The Pool and More

 

Yesterday I finished showing you the guest house at this property.  The photo above is looking at that guest house from the pool and garden area that is shared with the main house.

This view looks over the pool toward the main house with its grand patio at the top of those stairs and Camelback Mountain in the background.

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of all those gorgeous red geraniums leading up to that patio.

Facing in the opposite direction is a lovely little pool house.  That's a perfect spot to get out of the bright Arizona sun after a swim in the pool.  

As we were leaving this gorgeous property, I stopped for one last photo of the apartment attached to the garage/workshop building.  I loved the very rustic, southwestern look of this building.  

I feel very lucky to have gotten to tour the garden and guest house on this very special property.  It was an opportunity not to be missed.  

Guest House, Part 3

 

The second bedroom in this fabulous guest house was every bit as elegant as the master bedroom.  With two canopy beds and more antique furnishings, it has a fairytale-like look to it.

The second bedroom also had its own attached bathroom.  Another bathroom worthy of photos.

The guest house is designed so that the living room and kitchen areas both lead out to the patio and the garden and pool beyond that is shared with the main house.  Wouldn't this be a wonderful place for breakfast in the morning or cocktails in the evening?  I'll show you more of the shared garden and pool area tomorrow.

The Guest House, Part 2

 

The guest house I introduced yesterday had two bedrooms and above is a photo from the master bedroom complete with a canopy bed and antique furnishings.  

I loved the chair at the foot of the bed.  It was embroidered and beaded.  I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

It was worth taking another photo in this room to capture the beautiful artwork on the wall.

The master bathroom was another special room. It was like a resort spa.

The bathroom was big enough to be another bedroom. It felt so luxurious. 

I loved the unique light fixture so much that I took a close-up shot of just it.  

This isn't all from the guest house.  I have a few more photos for tomorrow's post.

The Guest House, Part 1

 The garden tour I mentioned yesterday included a tour through the guest house on this property and what a beautiful guest house it is.  I could be very happy living in this beautiful house.  Above is the kitchen dining area.

This cozy living area was full of unique furniture gathered around a working fireplace.  

I liked the artwork above the fireplace along with those beautiful porcelain flowering trees on each side.

The room had plenty of light streaming in from windows and glass doors leading to the patio and garden beyond.  The room looked like something I would see in a designer's magazine.  Tomorrow I'll show you some of the other rooms.

A Huge Cactus Garden

 

This last weekend was a busy one for me.  After the Indian Fair & Market that I wrote about yesterday, on Sunday I joined my friends for the annual Desert Botanical Garden tour of home gardens.  We visited three lovely desert gardens and I took an abundance of photos to share.  Starting with the property above which was spread out over 7 acres with a landscape that perfectly blended with the Camelback Mountain foothills where it was located. The photo above shows an area that was covered with hundreds of golden barrel cactus.

In some areas there were more unusual specimens like the prickly pear above.  Prickly pear cactus is common here in the desert but this variety is one we don't see very often. 

To the left is a young Mexican Giant Cardon cactus.  This variety can grow even taller than most Saguaro cacti. This one appears to have the rare genetic mutation that gives it a crested appearance.

The stairs here lead up to the main home on this property.  The entrance is framed by cactus on this level and trees and flowering plants further up.  

This property contained three buildings, the main house, a guest house and a garage/workshop building. I have lots more photos to come.  This was a stunning property with lots to see and admire.

Youth Art Show and Sale

 

This was the first year of attending the Indian Fair and Market that I saw the Youth Art Show & Sale.  It was kind of a mind-blowing experience seeing the incredible craftsmanship of young artists.

This piece of pottery was created by 17-year old Waatsa Ryanna from the Zuni Pueblo.  What a beautiful piece that is called "Protector of Seeds".  

Another 17-year old artist painted this incredible painting.  The artist is Terance Smith also of the Zuni Pueblo.  I'm guessing at the first name because that yellow string holding the blue ribbon is hiding the first name.  

There was some pretty amazing art on display from such young artists.

Indian Fair & Market

 Yesterday I went to the annual Heard Museum Indian Fair & Market.  It was a very busy place.  There were lots of people there to view the artwork of literally hundreds of Native American artists.

I was thrilled that I got to meet the artist who created two necklaces I own.  I love the abstract pieces that Mary and Lorenzo Tafoya create.  

This year, Mary won a first place ribbon for this spectacular necklace.  

These are the two necklaces that I own.  I purchased both of them in the Heard Museum Gift Shop. I came close to buying another necklace but I was able to restrain myself.  I was just happy to finally meet the woman who creates these beautiful pieces.

Theme Day: Fire

 

I took this photo back in January on a visit to the Hermosa Inn.  Lon's, the restaurant at the resort has several of these corner fireplaces scattered both inside and outside.  It looks very cozy and warm which back in January was perfect.  Today, no fire is needed.  We've had temperatures hovering close to 90 degrees this last week.  Our temperatures are running about 15 degrees over normal for this time of year.  

To see other blogger's "fire" photos, click here. 

Model Home Visit

 

Here is another set of photos discovered in the archives during my organizing project.  These were taken back in 2019 when I joined Julie to tour a model home that was on the market back then.  I snapped a few photos as we made the tour and they somehow never made it onto the blog.  I bet someone is living in the home by now.

I don't remember the price range of this place but I'm guessing it was in the vicinity of one million dollars.  It's probably jumped in value since then. 

I do remember thinking that the yard was quite small.  This pool takes up the whole area.

It was a very nice home but way too much money for such a small outdoor space.  I can't remember why we looked at this place.  I'm guessing it was just curiosity.  

Shades of White

 

I found these photos while I was working on my photo organizing project and they really jumped out at me.  I think I took these when I was experimenting with my macro lens.  I love the soft nature of all of these photos.

I decided they should make an appearance on my blog.  

So, here they are.  Flowers that are long gone but are still inspiring years later.  This demonstrates a good reason to photograph flowers.  Their beauty can be enjoyed long after they are gone.

Another Furry Encounter

 

I met another furry little friend last weekend.  I was having lunch with a friend at a local pub when this fluffy little fellow arrived with its two humans at the next table.  

This little sweetie was so well behaved, sitting patiently under the table and occasionally glancing my way.  I caught this photo during one of those glances.  This little fellow looks like snowball with eyes.  

Wild Menagerie

 

The new art show at the Shemer Art Center is called "Wild Menagerie" and was designed to celebrate the diversity of the animal kingdom.  The piece above is a photograph printed on canvas by Christy Garavetto.  It's called "Coyote Camouflage".  She describes it as a coyote hiding in tall golden grass that is lit by the sun.

To the left is another piece featuring a coyote.  This one is called "Curious Coyote" and it's a mixed media piece printed on acrylic by Theresa Poalucci.  

Here is a ceramic piece called "Proud Burrowing Owls" by Diane Delaney.

This last one is a clever piece called "Desert Cottontail" and it was created in pen & watercolor by Mikayla Hammock.  This is one you need to stare at a bit.  You see the main rabbit then there is a smaller rabbit near the tail but if you look even closer, you will see other tiny rabbits drawn in the body of the big rabbit.  Don't miss the tiny rabbit sitting right on the big rabbit's nose.  

Roosevelt Row

 

One of many murals found along Roosevelt Street in an area known as Roosevelt Row.  It is a great downtown arts district with lots of shops, galleries and restaurants.  I couldn't find a signature on this one.  I have a feeling it was a collaboration between several artists.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Furry Friends 2025

 

The Shemer Art Center hosted its annual Furry Friends event yesterday and I stopped by to have a look.  That's where I saw this very handsome Australian Shepherd dog.

He and his owner were putting on quite a show.  That is one very smart dog.

While I was at The Shemer, I visited the latest art show.  I'll have some more photos to show you next week.

The Leaf Connection

 

There was one other exhibit going on at the Desert Botanical Garden when I was there.  The Leaf Connections is a community project designed to bring awareness of our natural surroundings through art. The project was launched by local artist Mary Meyer.

The project invites the public to participate by observing and sharing images of leaf-bearing plants around the Phoenix area using the online social platform iNaturalist. Meyer uses the images and interprets them as ceramic art objects.

The ceramic "leaves" are then pinned to a map of metro-Phoenix in the location where they were found.

Each hand-carved leaf is connected to a person in Phoenix and the plant that is growing here.

Late Afternoon Garden Walk

The Japanese Friendship Garden is small with one path that circles a little lake but the landscaping is beautiful.  A walk there might be short but the scenery is worth it.

I've seen many different birds around the garden but there are always ducks.  Tuesday was no exception.  The ducks were enjoy the sunshine, swimming laps around the little lake.  

Spring Is In the Air

 

Spring is in the air here in desert.  We've had some very nice weather lately with mid-afternoon temperatures hovering around 78 degrees.  I had the urge for another walk yesterday afternoon so this time I went to the Japanese Friendship Garden.  I wanted to see if anything was blooming there and I wasn't disappointed.  There were quite a few pretty daffodils poking their pretty heads up.

There was only one tulip but it was a real beauty. Such a wonderful shade of blue. 

I saw several patches of these iris-like flowers that I don't believe I've ever seen before.  I did the Google search and came up with a name Iris Reticulata.  

Pretty spring flowers is just what I needed to help chase away the remnants of the head cold I've been working to defeat.