Garden of Lights Extended

 

Back in April, I did a post about the Garden of Lights feature that had been set up at the Desert Botanical Garden.  It was designed to encourage evening walks at the garden.  That feature has been extended with some additional light features and some changes in operating hours.  The garden is open at 6:00 AM  and until 10:00 PM for these summer months.  

I spotted these trees that have been enhanced with colorful lighting.

I also saw this wall covered in reflective circles.  There were spot lights aimed at this wall so I'm guessing that at night, those lights do some kind of magical lighting feature.  I need to do another evening walk to check this out.

Competing Trees

 

I saw these two trees that seem to be competing for attention.  They were on either side of the driveway for a house.  

The one in the back looks like a full sized ficus tree and the one in front on this photo is a palm tree.  Two totally different trees but both big and bold.  

Things I Don't Understand

 

I heard a lot of noise outside yesterday morning so around 10:30 AM I decided to investigate.  I discovered that trees were being cut down on the street behind where I live.  One was already gone.  You can see the trunk to right in the photo above.

The second tree was in the process with a man up the tree taking off the branches.

By 1:00 PM, here's what it looked like.  Two perfectly nice trees gone.  I simply don't understand it.  We live in a desert city where shade is of utmost importance.  Why cut down perfectly healthy trees?

I'm going to have to do some investigating to see if I can understand what is going on.  I hate seeing our trees treated this way.

Tall Eucalyptus Tree

 

There is a very tall eucalyptus tree located in the courtyard area of Biltmore Fashion Park.  It's been standing there since the beginning of the mall which was 1963.

Just recently, I notice a little plaque on the side of the tree.

On closer look, I discovered it was a memorial plaque to someone named Ruben Mendez. I tried to find out who this was but could find no link of someone named Ruben Mendez and Biltmore Fashion Park.

I might take a wild guess that he might have been a landscape gardener or grounds keeper.  

It's an interesting little memorial.  I have no idea when it was placed on the tree.

Towering Over

 

I took a turn down a residential street that sits just behind a big commercial area and was struck by the sight of this modest house towered over by a very tall building.  It almost seemed like that building was sitting in the back yard of that house.  

A little further down that same street, I saw two houses with very large trees in their front gardens.  

They are living in the shadow of tall buildings but the tree-lined street still has that residential quality.  

Rosy Sky

 

I was visiting with friends Thursday evening when we all noticed a rosy glow outside the window.  

We went outside to find a very rosy sunset forming overhead.  We had just enough clouds in the sky to paint the sky with blushes of rose and purple.  Such a pretty way to end the day.

It's the Season of Yellow

 

It's that time of year when the palo verde trees are blooming like crazy and covering the everything in a blanket of yellow.  They are a sign of spring and a warning of the hot summer to come.  It actually feels like the hot summer has arrived with record temperatures above the 100 degree mark this last week.  

I took this photo at a restaurant called Ocotillo.  I knew they had an entrance that was lined with palo verde trees so I stopped there to catch a photo.  You can't see this entrance from the street so I had no idea just how yellow it would be.  I was surprised by the intensity of the color.  

Flowering Trees

 

I was at the Scottsdale Civic Center last weekend where I spotted two trees that were blooming at the moment.  This pink one I believe is called Rosy Trumpet tree.

For this one with the white blooms I used Google to identify it as an Amelanchier.  Google indentification can be hit or miss so if any of you plant experts know better, please let me know.

The Cascalote Tree

 

I took these photos at the end of December at the Desert Botanical Garden when the cascalote tree that I like so much was in full bloom.  I love to sit at one of the table under the tree and watch the birds and be bees loving all those pretty yellow blooms.  

I also enjoy seeing those yellow blooms against a lovely blue sky.

It's one of those trees that feeds all kinds of needs.  The bees are busy gathering the pollen, the tiny little verdin birds feed on the centers of the blooms and then the larger birds like to gather the blooms that fall to the ground.  It also feeds the human need for spring colors in the winter months.  It serves an abundance of needs.

Flat Top

 

This unusually shaped tree caught my eye recently and I had to turn around and go back to get a photo.  It's so full of green across it's width but I wonder what happened to it's top.  It almost looks like someone shaped it so it would grow this way.  I know that trees come in all shapes and sizes, I've just never seen one shaped quite like this before.

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.

Fall Colors are Showing

 

While all the holiday festivities have been going on, I started to notice that some of our trees were starting to show their fall colors.  Last Sunday, I stopped at a big corporate center to take a few photos.

These trees have quite a bit of brownish-red in them.  I bet if I had seem them one week before, they would have been totally yellow. 

I'll be keeping my eyes out for more around town.

Around the Neighborhood

 

Another walk around the neighborhood yielded a few more photos to share.  This extremely full tree was showing a little color in the leaves.  Unlike some trees that turn yellow, this one is turning an redish-brown color.  

I noticed when walking past this house that I could see straight through the front window and into the golf course behind the house.  It looks like the owners can chat with the golfers right from their back yard.

This house had put up some modest holiday decorations. They've made the front door very welcoming.

Another house had this lovely fountain in front for everyone who walks past to enjoy.  

A Surprise Pop-Up

 

As usual, I snapped quite a few photos while walking in the neighborhood last weekend.  There were a row of these ornamental orange trees in one spot and I stopped to snap a photo of this neatly trimmed one that happened to be full of fruit.

While I was standing there, this little mockingbird just popped up from inside the tree.  He must have a nest inside that complex den of branches.  

Happy Thanksgiving

 

I'm wishing all my American readers a very Happy Thanksgiving today.  May your day be filled with love and laughter and lots of your favorite foods.  

I pulled this photo out of my archives because when I think of Thanksgiving, this is the type of scene that comes to mind.  I grew up in the midwest and at Thanksgiving my home town was full of trees that looked like this.

It will be a few more weeks before the Arizona trees will start to show this kind of color.

Back to Blue Skies

 Our blue skies have returned here in Phoenix after several days of clouds, rain and wind.  In fact, on Monday we had a sort of micro-burst that caused some tree damage in certain parts of town.  I didn't notice any damage near where I live but I have heard that in Tempe, two buildings lost their roofs and many trees were uprooted.

The early morning temps are now in the low 60's and just yesterday I heard then saw a huge flock of Canadian Geese flying over the golf course next door.  

Fall is certainly in the air here in the desert southwest.

Skywatching

 

Keeping an eye on the sky at sunset is entertaining when there are a few clouds overhead.  On Thursday evening I saw some clouds gathering and wondered if there might be some good light.  This one was about as intense as it got that evening.  Not a brilliant sunset but a nice one nonetheless. 

I liked this little wispy cloud with just a touch of pink in it so I snapped a photo.  I didn't know I captured a plane passing overhead at the same time.  

Then after capturing the pretty sun-tinged clouds, it rained!  Not a rain that would register with any of you who see rain more often.  Frankly, it was just a few drops here and there.  Still, it was a totally unexpected event.  

Search for Shade

 

I had an appointment with the eye doctor yesterday and when I arrived at the parking lot, I was hoping I'd find a spot in the shade.  We Arizonans are good at finding a little sliver of shade anywhere we can.  I lucked out and found a spot under this huge, old tree.

I took the top photo from my car window.  When I got out and walked around the row of cars, I spotted an agave plant with a tall bloom stock growing under the tree.

It looked sort of out of place hiding under the shade of that big tree.  But I bet it was happy to be out of the sun.  

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.

 

Chaste Trees Are Blooming

 

I've seen several Chaste Trees around town lately and all of them are bursting with these pretty, lavender blooms.  This one is a small tree that I saw in the Scottsdale Civic Center Park.  

This one is the size of a bush right now but there is one closer to my house that is a full sized tree.  I posted a photo of it five years ago.