Scaffolding, and Squirrels

Linda Burton posting from Denver, Colorado – Port-a-potties behind a chain-link fence were my first glimpse of the Colorado state capitol this afternoon, not a pretty sight. Snow and cold gone, warm blue skies lured me downtown; I turned right off Colfax and parked on Grant Street behind the capitol. Straight in front of me in the paved circular walkway was a statue of a Native American standing over a dying bison, surrounded by prairie grasses, it seemed. The dome of the capitol was encased in scaffolding, the lower part further sheathed in a blanket of white. On the left more scaffolding stretched from the ground to the top of the building, cordoned off by that chain-link fence. I’d heard about the renovation needs; the rusting iron and falling building chunks that had resulted in “hair-netting” the dome since 2007. So now it’s underway, a three-year, $17 million project. Camera in hand, I began to walk around the block, hoping to get a clearer picture of exactly what was going on. Scaffolding, and squirrels, were what I found. » read more