Snowy Egret

 

When I took that drive out to Papago Park a week or so ago, I did spot another pretty bird by the water.  I saw this snowy egret lurking behind some rocks.

I was patient and waited for him to emerge and patience paid off.  Such pristine white feathers!  What a beauty.

Theme Day: Water

 

If the conditions are just right, the water in the Papago Park lagoon will be still enough to capture some great reflections of the palm trees surrounding the lagoon.  

The theme for City Daily Photo Bloggers for July is "Water" something that is scarce here in the desert.  However, water features can be found in different parts of the city. To see more water themed photos from bloggers, click here.

Better Luck

 

I made another stop at Papago Park and this time had better luck spotting some birds.  I saw this great blue heron keeping an eye on the water and I even captured a duck in the same photo.  Not wanting to be left out, a grackle hopped into the frame also.  

Historic Tomb

 

Papago Park is where we find the tomb of Arizona's first Governor.  I posted the story of this unusual tomb back in 2011.  (Yikes, 15 years ago.)  You can read about this unusual pyramid tomb in the link to my past post.  Governor Hunt began serving as governor before Arizona was a state.  He guided the way to our statehood.  The tomb has been here since 1931 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Between the Rocks

I drove out to Papago Park on Saturday and made my way up to the top lookout point at the park's edge.  I noticed the steady stream of planes coming in for a landing.  The park is located under the flight path for Sky Harbor International Airport.  I waited so I could capture one of the planes between these two huge rock formations.

I actually went there to see if I could photograph any of the waterbirds that hang around the lagoon but, the park was too busy so the birds were staying away.  So the only photos I got were of the buttes that surround the park.  This view is looking north and the top view is to the south.  

Snowy Egret

 

I moved over to another location at Papago Park and I found a snowy egret standing on a rock.  Here's another calm and graceful bird.  

The egret soon jumped down off of the rock and into the water so it could poke around trying to find some tasty bits to snack on.  It was a good day for finding some of the birds I don't see often.

The Great Blue Heron

 

At a recent trip to Papago Park I found a Great Blue Heron standing at the edge of the water and that grackle in the photo was not happy about it.  The grackle and another friend kept dive-bombing the heron.  The heron appeared to be minding its own business but those grackles were not happy.

The funny thing was that the heron was totally unfazed and simply ignored all the screeching and flapping around.  Herons are such calm and graceful birds.

I was there for about 20 minutes snapping photos and the heron just walked along the shore and watched the water.  

It's Been Raining

 

We've had some rain the last three or four days.  Not a deluge but enough to maybe encourage the spring wildflowers to pop up. At least I'm hoping so.

We needed it.  It hasn't rained here all winter so things were getting very dry.  I took a drive out to Papago Park to see if I could get some good cloud photos. These were the result.  

Scottsdale Civic Center Park

 

Back in October of last year, I posted some night time photos of these two new amphitheaters at the Scottsdale Civic Center Park.  It took me a while to get back to the park in the daytime but I finally did so I could get photos of these new spaces during the day.

This is the smaller space.  You can see the larger one in the far background of this photo and in the top photo.  I haven't seen them put to use yet but there will be lots of celebrations in this park during the spring months so I'm sure they will be put to good use sometime very soon.  

Hidden Park

 

My chiropractor moved his office to a new location about 2 years ago.  At the new building, I found this little garden area on a lower level between the building and the garage.  I visit his office about once every month and I've never seen anyone using this space.  It's such an attractive and quiet spot, I'm surprised it isn't used more.  

I've never been there around lunch time. Maybe it gets used then.  

Another Rainy View

 

These two photos are from my visit to the Phoenix Art Museum last week when it was raining almost every day.  I took these from a window on the 3rd floor of the museum and facing directly south toward downtown.  

While I was taking the shot, I noticed I could see the cancer survivors sculpture across the street so I zoomed in on it.  I posted a photo of that sculpture back in July of 2008.  I had just begun this blog so it was one of the first posts.  

2008 was seven years before I discovered that I had breast cancer so now this sculpture means a little more to me than when I photographed it all those years ago.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Travel is a time to indulge.  

He's Still There

 

I did a post about his fellow who sits at a picnic table at Steel Indian School Park around 10 years ago.  You can see it here.  I recently saw that he was still there and still looking over his shoulder.

He's actually checking to make sure no one sees him peeking at the other guy's cards.  This is a sculpture called "Setting Up the Competition" by J. Seward Johnson Jr.  

His dishonesty is there for everyone to see but he's yet to be held to account.

Reminds me of a few political figures that won't be mentioned.

Get Your Ducks in a Row

 

Today is my birthday so it's the perfect time to make sure I have all my ducks in a row.  Look at them, they are all lined up perfectly!  

I'll be celebrating with friends tonight and tomorrow night.  When you get to be my age, two celebratory dinners is the way to go!

Freedom in the Park

 

Here is a sculpture that has been sitting in the Scottsdale Civic Center Park for many years.  Sadly, I never paid much attention to it.  For some reason, it called to me that last time I was there.  I wonder if it has been moved to a new location that makes it more visible.  It's called "Freedom" and was created in 1977 by Robert Winslow.  It looks so smooth and almost soft.  It begs to be touched.  

All Gone!

 

There used to be a beautiful fountain at the Scottsdale Civic Center Park. 

It was large with several fountain spouts that pushed water into the air.  It was located right in the middle of the park and although you wouldn't know it when you were walking around it, the fountain was located right above a street that traveled north and south right under the park.  That fountain started to cause leakage below it and the water was causing a lot of damage to the underpass for the road.  Back in 2018, I wrote about it with some photos of the temporary art pieces that replaced the water.

It was finally decided that the entire underpass had to be rebuilt so construction started in the fall of 2018 and it continued into the spring of 2021.  During that time, the park was almost divided into two pieces because of the construction and the work that needed to be done to stabilize the area.  When it finally opened again, this is what replaced the fountain.  A long flat space with both grass and paved area.  It's certainly not as attractive as the fountain but the area has become a  popular place to ride bikes through the park and picnic in the grass.  It's still a popular park, it just looks different to those of us who remember the fountain.

Last Full Day in New York

 

Yesterday was our last full day in New York.  We have a few hours on Monday and then an evening flight home to Phoenix.

As you can see from the left, we spent some time at the Guggenheim Museum on Sunday.  They had a fabulous Kandinsky exhibit on display.

Then we did a very touristy thing and took a carriage ride through Central Park.  I've never done that before but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The trees in Central Park we only beginning to turn but we saw a few great colors anyway.

Then we ended the day with another Broadway show.  This time it was SIX, a new musical all about the six wives of Henry VIII.  Only these six wives were a lot more liberated and modern.  It was fun!

As I write this, I'm not sure what we will be up to Monday morning before we leave for the airport.  I'll report on that later.

Cattails and Palm Trees

 

I drove to Papago Park last weekend in the hopes of seeing some water birds around the lagoon.  There was not a bird in sight the entire time I was there.  I usually always see birds here but on Sunday, none were out and about.  The birds must have been gathering in some other location.

So, I snapped a couple of photos of the cattails at the edge of the lagoon with the palm trees in the background.  

I'll look for birds another day.

Roses, Roses, Roses

 

Back on Valentines Day, I posted a photo of some unusual looking roses I spotted while at Walgreens.  Later that day I bought a bouquet of red roses at the supermarket and they have opened up beautifully.  Above is one of the blooms.

That got me to thinking about all the roses I've seen lately like this Iceberg Rose that I saw the last time I was at the Desert Botanical Garden.  They have several rose bushes but the Iceberg Rose plant is the one that blooms the most.

This red beauty is one I saw at Steele Indian School Park.  They have quite a few roses that are blooming this time of year.  

I photographed this pretty pink rose at my local nursery.  I love roaming around the paths at the nursery and admiring all the blooms on the various plants.  

This rose was in a bouquet that was on the desk of a co-worker back when I was actually working in the office.  So it's not as recent as the other photos but it was so pretty I decided to include it too.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing all these pretty flowers.  I felt like today would be a good day for my blog to feature some natural beauty.  

Looking for Some Beauty

 

It's been an exhausting week here in the U.S.  Politically speaking, that is.  I decided that I'd dedicate my post today to some beautiful things.  It's kind of like breath of fresh air.

I browsed through my photos for some pretty shots and I chose these four.  Above are some pretty iris I photographed at the Japanese Friendship Garden a few years ago.

To the left are some sky flowers that I saw at a local nursery.

Above is a white rose that was once in a bouquet of roses I had at home.  I love this macro shot I took so much that I had it printed on canvas for my house. 

And finally, one more rose growing in the rose garden at Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix.  Ahhh...a big sigh.  That's just what I needed.  

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!