Shhh! Library wordless Wednesday

 

Afternoon showers, we finally had a bit of rain on Aug 11.

I featured the exterior of the Durango Public Library earlier in the month.

First floor has meeting rooms, and a lot of fiction...

And a great view of the Animas River

A huge children's room, as well as a separate room for story time.

and an elevator to the second floor where...

research and non-fiction are available, as well as these views...

 The bike path goes for miles along the Animas River, and here the narrow gauge railroad that goes to Silverton.

Many young people are riding electric bikes around town. The library can check out bike locks for those who visit there.

and yes, you can sit out on these balconies and enjoy reading or whatever!

Sharing with (almost) Wordless Wednesday

Some Third Avenue Homes

 

Looking north along 3rd Avenue in Durango, some lovely old homes. The one on the corner caught my attention because it went back into so many interesting features.

I like the windows, including what looks like aluminum foil treatment against the heat/light.

Even a half greenhouse, which probably isn't used this time of year!

I liked everything about this house, especially the "sanctuary" sign, which I couldn't actually read.

Lots of fun roof treatments on this home!

Not all the houses were huge.

The Christian Science church looks pretty imposing for a smallish building.

First Baptist Church. I'll capture more churches that are along this old drive soon.

At the top of 14th St. actually. What views they must have!

Sharing with Tuesday's Treasures.

Exploring in the neighborhood

 The Durango Public Library

Early photo from the internet shows the back of the building, next to the Animas River

The path behind the flowers goes along the river.

The Animas River just visible through the fence to the right.

Internet photo with small trees of the entrance to the library

Taken Aug 8, 2026, the sign is hard to see behind the trees.

Someone was working on these garden features in front of the library.

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I saw an interesting talk was to be given by zoom as well as in person on Sat. afternoon, about early Spanish explorers in this area looking for a good route to California. I signed up for the zoom, but the sound quality left a lot to be desired. And I was glad to not have gone in person to hear the talk, as they handed out fans to everyone because of the heat.

I'll visit this museum when it's cooler!

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Down the street I saw this:

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This photo is from the internet.

There is a Farmer's Market which closes off Main Ave. Saturday morning. I almost went to it...but would have had to climb a steep hill to my car after I was tired, so decided to try it some other Saturday.

I'm good driving around, while breathing with my portable oxygen generator...and can walk a little ways carrying it. This old bod is working to acclimate to the altitude. Plus the air quality has been moderate to poor, getting worse in evenings. Fires and ozone levels are what are reported on the warnings.

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I saw the La Plata County Fairgrounds, and nearby the very big Durango Community Recreation Center

I had a lovely fun visitor outside my window as I composed this on Sunday morning. A female (or juvenile) hummingbird looked in the closed window...at herself in the reflection perhaps. She flew towards the glass, checking it out, then moved on to the next window in the building. I hope she finds some nectar, probably a bit further down than the 4th floor of a brick building!

Sharing with Tuesday's Treasures!

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And speaking of Tom, who frequently shares posts from Rochester NY...I just wanted to mention a newsletter I read (daily?) 

Keith Kron from Keith Kron What Really Matters <keithkron@substack.com>

Keith is a UU minister, who recently moved to Rochester. His comments Monday had to do with how friendly the people are, and different cultures in different cities. 

"In Rochester, the majority of people out on a walk say hello. Or at least nod. That’s not the case in Providence. I’ve been thinking about why.

My continued experience having been to all 50 state and Puerto Rico, ten Canadian provinces, and ten countries is that people are people. It doesn’t matter where you are. Once you get to know them, this is easier to see...."

Now I should watch and form my own opinion of the level of friendliness in Durango, my new home.

 

This week's events

 

Me and my Leo friends!

Yes, my windows were quickly closed when the steam engine toot tooted by this morning around 9 am. They go up to Silverton almost on the hour in the mornings. I have less information about return trips because my west facing windows are shuttered by the blinds to keep out the bright sun in the afternoons.

My son, Russ,  is quite proud of his daughter who was in the Washington Post!

What do you think of Olive Oil Ice Cream?

Our air quality has gone down to moderate due to the nearby fires. But our wind is from the NNE so it's not directly coming our way. I went out before 11 (on Wed. when I wrote this) and didn't notice any problem...but I'm still adjusting to the altitude and using oxygen continuously.

It was delightful going out around 8 and not feeling hot at all! Air quality was ok too. (You may have seen some of these photos before if you ever read my musings on my other blog, Inner Workings.)

I got my exercise bringing things in from the car which were purchased the day before, most of the work is hiking down the long hallway to my apartment.

By Wednesday afternoon I could walk without holding onto the railing...and not be completely out of breath. This altitude of 6512 constantly makes my lungs work harder. My apartment is second from the end!

With windows open at dawn, I was cool enough to wear my Alpaca shawl!

I made buckwheat pancakes for last Sunday night supper. They were ok tasting, but crumbled more than regular wheat ones.

Silly little things to adjust to. 

A dark towel works to combat sunlight streaming along the bottom of the bedroom blinds,

I often nap around 2-3 when that sun just blasts against these windows.

The first train of the day is a diesel. The steam engine seems to pull the second one. I don't know if this is the pattern all the time, but it seemed to be this last week.

A nice fortune-teller type forecast! I do hope you have all these things come your way!

Last Sunday at the Animas River

 

Several white water rafts went by, with the steering person directing the raft across the river to the right channel. Flow of river is directly right to left here, but some shoals are near the far bank. My  daughter-in-law said earlier in the week the water had been orange from the  upstream mud and rain.

In the past mines would have their runoff going into the river, but environmentalists have restricted them to using pools for the toxic mining leavings.

My apartment building is right under the yellow arrow pointing at the park. It's very convenient!

 I already introduced you to the Rotary Park on the Animas River. These photos were all taken there.

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Tuesday morning I shopped in three different stores before 11. I had to leave the lamp shade and the two folding chairs, and the two gallons of distilled water in the car for later pack-ups to bring upstairs in my little rolling cart (on the elevator then down the long hall). I got all the groceries from Walmart and Natural Grocery in it however! 

Goodwill provided two used folding chairs with padded seats at a nice low cost. I should have waited to get the lamp shade there, rather than Walmart...but it is done.

I'm so thrilled the stores all had grocery carts to carry my oxygen generator (5 pounds) and my purse (it balances out pretty well) and then can lean on the cart.  Fortunately at 8 am Walmart was pretty deserted, so my slow wandering didn’t cause many people worries. Actually I saw two other people aimlessly wandering without carts.!

I was sad to look out my window at 1:30 to see the haze of smoke from  fire south of Pagosa Springs, about 65 miles east of Durango. It cleared by 5 when I next peaked through the blinds. I can’t open the blinds till after sunset, being a west facing apartment. And the 100 degrees on the other side of the glass also makes it a good idea to have another barrier. But being up in the mountains the nights cool down to 58 sometime before dawn. 

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"It goes without saying that you should never have more children than you have car windows." Erma Bombeck

water lillies. oil on canvas...frank depietro...american painter....landenberg..pennsylvania...born 1975

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