Sunrise….Just down the street

On this morning, the sun appeared to be rising just at the end of this street.

Design Studio

This building is the home of P.S. Studios and design a advertising firm. Their building is built into the ground leaving a narrow band of windows all the way around the top of the building. Building into the ground like this keeps the building cooler and reduces energy costs.

This is the entrance side of the building. In yesterday’s photo you saw a glimpse of the other side.

Urban Living

I have admired these condominiums located in the shadow of the mid-town financial district ever since I discovered them. They have a distinctive look and the three story style is interesting.

I do hate to think about the cost of the energy to keep these condos cool in an Arizona summer. As you can see from the small photo, they have floor to ceiling glass on both sides.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you a little about that low building in the foreground of the top picture.

Sunrise

Looking toward Paradise Valley and Scottsdale Early one morning.

Monsoon…from above

When I returned to Phoenix from a recent trip, we had to fly through one of those monsoon storms that roll into Phoenix and the valley during the late afternoon this time of year. I snapped a few pictures out the window.

Palm Trees & Water

The palm trees look like they are taking a bath in the water of a fountain below them.

The smaller photo shows the fountain which is part of an office complex.

Red Lion

I found this fellow guarding the driveway to a home that was very near where yesterday’s photo was taken. The red light of the morning sun has given him a fiery glow.

Praying Monk at Sunrise

Last November I posted a photo of a Phoenix natural landmark called the Praying Monk. This time I photographed it from the other side and at sunrise with the morning sun making the rock glow with a reddish hue. The rock gets its name from the shape of that outcropping that resembles a monk on his knees with head bowed. It is not as distinct from this side. Click on the link above to see it from the west side.

Bird of Paradise

The flowers on the Bird of Paradise plant are so beautiful but I’ve always found it difficult to photograph them. I think this one turned out exceptionally well.

Here’s the whole plant.

Urban Jungle

I found this little garden area in between some high-rise buildings and it made me think I was in a tropical jungle right in the center of town.

Wally’s Pub

This pub is close to where I work and I had never visited it until last Friday. I walked in the door and felt like I had been transported to England. With the great atmosphere and extraordinarily friendly service I can’t figure out why I hadn’t gone in there before.

When I saw “Bangers and Mash” on the menu I just had to order it. So, here is bangers and mash, American style. It was enough for two meals.

Charity Event

I attended another charity event on Thursday evening where guests were serenaded with the music of Brandon Shepard. Look at the smile on that guitar player's face. It certainly looks like he enjoys his work.

I also donated a print of one of my Chihuly photos for their silent auction. It went to a good home.

Luhrs Tower

When the Luhrs Tower was built in 1929 in downtown Phoenix, it was the tallest building in the city. It is an Art Deco skyscraper built by George Luhrs, a prominent local businessman. It was designed by the architectural firm of Trost & Trost of El Paso Texas.

The construction fence you see in the foreground is part of the new CityScape site. The space will house high-rise office buildings along with retail space and living space.

Lykes House

I’ve featured some of the many Frank Lloyd Wright influenced architecture located in the Phoenix area before on this blog. FLW designed and built many buildings that still remain in the area, some of which are quite prominent. This home built between 1966 and 1968 was the last Wright design built by the original client, Norman and Aime Lykes. Norman Lykes along with his brothers owned the Lykes Brothers Steamship Line. The home is built on the top of a hill in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve area and it must have some pretty amazing views of the city below.

Three Fountains

Over a year ago, I featured a photo of the Executive Tower, a high-rise condominium building in central Phoenix. The architect, Al Beadle who designed the building had no formal architectural training but designed and built not only the tower you can see on the above link, he also built a few homes and other multi-housing buildings. The Three Fountains is one of those multi-housing structures. The building is all single level and all of the units open to this central area featuring fountains and plants. You can see one of Beadle’s signature light fixtures in the foreground. He used this type of light fixture at all of his buildings and they became affectionately known as “Beadle Balls”.

Fire

It is a little early in the year for fires in a fireplace. We are still having 100 plus (38 c) temperatures here in the desert parts of Arizona. So I am admitting that I took this photo last winter at a friend’s cabin. The flames were just too colorful to ignore.

Click the links below to see some other depictions of fire.

Prescott Area Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Garden Cat

This gray cat lives at the Desert Botanical Garden. I’ve seen him many times but last Sunday he followed me down a path for a little ways until he veered off into the brush. I put this little collage together to highlight some of his activities. I have noticed that in the gift shop there is a corner where a cat climbing tower is sitting, so I’m guessing this guy is pretty well cared for by the staff at the garden. What a great place for a cat to live. I saw him many times on my visits for the Chihuly exhibit and he always seemed so calm and totally unperturbed by the thousands of visitors passing through.

Low to the ground

I mentioned on Friday that there were a lot of birds and desert creatures out and about last Sunday at the Desert Botanical Gardens. This black and white snake was slithering about on one of the pathways. He didn’t move very fast on the pavement, but the minute he hit the dirt he took off in a flash.

The Chihuly that stayed behind

I know that many of my readers saw the many photos I and other Arizona bloggers published from the wonderful Chihuly: The Nature of Glass show that ran from November of 2008 through May of 2009. What I haven’t told you is that this piece called Desert Wildflower Towers still remains at the garden. This piece was designed and created especially for this show and for this place in the agave spiral at the garden entrance. It is leased to the garden through May 31st of 2010. This photo also captured an airplane taking off from Sky Harbor International Airport.

Bird’s Eye View

There were a lot of birds and other desert creatures out enjoying the mild weather on Sunday when I visited the Desert Botanical Garden. This quail was perched on the rail of a view point. He appeared to be taking in the view of the desert around him.

I am away for a few days so I won’t be able to comment regularly.

9:00 AM

This last weekend provided some very mild mornings so I took the opportunity to take a walk in one of my favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden. As you can see from this photo of the garden Sundial, it was just before 9:00 AM when I took this photo. I am away for a few days so I won’t be able to comment regularly.

Striped Blooms

This barrel cactus or Ferocactus has beautiful striped blooms that are very attractive to bees as you can see in this photo.

The smaller photo is a close up of the inside of the blossom.

I am away for a few days so I won’t be able to comment regularly.

Signs

I’ve created a little collage of some of my favorite 7th Avenue signs! All of these businesses make up a very popular shopping, antiquing, and eating area in the heart of Phoenix.

I am away for a few days so I won’t be able to comment regularly.

Retro Shopping

There is a section of 7th Avenue near where I live that is chock-full of quaint shops that sell antiques, vintage clothing, vintage records, and art. This photo was taken at one section of the area with a vintage clothing store and a pharmacy next to it. I really love that old neon sign at the end. You can’t tell from the picture, but those spokes flash in a rotating pattern around the wheel in different colors. You also can barely read what it originally said; “Wagon Wheel Building”.

There are many great signs along this area. Tomorrow I’ll show you a few more of these great retro signs.

Monsoon Clouds

One more monsoon cloud shot from Thursday. As I write this, it is raining heavily here in Phoenix. I love it!

Nature’s Paint Brush

Whenever I see storm clouds beginning to form, I make a quick trip over to the Encanto Golf Course so that I can get a wider view. That’s what I did Thursday evening. The storm was pushing in from the east so the sun was illuminating the clouds as they rolled toward the horizon. I think the sky in this one looks like it was painted.

Condominium

High density housing for the birds!

Have a great weekend!

Abstract camera art

I saw this huge wheel of cable and thought the colors and lines were appealing. That’s all, just a little abstract art!

Dinner Party

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful dinner party in a gorgeous home. It’s not often I get to enjoy a formal dinner for twelve people in such beautiful surroundings so I thought I’d share this photo of the beautiful table before the guests were seated. Special thanks to our gracious hosts who provided a delicious meal and warm conversation in a very lovely setting.

Theme Day: Big

Big is such a relative word. Big in relationship to what? A big breakfast to me might be a scrambled egg and two slices of bacon but to someone else it might be 3 scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, 4 slices of bacon, hash-brown potatoes, toast, and fresh fruit. Do you see my dilemma? How big is big? In the end, it was all too confusing so I’ll just show you this big guy who sits in front of the Heard Museum. I call him “Stoneman”.