A Goose Parade

 

On my walk around the neighborhood on Friday, I saw these geese marching in a single line across the golf course.  There was a little precision goose-stepping going on there.

In the opposite direction, I saw just one goose watching over the antics of a group of ducks.  All of them were sharing all that lovely green grass with the golfers who were out for a round of golf. It was a perfect day to be enjoying the outdoors.

Nature's Beauty

 

Nature is the ultimate creator of beauty.  I love stopping to admire what she has to offer like these pretty, reddish leaves glowing in the late afternoon sun.

Or the beauty of some dried leaves holding on to the bitter end.

Even a tiny little plant placed on a cafe table.  

They are all worthy of second look or a photograph.  

Birds on a Wire

 

I heard the chatter from these peach-faced lovebirds before I saw them.  I didn't expect see them on the electrical wires but there they were having a  conversation with each other.

Soon they were joined by a starling, a mockingbird and a grackle.  What a great example of nature's diversity.  I think they were all waiting for the lady from the yard below to fill the bird feeder.

I learned that today was National "Bird" Day so this post is for the birds!

Goodbye 2020

It's been a year that will not be missed by anyone.  The pain that this last year has cast upon us has touched every corner of our planet, some places more so than others.  I realize that we will be carrying the baggage of this world-wide health crisis into 2021 but, at least there is hope on the horizon.  I hope the vaccines that have become available will help to reduce fatalities and move us to a place where this disease can be controlled.  

For us here in the United States, we are hoping for a smooth transition to a new presidency.  But that change too will carry some heavy baggage with it.  Half of our country seems to have descended into some sort of madness where reality does not exist.  It's one thing to have divergent political views.  It's entirely something different to follow a notorious lier over the cliff and into an abyss of conspiracy theories and destruction.

I for one have my fingers crossed the 2021 will be full of hope and health.  I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

 

The Question Mark

We had a bit of a reprieve from the heat last week when a cool front moved in and we were rewarded with temperatures in the 70's.  I took the opportunity to visit the Desert Botanical Garden in the late afternoon for a change and I visited the butterfly pavilion one last time before it closes next week.  I found a new butterfly to admire, the Question Mark butterfly.  When I first spotted it sitting on that slice of orange, I thought it was a dead leaf.  It looks so drab.

One of the docents saw me looking at it and told me that when it opens its wings, it's a gorgeous butterfly.  I found one in the distance sitting on a lavender flower and saw that she was right.  The bottom of its wings hides the beauty on the top side.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I have the second part to my trip to Sunnylands.  What a fabulous place!

Communing with Nature

I did make it outdoors on Sunday to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and to do a little communing with nature.  I took a long walk at the Desert Botanical Garden where I found this lovely white datura bloom.  It's looking pretty good with those splotches of red flowers behind it.

The honey bees were busy as usual.

And the bright sun shining on this palm leaf was making it hard to resist.  I was hoping we were headed into fall weather but, the reports say it's heating up again later this week.

Mystery Plant

When I was at the garden on Sunday I saw this new plant back in the demonstration garden.  There was no sign on it so I have no idea what is is but I like it!

I love those long fuzzy blooms with the hot pink tips.

Do you "plant people" out there have any ideas?

Added:  Chenille Plant it is!  Thank you!  Now that you mention it, it does remind me of a Chenille bedspread my grandmother had when I was a little kid.

Skywatching

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was at Julie and Dave's new house last Sunday and we spent time on the patio enjoying the view.  Well, we also did quite a bit of skywatching as the clouds rolled by.  Every now and then there were some dramatic formations aided by the light from the setting sun on the other side of the mountain.

We also caught site of the evening arrival of the daily British Airways flight as it passed overhead on it's way to the airport.

The waxing moon was also putting on a show as it hung over head.  As you can tell, I was pointing my camera in just about every direction.

NEMO

I found Nemo!

Tomorrow I'll show you where I found him.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  It's about what you can find when you walk the streets of Paris.

RO HO EN

Saturday morning, I took a walk at the Japanese Friendship Garden.  The garden is a joint project with Phoenix and Himeji Japan, a sister city of Phoenix.  The name RO HO En comes from:

RO  the Japanese word for Heron, the symbol of the Himeji Castle
HO  The Japanese word for the Phoenix Bird
EN  The Japanese word for Garden

 The garden closes for the summer on May 31st so I'm glad I went yesterday.  They will open again in the fall.  Someone maintains the garden all summer but, it's just too hot to keep it open during our scorcher summers.  The garden is located on the edge of downtown Phoenix, very close to where I live.  It's a wonder I don't go there more often.

This beautiful condo building is located just south of the garden and I've often envied the view the residents must have.

White Peacock

This "white peacock" butterfly appears to be floating over these flowers but, I'm pretty sure it was sitting perfectly still when I took the photo.

The Queen

This Queen Butterfly was out enjoying Friday's warm weather.

Camouflage

This little hummingbird was well hidden within the plants but I could hear the humming of his wings and turned to capture the shot just in time.  I wouldn't think there was much nectar in that Baja Fairy Duster blooms but they do attract the hummingbirds and they certainly know best.

Red Head

Red thorns on a green cactus.

Sun Kissed

A winter favorite of all Phoenicians.

Icicles in Phoenix

I looked over at this fountain on my drive home from work yesterday and did a double take.  Is that icicles I see?  I went around the block to check it out and sure enough, there were icicles in the fountain!  This is rare sight for Phoenix.

How many birds….

.....can sit on one palm leaf?

An Arizona Sunset

Just another Arizona sunset

The Birds

I had visions of the old Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds” when I saw these birds gathered in a tree across the street from my house. 

They gave me a bit of a start when they started to fly right toward me while I was taking pictures.

Magical light

I took this one just minutes before I took yesterday’s photo.  I loved the way the light was fanning across the golf course in golden shafts.