Enjoying the View

 

One day last week, I was asked to join my work supervisor at our office in east Phoenix.  This is the building with the fabulous view looking toward Tovrea Castle and Camelback Mountain.  The city of Phoenix owns all the land around Tovrea Castle so the view stays wide open.  

However, there are other obstructions.  Power lines run across the sky and the light rail trains run just below along the street.  But still, you have to admit that is some view!

I looked at my old posts and it's hard to believe that it's been 3 years since I was last in this office.  I posted about that visit in 2022. 

Some of you might also remember that I volunteered on the work the city did to get the Castle open to the public.  That was way back in 2011 and 2012.  I can't believe it's been that long.  If you click the Tovrea Castle label, you can see all those older posts.

Sunrise at the Garden

 

On Sunday I took another early morning walk at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I arrived before the sun was up and made my way up to the high point to watch it appear over the mountains to the east of Phoenix.  

I love how that early morning light makes the buttes around the garden glow a deep shade of red.

I also like how the sun was peeking through the arms of an organ-pipe cactus.   

It was a perfect morning for a long walk.  The temperature was around 74 and it felt good to be out doors.  

The Table is Set

 

I found this little vignette on the back side of an antiques store.  The yellow background is painted but the table, chairs and window are put together with what looks like disassembled furniture.  It's a clever little display.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

Warts and All

 

Have you noticed that the signs of fall are starting to show up?  For us in the desert, the signs don't come from temperature.  We see the signs in our local retail outlets.

These very 'warty' pumpkins were in front of my local Whole Foods store.  The sign said they were "goblin pumpkins".  I have no idea if they are edible.  

They did have some smooth-skinned pumpkins too but, the ones with all the warts really caught my eye.  

Desert Rose

 

Of course, when I went walking at the Desert Botanical Garden last Sunday, I couldn't resist a photo or two of the pretty desert rose blooms.

We probably have another month or so of enjoying them before they go inside the greenhouse to protect them from any overnight winter freezes.  

Artistic Expression?

 

On one of my walks in London, I happened to notice an opening between two buildings and the building that was peeking through in between. That building was The Royal Society of Arts, an organization with lofty goals.  Their website says they are a society for "arts, manufactures and commerce - a global network of change makers enabling people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony".  

I didn't know all of that when I snapped the photo.  However, after snapping the photo, I saw something strange sitting on that ledge to the right.

I wonder if this was someone's idea of artistic expression.  It's every bit as interesting as some of the strange pieces of "art" I've seen in a few museums.  

What do you think?  A candidate for the Tate Modern?

Sleeping Beauty?

 

I have another post from my London trip today.  When I visited the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, I found this interesting artwork located in the center of the Fountain Court.  It depicted a woman sleeping inside this glass box and was complete with breathing sounds and dreamlike music.  

I did some research to find out more about this artwork and learned that it was part of 25th anniversary celebration and is called either "The Spell" or "The Dream".  The artist is Tai Shani.  

I took this close-up shot to see the sleeping lady's face.  Here is a quote describing the piece: "Drawing on fairytale archetypes of enchanted sleep, the work comments on society's 'curse' of capitalism and necessity of imagining new ways of being".  Interesting idea.  

A Perfect Profile

 

One of my favorite birds to observe is the cactus wren and this one posed for me last Sunday morning so I could get this photo.  Cactus wrens are always busy foraging on the ground or inside the tangle of of thorns of a cactus.  I was actually watching a group of quail when I turned and spotted this fellow sitting atop a cactus with the early morning light shining on it.  It was in a perfect position to get a great profile shot.  

Datura, Datura!!

 

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden early Sunday morning and encountered two very large patches of datura blooming with their distinctive white trumpet-shaped flowers.  I had never seen such large patches of the plant before.

The patches of blooms were making the bees very happy.  Both sites were covered with bees of all sizes enjoying the blooms.  

I was curious as to whether any of the poisonous effects of this plant can transfer to the honey produced by the bees.  According to my research, it wouldn't be of high enough concentration to cause any ill effects.  Phew!

A Busy Mural

 

This is a mural I photographed last month when Steve and I went to see the V & A Storehouse in Hackney Wick, east London.  We saw lots of colorful murals on the walk to storehouse.  Steve posted some of them here.  

This one appears to be the work of multiple artists.  There are so many different styles and concepts happening in this mural.  A couple of the images (upper right and left) have the look of some of the  Edward Gorey characters.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

An Interesting Follow-Up

 

I did learn something new from yesterday's electrical outage event.  Have you ever wondered how they put those very heavy steel plates over the construction trenches on our roadways?  I found out watching this process take place.  They use a big robot machine resembling a dinosaur.  They pick up the steel plate with what looks like a magnet.

Then they swing it into place using some kind of remote control device.  That man in the lower right of this photo is operating the control.

After it's in place, the man with the remote folds up the robot while the other two workers put down some sealing asphalt around the edges of the plate.

The guy operating the robot packs it up and drives away.  It's an interesting operation requiring a lot of heavy equipment that must cost a lot of money.  I'd say they would be wise to get this issue fixed soon before it costs more money.  

Not a Pretty Picture

 

I woke up at 3:00 in the morning and when I opened my weary eyes, I was looking straight up at the ceiling fan above my head.  It took a few seconds for my brain to kick in and wonder why the fan wasn't running.  Then I turned my head to look at the clock.  You guessed it, the electricity was out once again.  I checked my phone and saw a text message from the electric company saying it went out around 1:45 AM.  

I got up and walked out on my balcony just in time to see the electric company trucks arrive.  

After a lot of digging and scraping and fiddling around (my technical term) in the electrical boxes, it finally came back on at about 9:30 AM.  

Three times this summer is way too much.  

Here's hoping that old idiom "third time's a charm" is true in this case.  

P.S. Luckily, the temperature this morning was around 78.  A lot easier to tolerate than the 110 when it happed twice earlier this summer.  

On the Wild Side

 

I only found one of the wonderful Gille and Marc sculptures on this trip to London.  You might remember that I found several of them when I was there in 2023.  This one was great with all the wild animals jumping on a very long scooter together.

This display was all about endangered species and supporting a project called Go Wildlife Go.  Sounds like a worthy cause.  

The Green People

 

When I was exploring Canary Wharf in London, I encountered these very green people living in the various gardens between all those tall buildings.

The two above were the first two I spotted, then I started seeing them in other locations.

They were very quiet people so I let them go about their "growing" business.  I learned they are part of a living art installation called Nature Rising.  There are 21 humanoid figures but I only saw a few. They are made of moss and dried flowers.  It's an interesting art project.  I wonder how they will fare in winter.  

Storm in the Desert

 

On Monday evening, a storm passed through the Phoenix area with some heavy winds and wonderful rain.  All those clouds roiling around help create a great sunset.

Looking in the opposite direction I saw a rainbow forming.  I made my way outside to see if I could capture it.  It was a great way to end the day.  

Sublime Observations

 

One evening when I was walking to dinner near my hotel in London, some movement up high on this building caught my eye.

I wondered what I was seeing hanging from that open window.  I zoomed in and saw that a bird feeder was hanging from the window and two lovely, green parakeets were feasting on those seeds.

That same evening when I was near the restaurant, I spotted this cute fellow observing what was happening below him from a balcony.  

A few seconds later, he spotted me so I said "hello".  He didn't reply but I did see some tail wagging happening.  

Cute things like this make me smile.  

Theme Day: Vanishing Point

 I love taking photos with a "vanishing point" and I have many in my archives.  Finding one I hadn't posted before was the challenge for me.  It looks like this one might fit the bill.  I took this a few years ago on drive out to Fountain Hills, the town just east of Scottsdale.  I remember seeing this long stretch of desert road and no one else on it so I stopped, went out to the center of the road and snapped the shot low to the ground.  The road just vanishes out there somewhere.

To see other bloggers Vanishing Points, click here.

Flowers Across the Pond

 

I made it home safe and mostly sound.  The long flight and strange hours has me feeling a little dazed at the moment.  Since I don't have anything new to report from the Phoenix area, I thought I post a few photos I took over the past two weeks of the beautiful flowers I saw everywhere in London.  

Because of our extreme heat here in the desert, we don't see flowers at every turn.

In London, they are everywhere.  

I will certainly miss seeing so many all around me. 

Goodbye London

 

By the time I left my hotel room on Friday, it had stopped raining and it looked like it might clear up.  So, I took advantage and took another long walk.  I just sort of wandered a bit taking streets I hadn't taken before.  That's how I came across this grand looking building. The sign above the door says "College of Arms" and I had no idea what that meant.  Apparently they are responsible for the granting of new coats of arms and they maintain a registry of arms, pedigrees, Royal Licenses and a whole lot more.  

I also walked past this pub that looks like it might have been called the Blackfriars at one time.  See the friar standing above the door.

Across from the pub I saw this man and horse adorning the side of building.  I don't know what that building was but the horse statue looks very dramatic.

I also got some good views of some of those glass buildings that are filling the skyline of The City.

There is a lot of glass in this group.  

It's been a fun and educational two weeks.  I'll see you all again from home sweet home.