Art Challenge Meeting

 

I'm just now getting around to posting about our most recent Art Challenge meeting.  The subject was "Beach" and once again, we had a nice variety of pieces to admire even if three of our members were unable to make the meeting.

To the left is Glenda's contribution, a shadow box of shells collected on different beaches she's visited.  I love it!

Julie took a class in abstract art and composed this colorful creation filled with the colors of the beach.  She enjoyed the class very much and said she would be experimenting some more with the techniques she learned.

Jim created one of his paper cuts and prints and this time put it behind a porthole he purchased on a recent trip.  How fun is this?

My contribution was pretty simple this time.  I created a photo book filled with some of my favorite "beach" photos from over the years.  I'll be able to enjoy this book for years to come.

Rainy Weekend

 

We had a very rainy weekend this last few days.  On Friday I was at my friend Glenda's house when it started to rain very hard.  It rained on and off for the three hours I was there and there even was a bit of hail at one time.  When I left to go home, I found the streets flooded in several locations.  I made it safely but a mere few blocks away, the fire department had to rescue some people whose car got flooded in the fast moving water.

I took this photo yesterday morning from my place.  The view of Camelback Mountain shrouded in clouds shows just how grey and rainy it was.  If you look very closely at the center of this photo, you can see a hint of some waterfalls coming off the mountain.  Water comes roaring down the mountain and that's what causes the flash floods in the streets below.

I wanted to capture some of the leaves with water droplets on them.

Then I spotted this tiny little hummingbird flying around.  The rain didn't seem to bother him.

Theme Day: Happy

 

Thanks heavens for my archive of photos!  I took this photo many, many years ago back when I was practicing my skills at portraiture.  This happens to be my niece who is a grown woman now and living in Missouri.  I figure that a big Teddy Bear would make just about anyone happy so it certainly fits the theme.

City Daily Photo Bloggers post a photo on the first of the month based on a theme and today's theme is "Happy".  You can click here to see other happy photos!

The Halloween Guests Have Arrived

 

I took a drive over to my old neighborhood to see if the group from the Skeleton Clan were making their seasonal appearance at my former neighbor's house.

Every year it seems like the group gets a little bigger as more and more members of the clan join in on the fun.  

That fellow with the red scarf must have been a basketball player in a his previous life.

I hate to break it to that doctor but I think he might be a little late to save that guy on the ground.  

It's good to know that this group is still around and making their annual appearance.  

Happy Halloween!

Witchy Woman

 

I don't think this is what Don Henley and Bernie Leadon of The Eagles had in mind when they wrote score to "Witchy Woman" but she certainly fits right in to the Halloween atmosphere we are experiencing as the month of October winds down.

I spotted these two ladies recently sitting among a lot of different Halloween decorations.  They both seem quite happy to be there.

A Seasonal Champagne Thursday

 Back in June I did a post about my Thursday evening indulgence of champagne and friends and how I started taking a photo of my champagne glass every time we meet.  I took the photo above last Thursday and tonight we will be using those same two glasses.  I saw those glasses for sale among a lot of holiday decorations and made one of those impulsive decisions to buy two and use them for the October Thursday events.  The glasses combined with my friend Glenda's seasonal decorations make a fun Halloween style photo.  

More Pumpkins

 

A pumpkin with a little Mexican style.  This one was greeting customers at a Mexican Restuarant.  I like his happy face and that great sombrero. 

This one was in a window and it was so neatly carved that I couldn't resist a photo.  Upon closer inspection, I think this might be a ceramic pumpkin, not a real one.  No wonder that carving looks so neat.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

 

When I saw this giant pumpkin at the Desert Botanical Garden, I immediately thought of Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin.  

Believe it or not, the very first airing in the U.S. of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" was on this day in 1966!  

The great pumpkin is 60 years old today.  That's worth celebrating!

Pumpkin Season!

 

It's the time of year when carved pumpkins show up in a variety of places.  This fellow was part of the Halloween decorations at the entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden.

Here's the full scene.  I looked for some "Strange Garden" things while on my walk but the only thing I could find was that giant praying mantis I posted yesterday. However, it was dog day too and there were plenty of dogs attached to their humans at the garden that day.

Praying Mantis

 

I took a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday morning and I found this praying mantis lurking on one of the garden trails.

This is the work of Alex Heveri and was gifted to the garden by Cliff Douglas.  

I found quite a few more sculptures created by the same artist and all appear to be gifts to the garden.  I'll show those sometime in the next few weeks.

Super Bloom

 

I have a few more photos from the new exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden called Super Bloom.  Walking down one of the main paths, I can see some pretty flowers blooming in distance.

The path leads to this central location where one of the glass houses sits surrounded by some pretty blooms.

At another location we see this large mural of cactus blooms in a picture-perfect "Instagram" location.  I've seen lots of people posing here for those instagram moments.

Above is another one of those picture perfect spots.

To the left is large lantern hanging in one of the covered gardens.

It's a very photogenic exhibit. 

Pumpkins, Squash and Gourds

 

The fall decorations at the Desert Botanical Garden are all centered around pumpkins, squash and gourds.  Remember that tree composed of pumpkins that I posted at the beginning of the month? The theme of pumpkins, squash and gourds was followed all over the garden.

I believe that purple one on top is painted in some way.  I did a search about what kind of pumpkin is purple and there doesn't seem to be any naturally that color.

I did see several of these cages filled with a variety of "cucurbita".  

This wreath made of dried flowers and fruit was also an attractive touch.  You get the feeling that fall is in the air even if there are days when the weather isn't agreeing.  

The Queens!

 

There was no need for me to make another trip to the butterfly pavilion because there were plenty of butterflies flying around outside in the open space.  The garden has planted a few more of the butterfly bushes that they like so much and a group of Queen butterflies were taking full advantage.

The two above were sharing one of the blooms.

This one latched on to a small bloom.

Like I did while watching the quail mentioned yesterday, I also spent some time watching the butterflies enjoying all the pretty blooms on the butterfly bush.  These little miracles of nature are worth watching anytime the opportunity arises.

A Covey of Quail

 

When I was at the Desert Botanical Garden last Sunday, I stopped at the snack bar for a drink and then I sat for a while and watched all the quail running around the area looking for scraps.  They are so much fun to watch.

Many of them took to the table tops looking for crumbs that might have been left behind.  That gave me an opportunity to zoom in on a few of them and snap some photos.

They were busy little fellows checking all the possible places where the humans might have dropped something they could nibble on.  Occasionally they would scatter as people passed by and a few times they chased each other trying to hold on to some territorial space.

All in all, they kept me entertained for the 20 or so minutes I was there. I love watching them go about their little quail routines.  They were always very quick to check any tables that had been recently vacated.  

A Tale of Two Roses

 

Right after that short downfall of rain that I mentioned yesterday ended, I walked past the spot where the garden has several rose plants.  That's when I saw this beautiful rose.  What could be prettier than a perfect rose covered with raindrops?

I snapped the photo above with my camera and the one to the left with my iPhone using the portrait mode.  I like them both.

This rose was also looking very nice covered with raindrops so I snapped this one with the iPhone using the normal photo setting.

Then I snapped a second shot with the portrait mode on.  

I like them all!  That probably has nothing to do with photo techniques and everything to do with the beauty of the subject.  A rose always makes a good subject.

Caught in the Rain

 

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden on Sunday for a nice walk and at one point I had to take cover to get out of the rain.  My weather app said there was a 40% possibility but that usually means it will pass us by.  This time it didn't.  It was quite refreshing and I enjoyed every minute of it.

And it did last just minutes.  It came down really hard for no more than five or six minutes and then it was okay to walk once again.  

I got some great photos to share this week.  Those overcast skies provided some great light for taking photos.  

Biblical Garden

 

I think this might be a chapel that belongs with the church I mentioned in yesterday's post.  This is where I found that statue.  

The main church must be a very popular because that parking lot I turned into was HUGE.  

I would say that the parking lot was of Biblical proportions and now I see that the little garden is a Biblical Garden.  

And all of this was hidden so far away from the busy street that I had no idea it was there.