Big Bobby

 

Here is another curious piece of art that I found at the Phoenix Art Museum on my last visit.  This is called "Big Bobby and the Rest Motel".  

The artist is Rodney Alan Greenblat (b. 1960).

The description says that Greenblat was a prominent figure in the New York East Village art scene during the 1980's. Having grown up in the 1960's, he uses exaggerated caricatures to capture the nostalgic experience of watching cartoons or stopping at quirky roadside attractions.  

I think since I traveled a lot as a child and have seen my share of quirky roadside attractions, this resonated with me immediately.  It gave me a nostalgic feeling of childhood explorations.

Unusual Art Projects

 

About two weeks ago, a friend and I went to the Phoenix Art Museum to spend some quality time out of the desert summer heat.  In one of the galleries, they had an exhibit that included what I would call some rather unusual art projects.  This very large balloon was part of a project back in 2015 that consisted of 26 of these tethered balloons stretched over two miles of desert near Douglas Arizona and all the way to Agua Prieta, Sonora Mexico.  

Here is a photo of the project when it was up.  The artist worked with the governments of both countries to allow the project to stay up for 5 days and host a binational art walk and symposium.  

The images and colors of the balloons reference a common garden deterrent known as a "scare-eye balloon".  Birds are fooled into thinking a predator is near and avoid the area.  The artist's statement about the project reads: 

"The purpose of this monument is to bi-directionally reach across the US/Mexico border as a suture that stitches the peoples of the Americas together."

I wish I had seen it in person.

The Robins are Back

 

I snapped the photo to the left with my cell phone one day last week when I spotted a couple of robins hanging around the courtyard.  So the next opportunity I had I took my camera down there to see if I could get a better shot.  The one above was the best one out of the ones I took.  

The very next day, I found this fellow standing in a puddle of water.  He was probably trying to cool off.  It was pretty darn hot when I snapped this photo.

Decorated Palm Trees

 

Here is another odd thing I found on that Sunday drive around town.  I saw a house surrounded by palm trees and a block wall and each of the palm trees was decorated in some way. I might add, the wall was decorated too.

As you can see, the tree that I got out of the car to photograph was still very much alive.  The two next to it look like they've had their heads chopped off.

I couldn't find any reason for all the decorations.  It must just be a random art project.

Corner Market

 

I took a short photo drive on Sunday hoping to capture some interesting urban shots.  It was very hot on Sunday so I didn't get out of the car as often as I would have liked.  I was driving through an area just east of downtown Phoenix when I spotted this corner market.  We don't see many of these small, independent markets anymore so whenever I see one I have to take a photo. In this part of the world, Circle K and 7-Eleven's have taken over the small market industry. 

I did see one customer come and go while I was stopped. I wonder if Adrian's Market sells a lot of Fiji water in there.

When Pigs Fly

 

I was searching through some photos I took a few years ago on a drive through New Mexico when I spotted this one with a sort of mural painted on the side of the building.

I cropped the photo to get a better look and sure enough, there is a mural painted on this building with lots of southwestern animals prancing across the shop's exterior.  The shop is called "When Pigs Fly" a retail shop.  The photo was taken in 2015 in Truth or Consequences New Mexico. A quick internet search and I see that the place is permanently closed now.  Too bad, it has a great name and I like the whimsical mural.

The shop might be closed but it still makes a nice addition to Monday Murals.  

Some of Nature's Beauty

 It appears I've been ranting a bit over the past two days so today, no rants.  I promise!  Instead I have two photos from my last walk at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I already posted photos of the pretty desert rose blooms I saw on that walk so today I have two different blooms.  The white gaura are always a joy to see.  They are so tiny and delicate.  

A chocolate daisy soaking up some early morning sunshine is another happy sight to see.  

We had our first monsoon storm of the season on Wednesday evening and it brought some rain to the desert.  Thursday night it clouded up and got a bit windy but no rain fell in my part of town.  Fingers crossed that we get some more rain.  The desert can put it to good use.  

Let's Talk About Electricity

 

We don't see any wires or other equipment hanging from poles like this in the neighborhood where I live.  I snapped this photo somewhere else in town.  All of our utilities are under ground where they should be safe from storms and vandals.  

Why then, does the power go out at my house every other July?  And, why do they have to dig up the exact same spot in our parking lot every time it happens?

Back in 2021 I mentioned the outage in a post about the Kubota tracker they used to clean up the debris. 

In July of 2023, I snapped this photo of the guys from the electric company when they arrived to try figure out what was wrong. Once again, it resulted in digging up the same spot in our parking lot and me spending the night at a friend's house.

And here we are once again on July 1st of 2025 with a big hole in the parking lot after another 12 hours without electricity in the middle of extreme heat July. 

Now I might be looking at this a little too simplistically, but if this event happens almost like clockwork, every two years couldn't we find the cause and fix it or at least learn how to fix the problem in less than 12 hours.  

Oh the joys of modern living!

It's the 4th of July

 

Today is the day we Americans celebrate Independence Day.  I've always loved the site of the flags flying and the fireworks at night.  

This 4th of July seems a little more subdued to me.  I can't help worrying about the sudden normalization  of racism and hatred.  I worry about the narrowing of civil rights and what appears to be a total disregard for those in need.  

I've always felt a strong, patriotic connection to my American heritage but as of late, I feel it slipping away.  

So, on this day of celebration, I am hoping our beloved nation can survive this current backward slide.  Diversity, Inclusion and Equity are not bad words.  They are the only thing that will save us.

Not Ready Yet

 

That office building turned condos, is still not quite ready for occupancy.  It's taking a long time to complete this conversion.  The last time I pictured it was in July of last year when I thought it was almost ready.

Here is what the building looked like before all this work started.  It's undergoing quite a dramatic change.  This photo is from 2014.  

Canine Portraits

 

I had dinner at my friend's David and Riley's new house last Saturday and I made another discovery with my new iPhone.  That new "portrait" mode allows you to take a photo from a much further distance than you would for normal shot.  That makes getting photos of the world's most reluctant subjects much easier.  

Dogs are notoriously camera shy so if you can get the shot from further away before they realize they are the subject, magic happens.

This is Alexis.  She's the alpha dog of this little trio.  She's the smallest but there is no denying, she's the boss.

This is Teddy.  He's such a happy dog. He's a bit of a slow learner but with that cute face, who cares. 

This is Casper. He's the biggest dog in the group but he's perfectly happy to let Alexis rule the roost.  He's such a sweet boy!

All of these dogs were rescue dogs.  They each have different stories and backgrounds but they all are happy pups who have adapted quickly to each other and their new home.  They are both loving and loved!

Theme Day: Bubbles

 The July 1st theme for City Daily Photo Bloggers is "Bubbles".  This one was easy for me.  I love champagne and usually have some once a week.  This was last week's treat.

If you want to see more bubbles from other bloggers, click here.

Desert Smokers

 

I saw this mural around two months ago but every time I'd drive past there was a row of cars parked in front of it.  Finally I caught a day with no cars. This desert mural was done by the artist who goes by MrDowntownPHX.  I believe his name is Jesse Perry.  This is on the side of Zong! Smoke Shop so all those desert creatures are smoking.

Here's a close up of the smoking rattle snake.  It's nicely painted but I'm hoping those critters will give up the cigarettes soon.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

Tree Trimming Time

I was driving out of my complex when I noticed the tree trimmers were at work.  This group was using a bucket lift to get to those tall palm trees.  That 'bucket' is way up in there among those shaggy palm fronds.  

Out in front, the trees are much shorter so this fellow just climbed up to get to work.  

These fellows arrived early so they could get the job done before it got too hot.

 

Odd Collection and a Little Humor

 

It's time for me to unload a few of the extra shots that have accumulated in my files recently.  

Above is a Great Blue Heron who is looking a bit scruffy.  He was busy grooming himself which he obviously needed.

To the left is an old International truck that was hiding among the trees that day I went to the plant nursery. It's an intimidating looking vehicle.

About 3 weeks ago, there was a little excitement at my complex.  We had a gas leak.  There were five big fire trucks, two smaller fire trucks and a whole load of firemen asking us to leave our apartments.  The whole thing lasted about an hour and the leak was coming from one of the gas grills in the courtyard. There is no gas going into the apartments so no worries there.

My friends David and Riley just moved into a new house.  This photo was taken before they moved when they were measuring things.  Their dogs were enjoying those tall windows that are low enough to the floor for the little ones to look out.  

This last one is a little "political" humor that someone sent me. That's one way to show your disdain for a certain billionaire with a tarnished image.

Tribute to Arnoldo Pomodoro

 

 Just a little over a month ago, I posted a photo of this sculpture by the Italian artist Arnoldo Pomodoro.  It's located in the entrance to the Phoenix Public Library's main location.  This week I learned the Mr. Pomodoro passed away on Sunday, June 20th at the age of 98 years.  His death came one day before he would have turned 99.  

I thought I might pay him a little tribute and show all of the Pomodoro sculptures I've been fortunate enough to see.

Of course, the Cube here in Phoenix is one of them.

I saw this one in Milan Italy in a park setting.  This one is a disc. It happened to be right next to the place I was having lunch in Milan.

This one is in front of the Vatican Museum.  The tour guide I was with took us along a pathway across the courtyard area so I didn't get a close up view.

This one sits in front of the United Nations building in New York City.  I spotted it after I had spent two hours touring the building.  

He has at least three more of these large scale sculptures that I know about.  One at Trinity College in Dublin, one in Brisbane Australia and one in front of the Farnesina Palace in Rome.  I'm sure there are many more around the world.  I'll always be on the lookout for them.  

BIG Dogs!

 

I was at Scottsdale Fashion Square last weekend and noticed that one of the mall seating areas was full of people with their dogs.  However these two stood out among all the others.

The two gorgeous Great Danes were curious about all the attention they were getting.  Every now and then, a smaller dog would walk up for a closer look but they quickly retreated.  Not that these two giants did anything to scare the dogs, I think their sheer size was an intimidating factor.

I wanted a picture of one of the small dogs nose to nose with the big ones but those encounters were so quick, I couldn't capture it.

I did however, crop this one photo where it looks a bit like I might have found a two-headed dog!  It was a fun encounter.  Great Danes might look intimidating but they are truly gentle giants.

Three Kinds of Desert Roses

 

As usual, I couldn't resist taking some photos of the Desert Rose blooms while I was at the Desert Botanical Garden on Sunday.  I found three different kinds.

These pretty pink ones are smaller than some of the other blooms.

The red ones are the most common ones I see in the garden.

The variegated ones are really pretty.  I can't say if I like one more than another.  To me they are all such pretty plants that seem to thrive in our desert heat.

I did see something that surprised me.  I found one desert rose plant that was actually planted in the ground.  I was talking with another member who was also admiring this plant and she said this is new.  The garden thinks there is enough protection in this spot that it should be able to survive any winter frost that we might get.  I'll keep my eye on this one.

A Family Affair

 

We had a nice reprieve from the heat here in the desert over the weekend.  It was nice enough to do an early morning walk at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I arrived at 6:00 AM and found that a lot of other garden members had the same idea.  It wasn't crowded but there were definitely more early risers than I've seen before.

The highlight of my walk was finding this family of quail enjoying a cool drink from one of the water features.  In these photos we see Papa Quail and five of his "teenagers".  It was a big family.  

I love how their top-knot feathers are just now forming and looking a bit frazzled at the moment.

Here's Papa again looking quite proud of this large brood. 

Momma Quail was there too, she just didn't get into any of my photos.  I counted nine young ones all together.

A Mediterranean Vibe

 

This is a fairly new mural on the side of a restaurant on Camelback Road.  The restaurant isn't billed as Mediterranean but they do serve a variety of fusion dishes and lots of things from a wood burning oven.  

The mural is very long and I couldn't get it all in one shot.  I photographed a mural on this wall before when it depicted a huge alligator.  This scene is a lot more welcoming than that 'toothy' fellow.

The restaurant used to be called The St. Francis but now it has a new chef and has been renamed Oak on Camelback.  This mural was painted by Tato Caraveo.  It's a pleasant scene.

Taking part in Monday Murals. 

Standing Alone

 

This is a building in east Phoenix that I just don't get.  It's a lone high-rise building in a part of town with no tall buildings.  It was built in 1986 but I couldn't find any information on its original tenant or use.  Today it is an office building housing a number of different tenants.  It's advertised as a great location only 7 minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport.  So I guess if your business requires a lot of travel, it might be a good location.

I found this photo on the leasing company's site.  You can tell from this photo that the building stands above all the other local buildings.  There isn't much in this area over 4 floors high.  This photo also has a great view of Camelback Mountain in the background.