Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Square - downtown Ocala


Decked out for the holidays with a great big tree and lots of lights, the downtown square is especially pretty at night, which means I'll have to go down there and take a couple of photos.

Click to embiggen.

37 comments:

Memphis MOJO said...

I like this shot, not only because of the pretty colors, but it gives me a sense of what that area looks like.

especially pretty at night, which means I'll have to go down there and take a couple of photos

Can't wait!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

We had those horses everywhere when I lived in Syracuse! Very pretty! :-D

magiceye said...

wow! so colorful bright and beautiful!!

Olivier said...

une belle statue et une version originale du cheval ;)
a beautiful statue and an original version of the horse ;)

tapirgal said...

Great! I love the horse! Re: the steam baths, yes, I would. When I posted about them before, I got some really interesting comments on Facebook about people (some Finnish) who had grown up visiting them as a much-cherished family event. Some came from across the river just to visit the baths. Sounds intriguing to me.

Lee Spangler said...

This is one of the nicest shots of your town. The park with horse and tree look inviting. Btw, Thanks for your sensitive comments on my post regarding War. It helps a lot to get a variety of viewpoints

Small City Scenes said...

I love the harlequin horse. Let's see it at night time with the lights all bright. MB

VP said...

Lovely square, so neat and well kept and love that colorful horse in foreground...
Please go back at night, even better at dusk.

Bergson said...

this horse is a friend of my dog

Hilda said...

I almost didn't notice the Christmas decorations for the wonderfully colorful horse!

bitingmidge said...

It looks exactly like a movie set. Sensational!

Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Wolynski said...

Is that colorful horse part of Xmas or permanent? Wonderful photo.

brattcat said...

Now that's a horse of a different color!

Dan J. said...

LOVE the old town squares. There are very few cities that have them anymore. You may find one here or there..... but not often. The colorful horse really garners a person's attention.

Frank said...

Have you posted this horse before. I think these public art projects (this is a series of painted horses??) are fantastic. I have seen manatees, turtles and swans, but not the horses.

Is this horse always fenced off just just for the holidays?

You will have to capture the lights and decorations.

Leif Hagen said...

That's a beautiful horse statue - cool! Looks like Ocala is really decked out for Christmas!

Lowell said...

@ Frank - Yes, I've posted this horse and a number of others around Ocala in the past...they're part of a community endeavor called "Horse Fever."

There are four (I think) of these horses around the square - all fenced off. In other parts of town, they stand free.

Altogether, as I remember, there are over 50 of these horses statues in Ocala.

Lowell said...

@ Wolynski - See my response to Frank. All the horses are of different colors.

B SQUARED said...

All you need is a little artificial snow and it would be perfect.

Frank said...

I WILL have to pay more attention to ODP, dear teacher. How could I have missed these colorful creatures?

Each one needs a Christmas wreath and bow.

Lowell said...

@ Bergson - You're right. I remember the dog. Perhaps they are distant cousins?

Lois said...

You certainly will Jacob! I like that horse.

Halcyon said...

I love that colorful horsie. Does he light up at night?

jusdealem said...

Very charming..the horse is beautiful!

Cezar and Léia said...

I bet that tree is wonderful at night, I'm anxious waiting for more pictures!
And that horse is fashion, isn't it?
Lovely post!
Happy and colourful!
Léia

Marie said...

Very colorful place. It doesn't look like winter. I like the horse.

Judy said...

This is such a pretty scene! Just what a town square should look like at Christmas time. I want that horse.

cieldequimper said...

Christmas trees amongst leafy green trees always make me chuckle! Jacob, this is a super shot, I love it, I can't wait to see it la nuit !

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, night shots with lots-O-lights!!!

Antjas said...

It is nice to see your "little town". I also see one of the other horses off to the left. I know B Squared said it would look nice with artificial snow, but I was thinking real snow. We are in the midst of a thunder storm right now and this morning it snowed. So I don't think it would be that odd anymore for snow to fall in Ocala.

Lowell said...

@ Antjas - I don't think it has ever snowed in Ocala but I've often thought it might be possible...we do get cold enough on occasion - in the low 30s or high 20s during the night...with the right precipitation level, it could happen. I hope not, though ... had enough of that stuff when I lived in the north country!

Marie-Noyale said...

50 colored horses!!
That's not fare you've got all the color and we are stuck with white...5 inches of snow today 2 hours North of Manhattan!!

joan said...

I like the horse. Never seen one of them penned in like that. He isn't going to escape.

Gunn said...

Looks nice. I look forward to see your evening shots too.

Unknown said...

Looking forward seeing your night shots, Jacob. The horse is pretty cool!

PJ said...

Gosh, that's eye candy for certain! Perfect for Christmas.

Tash said...

looks like a horse of a different color. love its expression too.

"Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again." — Henri Cartier-Bresson