Birds and Water

 

Whenever I'm walking around Biltmore Fashion Park, I can always count on seeing a number of grackles playing in the various fountains that are along the center walkway.  I was there late Wednesday afternoon when the sun was already low in the sky.  I saw this bird wading in the water and taking an occasional drink.  I like how the light on the water turned the bird into a silhouette.  

There two birds were waiting in the wings for their turn in the 'wading pool'.  The natural food for grackles is bugs and seeds but they've taken a keen interest human food scraps.  Since Biltmore Fashion Park has several restaurants all with outdoor tables, it makes a great place for them to hang out and watch for those scraps.

Gables

 

Gables tend to make a house look more interesting or give it some style.  A good place to find these elaborate gables is in our historic neighborhoods.  That's where I found these two examples recently.

These two houses were a street away from each other but the style makes me think they might have been built by the same builder.  They certainly have a similar look.

I love driving around in the historic neighborhoods.  I always find something interesting to admire.

A Touch of Surrealism

 

Here are two more paintings that caught my eye at the Biltmore Art Walk I mentioned yesterday.  Both of these paintings are by Emma Florance and to my eye, they have a touch surrealism about them.  

This first one is called Phoenix Lights I. You can see the lights of the city extending behind that saguaro cactus.  But wait, there appears to be someone living inside the cactus skin.  That would not be an easy trick.  

The second painting is called Desert Dracula and it shows a young lady hiding behind the tall bloom stalk of a century plant.  

I really enjoyed this little art exhibit.  I'll make a point of going again when it returns in February.  

Art Walk Close to Home

 

I recently learned that Biltmore Fashion Park has started a new special event called the Biltmore Art Walk.  It's a rotating outdoor exhibit of art works by local artists.  I stopped at the mall on Sunday afternoon to check it out.  

These first two photos show some paintings by artist Cher Juracich.  She displayed five large-scale paintings that were very realisitic.

On another wall, I captured a photo of the artist Reed Hearne posing in front of the three paintings he had on display.  

Larry Nisula is a member of my Art Challenge group and he had three of his works on display.  It's always great to see members of our little art group appear in different shows.  

Those Silly Koshare Clowns

 

I was at the Heard Museum Saturday morning for one of the Artful Mornings lectures and although I didn't go in to the museum that day, I did stop in the gift shop to peek at the treasures on offer.

What caught my eye on this day was this display of carvings by Kerry Davis.  They are all what is called "Koshare Clowns" and each one is involved in some whimsical activity.  

Mr. Davis is of mixed Native American heritage with a Navajo mother and a Hopi Father.  Having started carving at age 7, he has become a master carver.

I loved the one in the back on the right.  It took me a minute to realize he was carrying a young clown on his back.  I zoomed in to get a better view.

In Honor of the Roadrunner

 

There is a brand new set of Apartments on McDowell Road in Scottsdale called Roadrunner on McDowell.  The last time I drove past them I notice that there was a giant mural on one wall depicting a desert scene and a single roadrunner studying the situation.  I didn't see a signature so I don't know who the artist is.  It's a nice addition to the the otherwise 'brown' walls of the building.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

A Creation From My Kitchen

 I love to make risotto.  I actually enjoy the constant stirring needed to do it right.  And, I certainly love the creamy texture of the finished product.  I make all kinds but I recently was reminded of a tasty saffron risotto that I had in London last August so I decided to give it a try.  I had some saffron in the cupboard but I didn't have any shallots.  I did have a nice, fat leek so I used that instead.  I tossed in a a tablespoon of lemon juice and the zest from that same lemon.  It was every bit as good as the risotto I had in London and maybe even a little bit better.  

Here's a photo of the London version.  I think mine even looks better with that little sprinkle of parsley on top.  Don't get me wrong, this one was very good.  I just think that little bit of accomplishment in making it myself gave mine an extra zing.  

The Camelback Road Underpass

 

Back in 2007, the city completed a project to put a pedestrian underpass under Camelback Road between two busy shopping and business areas near 24th street.  On one side of the street is Biltmore Fashion Park, a shopping and dining center and on the other side of the street is The Esplanade, an office and entertainment complex.  There were at least 3 fatalities along that area caused by pedestrians trying to cross busy Camelback Road where there was no traffic light or crosswalk. 

The city decided to put this underpass in place to help relieve the urge to try to cross the street in a dangerous spot.  The underpass has a pretty tiled floor and is lit at night so that it's not a dark tunnel.  It gets a lot use from shoppers and diners between the two centers.

I took these two photos, one in the daytime and one at night.  You can see more photos from the architect's site.   

The Shelf Was Bare

 

When I visited the Desert Botanical Garden last week, I stopped at the quiet little corner that I like so much to see how things were arranged on the shelf.  I surprised to find nothing arranged on the shelf.  The last time I posted a photo from this spot, there were lots of watering pails and plants.  

All of the watering pails were lined up on the ground behind one of the pillars. 

I'll make sure that I check on this spot again to see if a new arrangement appears on the shelf.  I enjoy the way it looks when it's filled with pails and plants.

Greeting Visitors

 

These two sculptures that I've featured today sit on either side of the main entrance to The Phoenician Resort so they greet all the resort guests as they enter.

This one is called "Rising at the Spring" and it's another wonderful Allan Houser sculpture.

This one is also an Allan Houser sculpture and it is called "Kiowa Song".  

There is a long driveway that leads up to the entrance to the resort and there are more sculptures scattered along the grounds on the way to the entrance.  The Phoenician features a lot of Houser's sculptures.

Mountainside Setting

 

When I stopped at the Phoenician Resort to look at Christmas decorations three weeks ago, I also photographed some of the resort views.  This view looks up at Camelback Mountain from the main entrance.

If I stand on the other side of that big fountain, I see that there is a statue standing on top of the terraced garden.

Its a wonderful Allan Houser sculpture.  The Phoenician Resort has many Allan Houser sculptures scattered all over the property.  

Red Roses

 A large bouquet of red roses that I photographed a little over a week ago in the lobby of the Global Ambassador Hotel.  They added a touch of color to the lobby setting.

This pretty rose was in the table arrangement at my friends David and Riley's house on Christmas Eve.  

There is something about a red rose that just can't be ignored.  

Colorful Leaves

 

I was standing at the entrance to my complex waiting for an Uber to arrive when I noticed the pretty leaves on some of the plants in the decorative planters.  I believe these are geranium leaves.

More geranium leaves with a few blooms popping in.

I think these are cyclamen plants.  They have some pretty fancy leaves too.  

Sometimes the leaves are just as pretty as the flowers.

Early Morning Observations

 

I observed more than the sunrise and the Desert Pulse art exhibit when I was at the garden last Wednesday.  The cute little Gamble's Quail were out and about and scampering around as they often do.  In fact, the quail and a few mourning doves were the only birds I saw on that morning.  I wonder where the rest of the birds were.

There were also a few blooms to admire.  I'm not sure what the name of these daily-like flowers are but they were sharing a pot with some aloe plants.

I found these pretty blooms growing a spot where I frequently find flowers strange to the garden.  According to the AI search feature, this is a Cape Plumbago.

These cheerful desert marigolds were blooming in several spots.  

They are such happy looking flowers. 

Framerate: Desert Pulse

 

Being at the Desert Botanical Garden so early and on such an overcast day, gave me the opportunity to enjoy the latest art exhibit going on at the garden.  It's called "Framerate: Desert Pulse" and it is a multi-sensory art exhibit using images scanned using LiDar technology to capture 3D images.  It was put together by ScanLAB Projects, an artistic and scientific team pioneering the artistry of 3D imaging. Cameras were set in place for long periods of time to capture growth and activities.  Many of the cameras were set up at the garden.  In fact, I saw at least one of them and wondered what it was all about.   There were digital screens set up in several places in the garden showing short 3 to 6 minute segments of the images.

The longest segment of images was in the exhibit hall where there were 14 large screens around the hall all showing different view points of the subject being scanned.  

The videos in the exhibit hall cycle through a 24 minute loop.  I thought when I entered that I'd watch a few minutes and then leave and come back another time.

That didn't happen.  I stayed through the entire loop and I'm sure I'll go back again.  It was mesmerizing.  

My photos here only show some of the desert blooms scenes.  There were construction sites, farming land and rain and water flows also.  It was all enhanced by original music for each different scene.  

I loved it!

Sunrise Magic

 

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden again on Wednesday morning, this time for the "member's hour" at 7:00.  As you can see, it was pretty dark when I arrived but it gave me an opportunity to photograph those pretty Chihuly sculptures at the entrance one more time.  (As if I need an excuse.)

On my way up to the hilltop view spot, I passed some more of the holiday decorations.  

At the top of the hill there is a good viewing spot to watch the sunrise. It isn't perfect because of all those electrical wires but at least they are barely visible in this zoomed shot.  

Without the zoom, you can see those power lines better.  You can also see that we only got a sliver of brilliant sunlight on this morning.  It was so heavily overcast that we never did get to see the fiery ball. The early morning visit was worth it none the less. It was like having the garden all to myself.  I enjoyed it so much, I stayed for two and half hours.  

Theme Day: Photo of the Year

 

My photo of the year was a tough choice this year. As I scanned my 2025 posts, I found so many photos that I loved.  I narrowed it down to two photos.  

This one is a portrait of Alexis, one of the three dogs that belong to my friends David and Riley. I posted it in July.  It was sheer luck that Alexis posed so perfectly and long enough for me to grab this shot.  

This second one I took at the Phoenix Art Museum.  I posted it last May. I had just recently taken that class on iPhone photography and I was practicing the use of the "portrait" mode. There was a colorful painting on the wall a few feet behind this Buddha statue and the portrait mode blurred that painting into a perfect backdrop.  

There are still a few of us City Daily Photo bloggers out there.  If you would like to check out their Photos of the Year, click here.

Happy New Year to All!!

Sunset on 2025

 

Today the sun will set on 2025 and tomorrow we are off to a new year and new adventures.  It seems like only yesterday that we slipped from 1999 to 2000 and here it is 26 years later.  I enjoyed my adventures in 2025 and I'm hoping 2026 will be just as good.  Enjoy your New Year's Eve celebrations!

Holidays at the Garden

 

I made a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday.  I knew I hadn't been there in a while but I was surprised when I checked the time stamp on my photos that I hadn't been there since mid-September. That's way too long.  No wonder my legs felt a little stiff climbing the high trail.  

Here is their holiday tree at the entrance.  

One of the many holiday decorations scattered around the park.

They had these pretty wreaths in different locations around the park.  This on was on the wall of the gift shop.

It wasn't too busy when I arrived around10:30 but it was crazy busy when I left about two hours later.  It's that time of year!  

Winter Blooms

 In the midst of winter when most of our deciduous trees are losing their leaves, the cassia trees are starting to bloom.

These pretty yellow blooms with just a hint of orange in them are a welcome sight.