Honey Bear

When I was at the Farmer's Market a few weeks ago, I saw this display at the booth that sells local honey.  That cute bear looks like he's in heaven with all that sticky honey dripping over him.

Traveler's Bookshelf

My good friends Julie and Dave are avid world travelers.  In fact, they are in Namibia right at this moment.  I kind of wish I could be there with them.  That is one place I'd love to visit.  I took this photo at their house one night in a place were they have some memorabilia from their Asian travels on the wall.  This row of books go right along with their collection of memories.

Two Schools Collaborating

This is the Arizona BioMedical Collaborative building in downtown Phoenix.  It's collaborative because it's shared by both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona and they may even be collaborating with other biomedical projects.  It's located near a lot of other ASU buildings on the downtown campus.

I like the cactus garden adjacent to the building.  Many of the downtown ASU buildings have copper cladding and you can see a bit of that on the building behind this one.

Colorful Library

I saw this colorful little free library right in the heart of downtown Phoenix recently.  It's beautifully painted.  I hope it gets lots of use.

Decorating with Potted Plants

I noticed that a few places in my neighborhood have enhanced their landscapes with a variety of potted plants.  These three pots are full of aloe plants.

These big tubs are filled with a variety of cactus and succulents.

And, this driveway is lined with pots of pretty flowers.  Three different decorating ideas, all very pretty.

Urban Farming

The mural above used to be on the wall at the Phoenix Public Market (Farmer's Market).  I noticed two weeks ago when I went to the market that it has been painted over by what looks more like a billboard than a mural.  What a shame.  I liked that earlier one very much.

To see more mural posts, click here.

Midtown Skyline

Thanks everyone for all the well wishes yesterday.  I think it helped to lift some of the symptoms as well as brightening my day.  I've pulled another photo from the archives, this time a skyline view of the high-rise buildings in the mid-town area of Phoenix.  I took this one from a grassy mound at Steele Indian School Park.

And, if I turn around a look in the opposite direction, I get a nice view of Camelback Mountain over the park's lake.  They do stock this lake so I often see fishermen by the lake like the guy down there in white.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  A new experience on my recent trip to Santa Fe is on the agenda.

Very Tall

I pulled this photo of the Chase Bank building in downtown Phoenix out of my archives because I've been sticking close to home the last three days.  I came down with a head cold on Tuesday and I blame it on that flight back to Phoenix last Sunday.  I forgot to take my usual dose of "Airborne" before that flight.  That usually keeps me from becoming susceptible to the germs flying around the cabin of an airplane.

I hate summer colds.  Who am I kidding?  I hate all colds.

Phoenix Financial Center

I haven't posted photos of the Phoenix Financial Center in ages so I thought I'd visit it again.  I told the story of this office complex here.
When it comes to Phoenix architecture, this building stands out.  It is a familiar sight to everyone who lives here.  When the building was originally designed back in the early 60's, there was supposed to be two towers like this facing each other.  They would have stood like to giant parenthesis without any words between them.

Swimming By

This sculpture is called II Donnone and it was created by Paolo Soleri back in 1975.  It sits right in front of the parking area of the Phoenix Art Museum and faces the front of the museum.  So this lady is swimming by me every time I go the the museum.

Clothing Designers in the Making

The last time I was at Scottsdale Fashion Square, I noticed a display in a vacant store front for ASU's Herberger Institute for Design and Art.

The information said that these were student projects for a Fashion Construction class.  The students were challenged to create new clothing from used clothing and make them versatile enough to work for different occasions.

There were quite a few interesting pieces in the display. The reflections made them difficult to photograph but, these two shots aren't too bad.  I did manage to catch the photographer in the last shot.  😁

Here I Am, Camera in Hand

I just got back from a weekend trip to Santa Fe New Mexico with a good friend of mine.  We visited lots and lots of great museums and galleries and just about overloaded ourselves with art.  (Don't worry, we managed to eat good New Mexican food and shop a little too.)  One of the museums we visited was the International Folk Art Museum and what a place that was.  It was full of dioramas of all kinds of collectable pieces from all over the world.  In one of the dioramas, my friend spotted this little lady pointing her camera to take a photo and she said "hey, look it's you!" Sure enough, there I am, camera in hand!

Here is a fuller view of the diorama. You can see me down there in the lower left corner.  I almost didn't make in this shot.

Scary

Here's a very scary looking mural I found on the side of a convenience store.  It has a signature on it of Mr. Gatto Arte but, I couldn't really find anything to indicate I was reading about this actual artist.  I found a site for an artist called Mr. Gatto but, his work was so different from this that I'm pretty certain it's not the same person.  Regardless, this is not a face I'd want to run into day or night.

To seem more "Monday Murals" click here.

What Style Would You Call It?

Here is an interesting house I found when I was out one day.  I'm not sure what style I'd call it.  It has little colonial bits and a hint of Tudor but, it doesn't fit any specific mold as far as I can tell.  And, it doesn't look like anything else on this street.  Any ideas?

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking at an art museum located in a historic neighborhood.

Eye Test

How are your eyes?  Feeling a little dizzy?  

I took this photo in the gift shop of the Phoenix Art Museum.  Can you guess what it is?  It is a sort of basket made form carved wood.  The basket collapses to flat for storage and opens to make a basket.  I held my camera over the top of it to take the shot.  It looks like something from The Twilight Zone or maybe an eye test.

Charging Station

Biltmore Fashion Park shopping center has installed a Tesla charging station in the back parking lot and it is a big hit with the Tesla owners.  Every time I pass by it, there are several cars there hooked up to the power.  Apparently, these stations are cropping up all over.  I wonder if they work for other electric cars.

Outdoor Dining is on Hold

Our summer temperatures have arrived which means outdoor dining will have to wait until fall.  When the temperatures climb to the 110 degree mark (43c), it's too hot to dine outside even if the misters are going.  

The Stewart

When I went to the Farmer's Market last Saturday, I saw this very large and very busy construction sight just across the street.  It looks like more apartments or condos going up right along Central Avenue.

There used to be a row of businesses here all constructed of brick and on the end was a place called Circle Records.  I spent time in that store years ago picking out CD's.  (I probably still have a few I bought there.  Yes, I still own a few CD's.)  I was pleased to see that the circular entrance to that wonderful old store has been preserved and will become part of this new place.  Historic preservation is a good thing.

Planting Palm Trees

I happened to catch this crew planting palm trees in front of an office building along Camelback Road.

I cropped the photo down so you could see the guys easing that big tree into hole.  The next tree over looks like it has already been set.

These aren't the greatest of shots because I was shooting toward the sun but it was the only way to capture the scene.  It takes a lot of equipment to plant fully grown palm trees.

Timely Observation

Spotted this car ahead of me on Saturday.  There are some things too ironic for words.

Flowers at the Market

I went to the Farmers Market yesterday.  I hadn't been in what seems like a long time.  I can always count on Maya's to have a colorful array of flowers on display.  These sunflowers look very cheery.

I was surprised to see a bunch of thistle blooms in one bucket.

But, put them all together with some daisies and they make a beautiful bouquet.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm roaming a historic neighborhood.

Tumbling Plants

I was sitting at a traffic light when I caught sight of the plants tumbling from the balconies of the apartments at Optima in Scottsdale.  They looked so pretty against that blue sky that I couldn't resist.  All I had with me was my iPhone but I think it did pretty well.

I did a post about these apartments here.

Tall Tree

Wednesday evening I stopped at a new healthy style restaurant that just opened down the street from to give them a try.  On my way out of the restaurant, I caught sight of this tall tree with the glow of the  late sun on it.  I drove around to the next street over to get a closer look and to snap a photo.  I just liked the light on the tree.

By the way, the healthy place was pretty good.

I just realized that I've had posts about trees for  three days in a row now.  That wasn't planned.

A Tree as Art

From a distance, this looks like a real tree but, it's not.  It sits along the side of the Symphony Hall building in downtown Phoenix.  I hadn't paid much attention to it until the time I walked along the sidewalk that runs right next to it.  It's not the usual approach I make when going to Symphony Hall.

There was no sign to say who the artist is but, I can tell you it's made of metal.  You probably figured that out already.

Baja Elephant Tree

Here's a tree at the Desert Botanical Garden that I hadn't paid much attention to before.  The last time I was there, I noticed how sort of dried out it look so I snapped a couple of photos and when I got home I looked up Elephant Tree.  It appears that there is another tree that goes by the same name so I looked up the latin name for it "Pachycormus discolor".

It turns out that the tree isn't dry at all.  Those are actually blooms on the tree and they have a pinkish hue to them.

By the way, the term "pachy" means thick and "cormus" means stump.  The name refers to the thick trunk on the tree.  Interesting!

Drinks for Humans

Last Sunday night I went to see the Tony Award winning play "The Humans" starring Richard Thomas.  It was part of my Valley Broadway season of shows and it was performed at the Grady Gammage Auditorium, that fabulous Frank Lloyd Wright building in Tempe.  The bar at Gammage always has some special drinks available based on the play being presented.  This time it was these three.  They fit the theme of the play beautifully but, I didn't try any of them.

The play itself was very good.  It was a family drama with all kinds of modern day family issues that I'm sure are familiar to all of us.  The set (above) was based on a two-story apartment in a rather run-down apartment building in New York City.  It's rare for the Valley Broadway series of plays to have a simple play in the series.  Usually every play in the series is a musical.  I enjoyed the change.

The Phoenix & Friends

I found this mural on the side of a dental office and it depicts two of my favorite feathered friends.  First the mythical Phoenix bird rising out of the fire in splendid glory and three of those colorful peach-faced lovebirds that have made the Phoenix area their home.  Way down in the bottom left corner there is a signature that says "Phoenix 2015 by Slot Head" and below that is the picture of a toaster.

The only problem is, I can't find any information on an artist called "slot head".  I wonder who it could be.

For more "Monday Murals", click here.

Mountainside Yard

One evening recently I was having dinner at my friends Julie & Dave's house.  I think I've mentioned before that their house sits on the north side of Camelback Mountain.  That means that their backyard is a steep hillside.  On this particular evening, we decided to climb around  in their backyard area before dinner and make sure everything on the hillside was looking good.

There is quite a view from up there among the trees and rocks.  At one spot, Julie and Dave have put a statue of St. Francis hidden among the rocks.  It seems quite natural to see him there where he can protect the birds and other animals that roam the mountain.


I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm taking a look at the collection of a very prolific collector.

Contemplation Garden

A little artistic rendition of the Contemplation Garden at the Desert Botanical Garden.  This is where I like to sit and watch the birds enjoying the fountain around the circle.

They love getting a drink here and sometimes taking a quick bath.

Theme Day: Me

The first of the month has rolled around rather quickly it seems and this month's theme is "Me".  So here I am!  You didn't know I was an astronaut, did you?

This was taken at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

To see other City Daily Photo Bloggers in person, click here.