Brown Anole Climbing a Wall

A couple of days ago, when I went out at lunch time, I happened to catch movement out of the corner of my eye.  A little tiny lizard was climbing the retaining wall in our parking lot.  I believe it is a Brown Anole.

The brown anole has pronounced patterns on his back compared to the green anole.  The brown anole is of course more brown and the green more green.  Both anoles have the ability to change color to match their environment.  The brown anole is actually an invasive species while the green anole is a native species in the United States.

This brown anole blends in perfectly against this retaining wall.  If he wouldn't have moved, I wouldn't have noticed him at all.

Office Buildings in the Golden Hour

As the sun set, the last rays of sunlight snuck in under low-hanging clouds to bring these office buildings to a high, silvery, shine.  While a beach and a palm tree would be ideal, even in a city, sunsets can be spectacular.

Cobb County, Georgia, Office Buildings in the Cumberland Community Improvement District (CID)

These columns of buildings lie just off of I-285, the Perimeter highway, that encircles Atlanta, Georgia.  They always shine in the evening.  Often, they take on a coppery glow when the sunsets are red. 

Ancient and Modern meet in the Cumberland CID

Within the Cumberland CID, there are some very interesting places to take pictures.  This statue in front of a Latin-influenced restaurant, Cinco, provides an interesting foreground for the shiny new office building in the background.

Woodstock City Park & Veterans Memorial Photos - Woodstock, Georgia

Sometimes it seems that the smaller suburban towns around Atlanta have trouble creating that quintessential southern town square.  If you've ever seen episodes of In the Heat of the Night, you know the kind of town square that I'm talking about.  It has to have a gazebo, a statue, some fountains, some sidewalks to stroll and some park benches.  It also needs have beautiful azaleas, possibly some magnolias, and a variety of flowers.  The perfect town square needs to be surrounded by shops and restaurants that are good, but not pretentious.  On a summer evening, you need to be able to hear a distant train whistle.  Unfortunately, for many of the towns surrounding Atlanta, they were the wrong size at the wrong time and their founding fathers never had all the elements required for a great town square.  But, today, more and more towns are taking a shot at creating a nice town square as a focal point for their communities.  Once such town is Woodstock, Georgia.

Woodstock City Park - Complete with Fountain & Gazebo!

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, it's entirely fitting that we post some photos of Woodstock City Park.  It serves as a town square for Woodstock.  It has a Gazebo and a fountain.  It even has an amphitheater just down the hill.  But, it also had something more important.  It has a place for the town to remember it's veterans and it also has a spot for remembering the victims of 9/11.  We'll post those pictures on another important day.

Woodstock Memorial

As a modern town square, it doesn't have anything to commemorate the soldiers of the Confederacy.  Perhaps in these days of decaying race relations, that's a good thing.  There is no need for controversy.  But, if it did memorialize Confederate dead, it would not be a bad thing.  They were soldiers who fought to defend their states (which had been thought to be sovereign members of a union), they served their communities well, they were not the aggressors in the conflict, they were Americans, and they are dead.  But, this modern memorial is about America, veterans, and freedom.  It's a positive thing in negative times.
 

Woodstock, Georgia, Memorial

Today's modern memorial in Woodstock remembers soldiers who fought for America's freedom.  It shows that the citizens appreciate their veterans and their fallen soldiers.  The  memorial is a beautiful little place in the center of a bustling community.  While the park isn't quite ringed by shops and restaurants they are all within walking distance.  The railroad tracks pass right through this town and are just feet away.  The train depot is a restaurant now.  The mill is an apartment complex.  Time moves on.  But, sometimes, it can pause for just a little while.

All in all, Woodstock City Park is a beautiful place.  The town has done itself proud and it has done right by its veterans.

Confederate Cannon near Kennesaw Mountain

Here is a Confederate Cannon in earthworks near Kennesaw Mountain.  Kennesaw Mountain and the surrounding area is an American Civil War battlefield just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.  A reminder of the War Between the States, this old cannon is part of a fortification system near Kolb's Farm.  For more information about the battle, check out the Battle of Kolb's Farm from the American Civil War Trust.

Confederate Cannon Near Kolb's Farm

 

Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel - Callaway Gardens

This is a film photo that I took many years ago of the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel in Callaway Gardens near Columbus, Georgia.  I used a Canon EOS Elan 7e 35mm SLR camera.

Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel

The chapel is home to a rare Moller pipe organ and is popular as an intimate wedding chapel for up to 75 guests.

Happy New Year 2017 - Alpharetta Holiday Lights

Happy New Year!  This photo was taken with my Samsung Galaxy S7 cell phone in Alpharetta, Georgia.  This star was part of their holiday lights and the Alpharetta city hall is framed in the background.