener dogWhile we are looking at Halloween quirkiness, we can’t forget the monster spiders.Here’s an artistic and unusual entry arch, designed by Wendy Eppinger and sculpted by Eric Cislo in 2006. For close-ups of the arch, see below.
Wendy Eppinger’s entry arch at 190 Walker Avenue has an interesting story. She came up with the idea for the dramatic entry to her property, and then started collecting the unusual inset pieces. She found the center skull on Craigslist. The two cat skeletons came via eBay. Eppinger brought the two roosters back home from a trip to Mexico. Finally, the blue circles are from blue Sake bottles, thanks to Kobe Japanese restaurant.
Here is the center of the arch.Detail number 2 of the arch.Detail number 3 of the arch.Now for something completely different. I spotted this critter riding on a car in a motel parking lot.On the car next to the galactic dinosaur critter was a Southwest airlines critter.This odd sight is part of the fun of walking Ashland’s alleys.Here is a happier alley creature.This fella must be related to the tree-fella in photo above.I couldn’t resist this clever, loving sign on the admin table at the Growers & Crafters Market.This is a different kind of sign. It is 101 year old graffiti left by firemen who staffed the 1908 fire station.I bet many people will recognize the location of this quote from a 17th century Japanese poet.The location of this one will be more challenging. The quote is much more ancient than the 17th century. If you look closely just above “Say Friend and Enter,” you may be able to read the Elvish that was written on the gates of Moria. This one is for all Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fans.Since we are now entering Springtime and more hours in the garden (if we have one), this scene should help us move on through our day with a lighter heart.
If you enjoy “quirky,” you might enjoy my article about “The Mystery of the Peerless Hotel Marbles.”
