Happy Halloween

Before I left my old house, I had to wander across the street to my neighbors and get one last photo of their huge Halloween display.  Do you remember these guys from last year and the year before?
I still can't believe they go to all this work every Halloween and I never did figure out what they do with all these guys the rest of the year.  It's not a very big house and it has no garage.  I'll have to remember to drive past next year.  Happy Halloween everyone.  Don't eat too much of that trick-or-treat candy.

Dripping with flavor

These chills are just full of flavor and possibly a little bit of heat too.  But, the drip is coming from the sprinkler system that has just watered them.  Once of these was sliced up and scattered on top of the pizza I told you about yesterday.  I bet these would also be good chopped up in a curry!

Pizza night

Since I've just moved in to my new place, I don't have a lot to eat on hand right now so last night I went to The Parlor, the pizza place I featured just last month.  It's now in my neighborhood so it wasn't that far away.  I was by myself so I ate at the the pizza counter (with the great parlor chairs).  Eddie, one of the pizza chefs behind the counter stopped several times to talk to me and make sure I was enjoying my pizza and telling me about other pizzas he recommends.  Eddie is certainly an asset to this restaurant.  I really enjoyed talking to him.

When Eddie was busy making pizzas, I was mesmerized by the fire in the pizza oven.  It was kind of like watching a fireplace.

Carved Pumpkins

There were some expert pumpkin carvers on hand at the Pumpkin Festival but, I didn't see any really scary ones this year.  There was one with Mickey Mouse but it was sitting behind the others so I couldn't get a shot of it.

They did do one with the Desert Botanical Garden trade mark on it.  I'm guessing that one stayed on site after the festival was over.

Pony Rides

I made a brief stop at the pumpkin festival at the Desert Botanical Garden early Sunday morning and saw that the kids were already lined up for the pony rides.  This little girl, all decked out in her fairy costume, looked like she was thoroughly enjoying her ride on the white pony.

While this pony looks like he's saying "okay, who's next".

One I've been saving..

Back in late August on one of my trips to the Desert Botanical Garden, I found this unusual looking bloom growing on a plant that was growing in water.  I was determined to find out what it was before I posted the photo of it but, my searches on the internet were fruitless.  So I emailed the garden with the question.  It turns out that it's a Spider Lily or if you want to be technical, a Hymenocallis sonorensis.

It was growing in the little watering hole by the shady spot where I like to sit every now and then.  I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it before.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm off to "that toddlin' town".

Nice days for golf are here

The days are getting nice to be outside and pretty soon the golf courses will fill up with eager duffers.  This is a view of the golf course at the Phoenician Resort.

For the View

Every now and then I take a drive way out to north Scottsdale and wander around the foothills to look at the houses.  There are quite a few that sit on the mountainside and most like this one have long patios so residents and can take in the view.

And that view can be quite nice.  Like this one of the McDowell mountains.  I even managed to capture a wind devil on the left side of this photo.  Wind devils are little mini-tornados of dirt and dust that the wind has managed to stir up.

Ghosts and Gobblins

It's that time of year when these guys start showing up in the neighborhood.  This guy doesn't look all that scary.  I think I can get past without any incident.

Tudor Manor

I'm a succor for a tudor style home and this huge one fits the bill perfectly.  It's even got big trees around it to enhance the country feel.  This one is located in the Arizona Biltmore Estates.

Cute as a bug

Isn't this the cutest little car?  I first spotted these cute little Fiats when I was in Italy almost three years ago.  A few months after returning from that trip, they started to show up on the streets of Phoenix.  Now I see quite a few of them but this one caught my eye with those fancy wheels and that racing stripe trim.  It just looks fun!

A Break from Unpacking

On Sunday morning I decided to take a little break from unpacking boxes to take a short walk at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I hadn't been there since August and it was about time I saw what was going on.

And, what was going on was the Monarch Butterfly display.  I made my way through the pavilion and snapped a few photos of these beauties who appeared to be quite happy flying from one flower to another.

Now, back to those boxes!

Fire in the sky

Thursday evening when I was making one more run between the old house and the new house, I happened to catch another fiery sunset.  This one was so dramatic that I pulled into a parking lot to snap a few photos.  As I was taking the photos I heard the unmistakable honking of a flock of geese flying over and I just barely caught them in the upper left corner of the above photo.

I love these dramatic sunsets that we've been getting lately.  Too bad I wasn't somewhere clear of power lines and street lights to capture this one.

Green chairs

There is a tiny little Mexican Restaurant in old town Scottsdale that I go to every now and then and they have these green chairs in the side dining room.  I happened to catch them one day when the room was quiet so I snapped a photo to catch all those empty chairs in their matching color.

    The place is called Frank and Lupe's Old Mexico.  It's small but has good food and a friendly staff.                                                                                                                                                                                

X Marks the Spot

This house has an interesting sculpture in the front yard.  It appears to be made of stainless steel and is in the shape of two "X" shapes with a cross bar over the two.  It's very sleek and modern like the house but, I must admit it looks like something you would find on a commercial property not in front of a home.
(Today is move day.  I apologize if I can't make it to all of your blogs.)

Ornaments

The owners of this home have added a collection of clay ornaments over their garage door.  

 

I'm going to lose my internet connection today because of the move.  I should have the new connection up sometime late in the afternoon.  Just wanted to mention it in case I can't get to all of your blogs.  

Rustic

I found this rather rustic chair at a local nursery.  It certainly doesn't look to be very comfortable but, I supposed in the right setting it would look good in a garden setting maybe holding a potted plant.

Bright Colors

I spotted these colorful balloons outside of a small restaurant and I actually turned into the parking lot of the place just to take a photo of them.  I guess I'm really drawn by bright colors.  So, I thought I'd share them with you and maybe brighten up your Tuesday (or Wednesday for those down under).

I'm deep in moving mode this week.  The movers come on Friday and I still have lots to do.  At this stage, I can't wait for next week when it will all be done.  Well, all except some unpacking.  I'm sure I'll be doing that for the next few weeks.

I think I see.....

...some window washers up there.

A little closer look and I see that it's a paint company.

A little closer still and I see the guys at work.  

Colorful Sunset

We had another colorful sunset Friday evening.  I spotted it as I was leaving the house and managed to snap these two pictures.  We had some rain last week and I think this was the last of the lingering clouds.

Have a great Sunday!

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Come see some fall colors in the city of London.

Bench with a garden view

Stop and smell the.....petunias??  Do petunias have a scent?  I'm not sure.  This bench is located on the grounds of a shopping complex in downtown Phoenix called the Arizona Center.  There are lots of places in this attractively landscaped center for worker's in the surrounding high-rise buildings to take a break from their work.  You could take your brown-bag lunch down to this bench and sit by the flowers for a little lunch-time R & R.

Getting in the spirit

I went to the first pre-season Phoenix Suns game with my friend Janet Wednesday night.  This young man was getting into the basketball season spirit with is face paint and fancy hat.  The team played a team from Brazil and they were pretty good players.  The Suns won but, they had to fight for it.  

One last bloom

My echinopsis cactus gave me one last bloom before I move away.  I'm so glad I noticed it when I got up early in the morning.  It gave me an opportunity to get a photo before sunrise.

And then, when it was lighter, I took another one.  One last show before I move away from this house.  I'll have to get another cactus like this one for the new place.  Cactus seems to be the only thing in can grow successfully.

Layers

There's a house in there somewhere.  This hillside house in north Phoenix has layers of wall surrounding it up the side of the hill.  From the street level, you can't see the house at all.

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are a most interesting insect.  If you examine their bodies closely, they look more mechanical than organic.  I found this one sitting atop a century plant.  They eat small insects like mosquitos and flies so, they like to sit in high places to watch for good sources of food.

Com'in Around the Corner

There is a point on the light rail at Camelback Road and Central Avenue where the rail line takes a turn to the west.  I caught this train making that turn across traffic.  you can see all the cars lined up at the stop light.  There is a huge park and ride station here that I have used quite often when I'm heading downtown using the light rail.

Big Clouds

I spotted this big cloud hanging over the top of Camelback Mountain so I drove to the top of the parking garage at Biltmore Fashion Park to get a photo of it.  At first I didn't like those light poles in the way but, I kind of like they way they lead the eye toward the mountain.

The Niche

I found this little niche on the side of a house recently I and liked that the owners had put a colorful pot in there to accent the wall.

Pom-Poms

Is it just me or do those trees in front of this house remind you of pom-poms?  I've seen trees trimmed like this in a couple of places around town.  They certainly make you take notice of this house.

Tower of boxes

This tower of boxes is even tall and wider than when I took this photo a few days ago.  I'm in the process of moving and my rooms are all full of boxes everywhere right now.  As you can tell from that bookcase, I still have a way to go but, it should all be done by mid October.  The ironic thing is that my good friends Julie and Dave (you know them from Scottsdale Daily Photo and Tamarindo Costa Rica Daily Photo) are also in the process of moving so we are all knee deep in boxes, bubble wrap and tissue paper.  I'm looking forward to the new abode but, the moving part is a real pain!

Theme Day - Movement

The October 1st theme for City Daily Photo bloggers is "Movement" and I thought these tiny little fast moving hummingbirds were a good choice for the theme.  This one's tiny wings are moving so fast you can't even see them.

If you would like to see how other bloggers have depicted movement, click here.