Calico Prickly Pear

Back in June of 2014, I visited the Four Seasons Resort in the far northern reaches of Scottsdale.  It is a beautiful southwestern style resort.  I posted a few photos from there a while back.

I didn't post this photo of a calico prickly pear located in the lobby of the resort.

It was located up against a window so it was difficult to photograph the whole thing.  It was made of a mosaic of glass pieces.

When I went outside the resort I found a real prickly pear that looked pretty good up against the stucco walls of the resort.

Sunrise on the Lagoon

I don't live near Encanto Park any longer but, when I did I used to race over there whenever I saw an interesting sunrise or sunset happening.  It was a great place to catch both events.  I took this photo back in December of 2008 at sunrise and the cool air and warm water created a bit of a fog over the lagoon.

Paper Kite

I haven't been out to the Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale for a couple of years now.  It might be time for another visit.  I took this photo in March of 2014 of a paper kite butterfly enjoying the flavors of these tiny white flowers.

Mostly White

In June of last year, I posted this photo in Flickr for a macro group called "Macro Mondays".  You post a theme based macro photo every Monday.  I've enjoyed the challenge of creating a macro photo based on the chosen theme for the week.  For this particular week, the theme was "Mostly White" and I entered this photo.  I like the photo so much, I had it printed on canvas at 16 x 20.  It turned out beautifully.

A Hawaiian Luau

Last March, I volunteered to take photos for a fund-raising event for an organization that my friend Janet belongs to. The theme of the party was Hawaiian Luau.

This young lady was demonstrating the steps to a traditional hula dance.

And, then she attempted to teach some of the ladies at the party how to do the hula along with her.

I'd say everyone had a great time.

That Castle

If you've been following my site for a long time, you probably remember when my friend David and I worked with the City of Phoenix to help get the Tovrea Castle open to the public.  I'm so glad this historic Phoenix landmark in our city is thriving today.  I hope it will soon start hosting events.  It's a great place for a small gathering of people.  I took this photo back in November of 2010.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting an English university town.

The Cool-Down

I've featured photos from "Arizona Falls" park in Phoenix before on this site.  What I hadn't mentioned is that there is a running and cycling track that runs along he canal and right past this park.  Whenever I stop there I always see runners, walkers and cyclists using the track.  On this day back in April of 2015 I saw these two runners who found the perfect place to cool down after their run.

They just let the cool breeze off of the splashing water to cool themselves off.

A Book Event

In January of 2015, I took photos of a book launch event for a friend.  The book was called "Laid Open - 21 Men" and it consisted of interviews with 21 men known to the author Rea Bennett.  My close friend David was one of the men in the book.  This is David greeting guests at the event.

And, here is David next to his photograph that was used in the book along with some of the dialog from the book.  The portrait was taken by Troy Aossey who took all of the photos for the book.  He did an amazing job with David's portrait.  It really looks fantastic.

The Founder of Scottsdale

The Winfield Scott Memorial is located on the Scottsdale Civic Center Mall area right next to the spiral stairway lookout.  It was commissioned through the Scottsdale Public Art program to honor the couple, Winfield and Helen Scott, the founders of Scottsdale Arizona.

Apparently, the sculpture was based on an old photograph with Scott standing next to "Old Maude" while his wife is seated side-saddle.

The artist is listed as George-Anne Tognoni.

I took this photo back in February of 2013.

The Friendly Skies

At least I hope they are going to be friendly!

Later today I'll be heading off on another adventure and losing about 8 hours along the way.  I'll be gone for two weeks but as I always do, I've posted ahead so that I won't miss a day.  I tried to think of a theme for while I was away and finally decided that I would scour my archives for photos I've never posted and see what I come up with.  So I have a rich assortment on a variety of subjects.  Enjoy!

Yoga??

This little guy looks like he's doing a yoga exercise.

Actually, he was getting a drink from this fountain but as I snapped the shutter he got himself into this strange position.  When I downloaded the photo, I had to laugh.  

Sculpture Exhibit

Last Thursday evening I attended the opening for a sculpture art exhibit at the Shemer Art Center.  My good friend and fellow "Art Challenge" member had two sculptures in the exhibit.

That's Tim Keneipp with one of his sculptures titled "Frank: an homage Taliesin"

It does have a sort of Frank Lloyd Wright look to it, doesn't it?

I had Tim pose with his wife Rita King next the the other piece that he had in the show.  This one is called "Chaos I".

The show drew an impressive crowd for such a small gallery.  I was pleased to see so many people turn out for this great exhibit.

One other piece that I admired was this one called "Trinity" by artist Robbie O'Carroll.

I have a few more from this show that I liked but, I'll save those for a future post.

Congratulations Tim for being selected for this show!  All of us in the Art Challenge Group are very proud of your accomplishment.

Houses with Turrets

I found a neighborhood of new homes, some complete and some still under construction where all the houses had these round turret-like features.

Some of them where all brick like the one in the first picture and some were stucco covered like above.  Every single house here had one of these rounded features.

I must say, it makes for an interesting neighborhood of homes.

It's going to be a gated community although the gates were open when I was there.  Even the gatehouse is a rounded building that almost has a menacing look to it.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a truly ancient church in London.

An Unidentified Sculpture

When I was driving around in the south Phoenix industrial/business park area, I came across a sculpture that literally stopped my in my tracks.  For one thing, it's huge!  For another it's amazing.  The sad part is, I can't find any information on it.

I went into a couple of businesses near by hoping someone would know something about it but no luck.  

I did an exhaustive search on the internet typing all sorts of combinations of descriptions, no luck.

I even tried the City of Phoenix public arts list with no luck

If you happen to be a local reader and you know something about this sculpture please leave a comment or email me.  I'd love to know who to give credit for this fantastic piece.  It's located on University Drive and Elwood which is around 32nd street.  It is an amazing sight to see in person.

P.S.  One of my readers found the info on this sculpture.  It's called "Tryst Marker" by Fred Borcherdt who is based in Tucson.  It's made of steel and is administered by the Southbank Property Owners Association!  Thanks Jim!

Eye Catching Red Trim

While I was exploring the industrial parks that have filled in on the south side of the Salt River bed, I crossed back into Phoenix and found a few more new places.  This one with the red trim stood out.  There was no sign out front to identify an owner or tenant so I drove up toward the door and the only sign was for the property management company JLL.  I looked them up but they appear to be a huge company with properties all over the country so finding this one wasn't in the cards.

It is a very striking building but I have no idea who works there.

Flaming Sculpture

When I was in Tempe a week ago, I drove around a new commercial/industrial area with lots of business complexes.  One of them had this gorgeous sculpture out front.

The place is called the Liberty Center at Rio Salado and it was an attractive complex made even nicer with these artistic touches.

I enjoyed snapping some photos of this sculpture made of metal and filled with colorful broken glass.

The New Dam

Today's post isn't as sexy as yesterday's post but, here is the new dam on the Tempe Town Lake that I mentioned in yesterday's post.  A few years ago I posted a photo of the original dam which was an inflatable rubber bladder.  That old dam proved to be no match for the wicked Arizona sun and at one time the lake had to be drained because the dam broke.  So recently this new and improved dam was put up using much stronger materials that won't whither away as the sun beats down on them.

This new dam looks like it will do the job nicely.

What a Surprise

Weekend before last, I got in my car and headed out to find something interesting to photograph.  I actually had been thinking that it was getting harder and harder to find something interesting and new for the blog.  So, I started to drive and found myself in Tempe and decided to park at the Tempe Center for the Arts on the Tempe Town Lake and get some photos of the new dam they recently installed.  So, I snapped a few photos of the dam and then wandered over toward the center and when I rounded I corner I came upon this scene of four ladies posing for photos in their sparkly swimwear.  I use the term swimwear loosely, because I'm quite certain these sequin studded pieces of fabric have never been exposed to swimming pool water.

After snapping a few photos of my own, I went inside the center and based on the vendors I saw, I figure there must have been some kind of fitness contest going on.  There were quite a few vendors selling fitness clothing.

And here I was feeling like there isn't anything interesting to photograph anymore.  Silly me!

The Milk Bar

I took a walk in downtown Phoenix over the last weekend since I hadn't really explored down there in a while.  I found lots of new things and this Milk Bar is one of them.  It wasn't open so I wasn't exactly sure what the concept was but, a quick Google search turned up the description as a restaurant  and bar serving "unpretentious" European style food.  Sounds interesting.

They are hard to see in the top photo but these silver cows are framing the patio, one on each side.

In Memory

Just a reminder that today is the 15th Anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the United States.  One flag for each person who died that day.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm featuring an attraction right here in Phoenix.

A Classic

Here is a burger joint I haven't tried.  It's located not far from where I live but I have never ventured inside.  In fact, I don't think I've ever met anyone who has tried it.  Maybe that's why I haven't gone inside.  No one has recommended it yet.

Making an Entry

We've probably all known someone who knows how to make an entry, gliding into a room full of people and making heads turn.  These houses I found in a nearby neighborhood seem to be trying to do just that.  They each have distinctive and dramatic entrances.  The one above has a door to go through in order to get to the...er....door of the house.

This one has a gate post with a little shrine built right into it.

And this one has a very dramatic wall and arched entry with a large iron gate across it.  Just past the gate is a courtyard complete with a bubbling fountain.  They all have an "entry" that is most memorable.

Shapely Trees

I found these shapely palm trees in front of a house not far from where I live.  They are certainly arranged beautifully in this yard.

In fact, the whole yard is nicely landscaped!

A Long Drive to Buy a Book

About two weeks ago I was looking for two books I wanted to buy.  Ordinarily, I would have just gone on line to Amazon.com and bought them but, I decided that I hadn't been inside an actual bookstore in ages so I'd go to the store instead.  I quickly discovered that there are no bookstores in central Phoenix.  Oh yes, there are a couple of used book stores and one or two specialty bookstores but no large ones close by.  Not deterred, I set out to the far northern reaches of the city to a shopping center called Desert Ridge.  An appropriate name since it sits on far northern border of the city with desert beyond.  So, 25 miles later I found myself at a shopping center I've never shopped at before.

It was certainly attractively built with lots of covered spaces and In the photo above this sort of show place complete with a huge digital screen and a water feature.  I found the books I wanted and a couple more too.  There is good and bad in both on line shopping and in-store shopping.  On line you just buy what you are looking for and have it sent and that's the end.  In the store (especially a bookstore) you wander around and the next thing you know your arms are loaded with more than you came for.  So I guess I'll have to decide before I shop.  Do I want intellectually stimulating and budget busting or do I want to stay seated in front of my computer and stay in budget.  Hmmm...decisions, decisions.

Wild Patterns

When I shop at Scottsdale Fashion Square, I rarely make my way up to the third level.  I was up there last weekend and found this seating area with the sofas in the wildest pattern I've ever seen on a piece of furniture.  What a crazy patchwork of colors.

It's Labor Day!

It's Labor Day here in the United States, a day we recognize the contribution of American workers.  So what would be more appropriate than a photo of a couple of men at work.  These guys are working on a building in downtown Phoenix and their contribution to the Phoenix economy is duly recognized.  Most people will celebrate this day with a long weekend trip or maybe a family bar-b-que and picnic.  Most working people will have the day off to enjoy whatever they decide to do.