Happy Earth Day, people! Today I had an errand to run in a hard to reach area not too far from the center of the city. It was much more convenient to just take the bus. There weren't too many streets around where I went, so there was a great deal of walking involved. Luckily, the area was full of parks and footpaths. Along the way, I got the idea of capturing the various monuments to historical figures.
Here is a Polish war hero from revolutionary times, erected by Polish citizens in 1904. Long ago, it was located in a different neighborhood north of the city. A couple of blocks down the parkway was another Polish figure, possibly. I don't know as there seemed to be a lack of information on this one.
I took this photo a bit off center in an effort to make it look like the statue is staring right at you. Can you feel his piercing gaze?
At the far end of the parkway, neat the planetarium, was a figure that kept with the theme of space exploration.
It is Nicolaus Copernicus, the man who formulated the modern view of the solar system, with the sun at the center as opposed to the Earth. Even better, there is a gull perched perfectly atop his head.
Near the natural history museum sits a watchful Olmec head replica. The actual heads were much more massive! It sits in a shaded garden area, which explains the mossy accents. I like the green color. It makes the head look like it's actually as ancient as the lost civilization itself.
Much mystery surrounds the Olmecs. They predated the Aztecs. The heads also have "strange" features not characteristic or usually associated with Meso-American peoples.
Nearing the end of my journey, I came upon an interesting sculpture in a native flower garden.
A former co-worker told me long ago that this sculpture was designed by Herb Alpert. I couldn't believe it. You mean the guy that created the songs Tijuana Taxi and The Spanish Flea? The very same. He also wrote the meme song Ladyfingers. There were a great many of these sculptures. Each one was a bit different but they were all tall.
I thought I would find one last statue of a person near the bustling streets but was disappointed to still find it missing. It was taken down during a time of social unrest some years back. The good news is the area was fenced off while much construction equipment was hard at work. Maybe they'll bring it back soon.
I walked many miles today, more than usual. I can tell because my ankles hurt. All in all, it was a great Earth Day walk through the parks. I even saw many beautiful birds such as cardinals, red-winged blackbirds, and some less common types of sparrows. I usually find walks a bit boring. I'm more of a biker, plus there's not much to see in my neighborhood. This was a nice change of pace though. Now I think I'll read while I rest my hooves.
Thanks for stopping by!