Out with the old year

The leaves are finally starting to fall from the trees here in Arizona.  We don't get the gorgeous reds that are seen in the east.  It's mostly yellow and browns that we see.  I thought this shot might be prefect for the last day of 2011.  Out with the old, in with new year!  Celebrate safely everyone!

Big Bug Santa

Even the giant praying-mantis got in the holiday spirit this year!  Click this link to Scottsdale Daily Photo to see Julie's shot of him at night.

Holiday Bench

Looks like a good place to soak up some winter sun!

Christmas Tree - Boojum Tree

This Christmas Tree at the Desert Botanical Gardens looks very festive compared the the Boojum Tree right behind it.

Ruffled Feathers

This curved-billed thrasher was getting his feathers ruffled by the wind as he sat atop this cactus.

Caroling

Caroling with good friends on Christmas Eve!

Most years we are accompanied by a piano.  This year it was violins!  Wonderful!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday to my sister Judy of Prescott Area Daily Photo.  Stop by and wish her a happy birthday!

*Someone from the city of Phoenix took this beautiful photo of the Tovrea Castle.

Many Christmas Trees

This house covered their yard with lots of Christmas trees all decorated individually!  Have a  wonderful Christmas Eve everyone!

Santa Cactus

This cactus has taken on a festive holiday mood!

Dramatic Skies

I was with a group of friends on Sunday attending a reunion at a good friend's house in Queen Creek Arizona (about 30 miles south east of Phoenix).  Our friend's house sits on a mountain side with a wide view of the cities below in all directions.  It was a cold and dreary day with layer after layer of dark clouds scooting by all day long.  On the way home we were treated to some spectacular cloud formations set aflame by the setting sun.  We stopped several times to jump out of the car to get some shots before they were all gone.

A big Happy Birthday to my sister Pam in Missouri.  Have a great day!

Christmas, lots of Christmas

Saturday we were out scouting out those over-the-top Christmas decorations and found this house.  The lights were amazing and there were also window displays with all kinds of moving toys.  It was drawing quite a crowd while we were there.

I'm just glad that I wasn't the one who had to climb those palm trees to string these lights.

Stickers & Stickers

On Sunday a very good friend and artist, Ted Wolter had a small private showing of some of his fantastic ceramics.  Those of us there were eagerly snatching up our favorite pieces.  Here is Julie Pace of Scottsdale Daily Photo showing off the price stickers from all of the pieces she bought while posing next to a much more prickly kind of sticker.   She is also holding one of her prized acquisitions.

Our friend Ted is an art teacher at the Chandler-Gilbert Community College and he is also part of the Art Challenge group that I've been involved with for the past year.  You can see some of the art challenge work by all of the artists in the group here and you can see some of Ted's other works here.

And yes, I picked up a few pieces for my collection too!

Patiently waiting

Meet Sam.  Sam was patiently waiting for his people to finish their hamburgers at Zinburger at the Biltmore Fashion Park on Saturday afternoon.  Sam is certainly a handsome fellow with a rather worldly face.

Under Attack

I expected lots of traffic and huge crowds when I went shopping on Saturday but, I didn't expect to be under attack by storm troopers and aliens.  It turns out that as long as I dropped a dollar in the Salvation Army red kettle, I was safe.

If you peek at the reflection in the glass behind this trio, you will see the Biltmore Fashion Park's annual Poinsettia Christmas tree.

The wedding downtown

When I was roaming around downtown last Sunday late afternoon, I happened to pass this wedding party being arranged for photographs right in the middle of a street.  I sat at a stop sign and watched as the photographer lined up the female half of the wedding party in a line right across the middle of the street.  I apologize for the quality of this photo.  I grabbed the camera and shot it right through the windshield.  When I had to move on, I drove around the block in time to see the guys lined up the same way for their photo op.  I really wish I could see those shots, they have to be very unique.

Underside

The underside of the 7th Avenue bridge in downtown Phoenix is very quiet on a Sunday afternoon.

Sky Harbor International Airport

That airplane I featured yesterday was headed here.  This is another telephoto shot taken from a very great distance.  We can only see one terminal here and the airport currently has 3 active terminals.  It's a very busy place, believe me, I spent a lot of time here in the 90's.

Room with a view

If you live in one of the apartments in this downtown tower you get a good view of the incoming flights headed for the airport.  I shot this from a distance using the telephoto lens which makes this plane look as if it's flying a bit too close to the building.  Nothing to worry about.  It was a good distance away.

Roses

Beautiful red and white roses to brighten a rainy day!

Happy Birthday to my very dear friend David!

Keep out....

.....of my Mimosa!  This bee took a hearty interest in my Mimosa at Sunday brunch.  He was persistent but, I never let him get a sip.

Secluded

This is the entrance to a home in the Encanto Palmcroft historic neighborhood.  It is completely surrounded by trees and an entrance wall so you can't see the actual house.  Just this grand entrance.

Interesting Proposition

I saw this guy on a recent light rail trip.  He has an interesting offer to make but, I think I'd want some references.  His definition of "remodel" might not be the same as mine.

Spots and Feathers

I thought this was a rather strange outfit for a ten year old girl!  But, what do I know?

Digeridoo

Here is another shot from the Tempe Arts Festival last weekend.  This fellow had a very large assortment of digerdoos and he wasn't afraid to use them!

Out of Season

While I was at Tovrea Castle last Thursday, I saw this cactus with a gorgeous bloom.  It's not exactly the right time of year for it to be blooming but, it had two more buds that were going to pop out in the next day or two.  The cactus might be a little mixed up but, it was a pleasant sight nonetheless.

Grey Skies

Here is another shot from the Tempe Festival of the Arts last Saturday.  This one is looking over the tops of some of the artist's tents toward the new W6 Residential Towers.  You can see what a menacing sky we had and it lasted all day with spots of rain and hail here and there.  I even heard a loud thunder clap later in the evening.

Back to the Grind

It's Monday.  Time to go back to work.  I'm fortunate that I don't have to use the freeways through the city in order to get to and from work.  One day a week ago, I attended an afternoon event and made the mistake of getting on the freeway to head home.  This was the scene as we headed west toward Phoenix with the late afternoon sunset lighting the sky.

"Wok" Man

Yesterday I went to the Tempe Arts and Crafts Festival in downtown Tempe.  It's the biggest festival of it's kind in the valley and it happens twice a year in the spring and in the fall.  Well, yesterday it felt more like winter.  I think this guy was keeping warm from the steam and all that stir frying action.  It looked like interesting 'fair' food but, it was way too cold for me to eat out doors.  I selected a nice warm pub for lunch instead.

I'll have to watch for this guy at another festival (when it's a bit warmer).  I think I'd like to try his noodles.

Cotton

I've mentioned the 5 C's on this blog before.  If you grew up in Arizona you were probably taught about the five C's that drove the Arizona Economy between the 50's and 70's, Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, and Climate.  Cotton is still a large industry in Arizona as evidenced by this cotton field in south Phoenix.

No matter how many times I've seen these fields, I still marvel at such an interesting plant.

Christmas Lights

Thursday morning I joined fellow volunteers at the Torvrea Castle to change the lights to colorful Christmas light for the season.  Every year the white bulbs that line the outside of the castle are switched out for red, green, and blue lights for the holiday season.  We all donned Santa Clause hats and set about changing the lights on a cloudy, blustery morning.  I think I might be ready to tackle my own decorations at home now.

Theme Day: Action Shot

I was so busy during the month of November that I completely forgot about theme day.  I didn't even know what the theme was until two days ago.  So, I had to pull something out of the archives for this one.  Here we have one of the hoop dancers who performed at the Heard Museum last spring.  There is certainly a lot of action that goes on when these men and women dance.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants