Kaleidoscope - View 1

Kaleidoscopic view taken with the lens of my camera held against the lens of the kaleidoscope, at Botanica. Had no idea if this would turn out, but was delighted to see - it did! Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what the actual kaleidoscope looks like from a distance. I think it's ingenious and appropriate for Botanica to offer this fun (and different) view of flowers. Do you see the leaves?... and petals?

Girl reading book

This was taken at Botanica, Wichita's botanical gardens. Weather was hot, and it was taking a toll on the flowers and plants, but this girl (another statue) has a shady spot to read her book in.

Woman and child

Another statue in downtown Wichita - this is a woman with one arm around a child, and the other one pointing as if she's saying "look!" I took the shot from behind in hopes of seeing what she was pointing at. Not sure if it's something about the building across the street, or if there's another piece of public art perched on the traffic pole above them. One of the traffic poles does have a duck perched (bolted down) on it. Some of the small pieces are in such cute and unsuspecting places. It's not uncommon to see real people pointing and saying "Look, there's another one!"

City cow

If you could see this complete scene - you'd see a life size cow standing beside this calf. It's fun for kids to climb on (if it's not too hot) and sit on. As you can imagine if the weather is hot, so are the statues. A bit of history: In the late 1800's, Texas cattlemen drove their Longhorn steer up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene. There was a settlement around a trading post, alongside the Arkansas river, that provided a stop on the way. That settlement grew to become Wichita, Kansas. A cow town.

Boy pushing car

Here's a little boy pushing his car along the downtown streetscape. Notice the small fountains of water behind the back tires, and the turtle in the background near the building. This car is neat in the fact that small children can have a seat in it and pretend like they are driving while their "statue friend" gives them a push. When you were young, did you have a car similiar to this one? I did, and I used my feet to push the pedals under the hood, to make it go. Now a days, riding toys like this one, are battery operated and go with the push of a button. The new styles make for less exercise - but still fun for the kids.

Dog with bird

After passing the statue, (photo posted yesterday of the Fox and Ducks) the next statue seen along the walk is this one. I'm not sure if it's a fox or not, and am unsure if the bird is a duck or a partridge (there's not a pear tree in sight!). What do you all think? Is it a dog or a fox, and what kind of bird does it look like to you?

Dog watching birds

Here's a newspaper stand, with ducks perched on top of it, and a hungry fox watching.
Come back tomorrow to see the rest of this scene. You may also notice in this picture all the wet little footprints which show where happy children were also enjoying this public art.