Archived Oddities

 

I was wandering through my archived photos this last weekend and weeding out a few here and there when I came across a few odds and ends I thought might warrant a showing.  

First up is a white winged dove stretching his neck to look at something.  I'm not sure what but he does look interested.

To the right is a profile image of a statue I've featured before on this site.  It's a giant blue head that sits in front of a Scottsdale art gallery.  You can see a full face image here.

Speaking of Scottsdale, here is another image from that city.  Along Fifth Avenue in Scottsdale is a place called Alien Donuts.  I snapped this photo of a few of the outside decorations a few months before the pandemic started. The photo has been sitting in a folder ever since.

Above is a closeup of the fountain in the city square of Carefree Arizona.  I was about to delete this one but I love how the photo captured the drops of water so it escaped the trash pile.

This last photo was taken back in May when I visited the Phoenix Art Museum.  I did a post about some new paintings on display by younger artists and that one to the right was one of them.  When I stepped back to get a broader view, I spotted the gentleman seated and couldn't resist another shot.  There is always something unexpected to see at the art museum.

Odds and Ends

 

It's time again for another round of random shots.  I'll start with this little lady and her balloons.  I saw it on a wall inside Scottsdale Fashion Square when I recently made a very quick trip into the mall to pick something up.  

Some yellow iris blooming in a planter around some shops.  I was surprised to see iris blooming in a planter around an office building.  

I saw this car on display when I was in Tucson two weeks ago.  It's a fully electric, one-passenger car.  It had two wheels in front and one wheel in back.  I think I might feel claustrophobic inside it.

A Southwest Airlines flight heading for the airport after it skimmed over the top of a palm tree.  Not really, it just looked that way from where I was standing.

Above are some Native American-style blankets for sale at a shop for tourists in Scottsdale.

And lastly, a sign in a parking lot that has been plastered full of stickers.  I parked right by it when I stopped at the art supply store to pick up a few things.

The Carefree Lifestyle

Yesterday I mentioned that I drove out to Carefree Arizona last Sunday just to look around the art galleries and have lunch.  While there, I visited several galleries, two of which were located in this quaint spot called the Spanish Village.

The shops, galleries and restaurants all circle around a central courtyard full of trees, cactus and places to sit and relax.  I loved that "Carefree" atmosphere.

Lunch with the Queen

My friend Glenda and I drove out to Carefree Arizona last Sunday to look around the galleries and have lunch.  We dined at the English Rose Tea Room and had lunch while the Queen looked on.

It is a cute place that was decorated with more English knick-knacks than I've ever seen at a restaurant in England.  I did like the vintage post cards that were under the glass at our table.

The little tea sandwiches went very well with that mushroom and brie soup!

Balanced Among the Rocks

Carefree Arizona is part of what is called the Phoenix Metro Area.  It's located north of Scottsdale.  The landscape in the area is full of huge boulders and many of the houses in Carefree are nestled between or on top of the rocks.

There are a lot of big homes out this way and the surrounding rocks make them very attractive.

Anyone for tea?

While walking around in Carefree on Sunday, I discovered this little place called the English Rose Tearoom.  It was the British flag out front that made me check it out.  

The place had some very cute decorations around starting with this old bicycle out front with the flower display in it's basket.

But, it was all the teapots and cups hanging from the chandelier that really caught my eye.  I didn't stop for tea myself.  I just stopped to snap a few pictures.  However, there were lots of people inside enjoying tea with all the trimmings.

Avoiding the crowds

After Friday at the zoo and Saturday at the food and wine event, I opted for a quieter Sunday.  I took a drive out to Carefree Arizona and strolled around the town center.  That's where I found this indoor shopping center where almost all the shops were closed up.  Some of them were closed for Sunday but, a good number of them were just plain empty.  It struck me that this was a rather ornate shopping area that may have lost it's appeal.

I was looking for quiet and I found it.

For Sale

If you happen to be in the market for a desert retreat, this house in Carefree is for sale.  It certainly sits in a boulder-rich location and I'll bet the views from that patio are extra nice.

Sharon's Sojourns has a little blast from the past on that site today.

I hope you can join other City Daily Photo bloggers on September 1st for the theme day!  The September theme is "Pink".

Hidden Home

This southwestern style house was hidden behind a wall of shrubs along a road in the town of Carefree.  I actually couldn't get a full view of the house but there was a break in the trees big enough for me to get a shot of this entrance.  It appears to have a perfect style for a desert retreat.

The theme for September for City Daily Photo bloggers is "Pink."  To participate, link your post on September 1 to the CDP theme day page.

Old Wagon

I took a drive out toward Carefree yesterday morning to see if I could find some interesting sky shots and when I got to the end of one road in Carefree I found this old wagon at the side of the road.  I took several shots of it and suddenly remembered that I have that painting effects feature in the camera so I thought I'd give it a try.  It tends to make everything too light so I made some adjustments to give it more color and I think I like the result.

See that darker brush behind the wagon?  Those shrubs sort of lined the road along here but I was able to spot little pieces of the house that was hidden behind the shrubs.  Tomorrow I'll show you the shot I took through the shrubs.

The theme for September for City Daily Photo bloggers is "Pink."  To participate, link your post on September 1 to the CDP theme day page.

Big

We grow our lizards big here in the desert southwest!

Actually, this is a slide in a children's playground in the city center of Carefree Arizona.  If you look closely you can see a handle bar on his back.

Sharon's Sojourns is visiting a glacier today!

Golf on the edge

Just before leaving the Carefree area and entering the Tonto National Forest, I saw this golf course.  That bright green is unmistakable against the desert foothills.  We had a monsoon rain storm the night before so it was a reasonably pleasant morning for a game of golf.

Carefree Arizona

Continuing on my Saturday drive, I stopped in the town of Carefree at the city center where I took the above photo.

The fountain in the park makes a big arching waterfall and you can stand underneath it without getting wet.  How could I resist that straight up shot?

Out for a drive

I took a little drive yesterday way north of Phoenix past the towns of Cave Creek and Carefree.  I was out to find some native American ruins that I saw on my Arizona atlas.  When I first moved to Arizona, this area was way, way out of town and I would have traveled quite a distance in the desert foothills once I passed Carefree.  Today it's all grown up.  There were subdivisions and golf courses all the way to the border with Tonto National Forrest.  This is one of the subdivisions I passed along the way.  It's called Tonto Hills.

There were lots of houses in the area, some of them climbing up the hillside to command a nice view.  This was one of the houses I passed.

More on my hike to the ruins tomorrow.