Winter Walk-Off

A few days ago, Les from A Tidewater Gardener posted a winter walk-off challenge with the following rules:

 

On your own two feet, leave the house and share what can be seen within walking (or biking) distance of your home (if you want to drive to your walk that's OK too). Your post does not have to be about gardening or a travelogue, unless you want it to be. Maybe instead you will find some unusual patterns, interesting shadows, signs of spring, a favorite restaurant or shop, questionable landscaping or local eyesores. Whatever, just keep your eyes and mind open, be creative and have fun, but don't show anything from your own garden. 

 

So, one day I set out on foot to share what I might find along the way.  I thought I'd look mostly for blooms and found  a few but also noticed that there are a lot of interesting buildings in my hood so I decided to share a few of those.

 

This Rhododendron in front of a nearby church has been blooming since just before Valentine's Day.  Perfect!



Parish Hall of Christ Episcopal Church.

One of several older monkey puzzle trees in the neighborhood.  These were quite popular here in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

There are a lot of  beautiful old churches close to where I live.  Here is the lovely limestone First Congregational Church.

A Christian Science Church.



This is the tower of Tacoma First Presbyterain Church built in the early 1920's.

This place is as beautiful inside as it is out.  I've had the pleasure of attending several concerts in this venue. 

If you look closeley at the far right and behind the church you can see another building.

That building is the Bible Presbyterain Church, built right behind the brick church shortly after a theological split took place seventy years ago. 

Remember when drug stores used to look like this? 

 

In the back of someone's truck parked on the street were some signs of gardening.  Is this the kind of mixed bed gardeners are always talking about? 

Who doesn't have a high school in his or her neighborhood that looks like this? 

Originally built  to house a hotel, fire gutted the building before it was completely finished and it was never used for its intended purpose.  You may recognize this as the school in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.

The stadium after which the school was named was originally much larger and could seat 32,000. 

To learn more interesting things about Stadium High School's history, click here or here.

This is one huge old rhododendron trimmed up to allow pedestrians to pass on the sidewalk beneath.

I enjoy the many styles of older homes represented in this part of town.

Camellia blooming near the front door of an apartment building.

And this Edgeworthia chrysantha looking downright delicate.  The grounds of this building were designed and planted by Calendula Nursery back when they were more of a retail nursery. 

A double house whose interesting open corbels make me smile.

This house and the one directly to it's left are mirror images of each other.  This one recently got a nifty new paint job.

 

There you go, a short walk in one part of my neighborhood.  Thanks, Les, for the walk-off challenge, it was a lot of  fun.  Maybe I'll take a few more walks with my camera in hand.

 

For more Winter Walk-Off fun, check out Les's blog at the link at the top of this post!