Sleeping Beauty?

 

I have another post from my London trip today.  When I visited the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, I found this interesting artwork located in the center of the Fountain Court.  It depicted a woman sleeping inside this glass box and was complete with breathing sounds and dreamlike music.  

I did some research to find out more about this artwork and learned that it was part of 25th anniversary celebration and is called either "The Spell" or "The Dream".  The artist is Tai Shani.  

I took this close-up shot to see the sleeping lady's face.  Here is a quote describing the piece: "Drawing on fairytale archetypes of enchanted sleep, the work comments on society's 'curse' of capitalism and necessity of imagining new ways of being".  Interesting idea.  

A Perfect Profile

 

One of my favorite birds to observe is the cactus wren and this one posed for me last Sunday morning so I could get this photo.  Cactus wrens are always busy foraging on the ground or inside the tangle of of thorns of a cactus.  I was actually watching a group of quail when I turned and spotted this fellow sitting atop a cactus with the early morning light shining on it.  It was in a perfect position to get a great profile shot.  

Datura, Datura!!

 

I went to the Desert Botanical Garden early Sunday morning and encountered two very large patches of datura blooming with their distinctive white trumpet-shaped flowers.  I had never seen such large patches of the plant before.

The patches of blooms were making the bees very happy.  Both sites were covered with bees of all sizes enjoying the blooms.  

I was curious as to whether any of the poisonous effects of this plant can transfer to the honey produced by the bees.  According to my research, it wouldn't be of high enough concentration to cause any ill effects.  Phew!

A Busy Mural

 

This is a mural I photographed last month when Steve and I went to see the V & A Storehouse in Hackney Wick, east London.  We saw lots of colorful murals on the walk to storehouse.  Steve posted some of them here.  

This one appears to be the work of multiple artists.  There are so many different styles and concepts happening in this mural.  A couple of the images (upper right and left) have the look of some of the  Edward Gorey characters.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

An Interesting Follow-Up

 

I did learn something new from yesterday's electrical outage event.  Have you ever wondered how they put those very heavy steel plates over the construction trenches on our roadways?  I found out watching this process take place.  They use a big robot machine resembling a dinosaur.  They pick up the steel plate with what looks like a magnet.

Then they swing it into place using some kind of remote control device.  That man in the lower right of this photo is operating the control.

After it's in place, the man with the remote folds up the robot while the other two workers put down some sealing asphalt around the edges of the plate.

The guy operating the robot packs it up and drives away.  It's an interesting operation requiring a lot of heavy equipment that must cost a lot of money.  I'd say they would be wise to get this issue fixed soon before it costs more money.  

Not a Pretty Picture

 

I woke up at 3:00 in the morning and when I opened my weary eyes, I was looking straight up at the ceiling fan above my head.  It took a few seconds for my brain to kick in and wonder why the fan wasn't running.  Then I turned my head to look at the clock.  You guessed it, the electricity was out once again.  I checked my phone and saw a text message from the electric company saying it went out around 1:45 AM.  

I got up and walked out on my balcony just in time to see the electric company trucks arrive.  

After a lot of digging and scraping and fiddling around (my technical term) in the electrical boxes, it finally came back on at about 9:30 AM.  

Three times this summer is way too much.  

Here's hoping that old idiom "third time's a charm" is true in this case.  

P.S. Luckily, the temperature this morning was around 78.  A lot easier to tolerate than the 110 when it happed twice earlier this summer.  

On the Wild Side

 

I only found one of the wonderful Gille and Marc sculptures on this trip to London.  You might remember that I found several of them when I was there in 2023.  This one was great with all the wild animals jumping on a very long scooter together.

This display was all about endangered species and supporting a project called Go Wildlife Go.  Sounds like a worthy cause.  

The Green People

 

When I was exploring Canary Wharf in London, I encountered these very green people living in the various gardens between all those tall buildings.

The two above were the first two I spotted, then I started seeing them in other locations.

They were very quiet people so I let them go about their "growing" business.  I learned they are part of a living art installation called Nature Rising.  There are 21 humanoid figures but I only saw a few. They are made of moss and dried flowers.  It's an interesting art project.  I wonder how they will fare in winter.  

Storm in the Desert

 

On Monday evening, a storm passed through the Phoenix area with some heavy winds and wonderful rain.  All those clouds roiling around help create a great sunset.

Looking in the opposite direction I saw a rainbow forming.  I made my way outside to see if I could capture it.  It was a great way to end the day.  

Sublime Observations

 

One evening when I was walking to dinner near my hotel in London, some movement up high on this building caught my eye.

I wondered what I was seeing hanging from that open window.  I zoomed in and saw that a bird feeder was hanging from the window and two lovely, green parakeets were feasting on those seeds.

That same evening when I was near the restaurant, I spotted this cute fellow observing what was happening below him from a balcony.  

A few seconds later, he spotted me so I said "hello".  He didn't reply but I did see some tail wagging happening.  

Cute things like this make me smile.  

Theme Day: Vanishing Point

 I love taking photos with a "vanishing point" and I have many in my archives.  Finding one I hadn't posted before was the challenge for me.  It looks like this one might fit the bill.  I took this a few years ago on drive out to Fountain Hills, the town just east of Scottsdale.  I remember seeing this long stretch of desert road and no one else on it so I stopped, went out to the center of the road and snapped the shot low to the ground.  The road just vanishes out there somewhere.

To see other bloggers Vanishing Points, click here.

Flowers Across the Pond

 

I made it home safe and mostly sound.  The long flight and strange hours has me feeling a little dazed at the moment.  Since I don't have anything new to report from the Phoenix area, I thought I post a few photos I took over the past two weeks of the beautiful flowers I saw everywhere in London.  

Because of our extreme heat here in the desert, we don't see flowers at every turn.

In London, they are everywhere.  

I will certainly miss seeing so many all around me. 

Goodbye London

 

By the time I left my hotel room on Friday, it had stopped raining and it looked like it might clear up.  So, I took advantage and took another long walk.  I just sort of wandered a bit taking streets I hadn't taken before.  That's how I came across this grand looking building. The sign above the door says "College of Arms" and I had no idea what that meant.  Apparently they are responsible for the granting of new coats of arms and they maintain a registry of arms, pedigrees, Royal Licenses and a whole lot more.  

I also walked past this pub that looks like it might have been called the Blackfriars at one time.  See the friar standing above the door.

Across from the pub I saw this man and horse adorning the side of building.  I don't know what that building was but the horse statue looks very dramatic.

I also got some good views of some of those glass buildings that are filling the skyline of The City.

There is a lot of glass in this group.  

It's been a fun and educational two weeks.  I'll see you all again from home sweet home.

Fabulous Art and a Little Shopping

 

I started my day with a visit to the Courtauld Gallery which is located in Somerset House pictured above.  I had never been to this place before and I have to admit the building alone was extremely impressive.  

The art was pretty impressive too.  Like this Renior.

This was one of many Cezannes they had on display.  

And there were a few very impressive Van Gogh's.  

I'm so glad I saw this exhibit.  

After the exhibit, I decided to do a bit of shopping.  Friday is my last full day in London and it's supposed to rain all day so I thought I'd do my shopping on Thursday.  I stopped at Hatchards Book store just to look around.  I didn't buy any books to take home but I did pick up a few greeting cards.

I also stopped at Fortnum and Mason's, one of my favorite places to browse around.  They had all the windows covered getting ready for the elaborate holiday displays they always do.  

I also had dessert at a place called Cakes & Bubbles, the creation of Albert Adria.  He was named the world's best pastry chef.  A chef I know from Phoenix mentioned him one time so I decided to try one of his creations.  It was called a Chocolate and Cherry Tart and it was heavenly.  

Two Churches and a Financial District

 

I wanted to experience the new Elizabeth Tube Line so I studied where it went and decided to take it out to Canary Wharf, the gleaming new financial district for London.  I loved the Elizabeth line.  Everything was so clean and quiet.  

Canary Wharf was a bit of a shock.  I hadn't been there for around 10 years and wow, had it changed.  there were more buildings, more shops and more things to see.  And, I think I saw buildings for every big American bank as well as some European ones.

After spending a few hours at the newness of Canary Wharf, I headed back into the city and made a stop at the truly 'old' St. Bartholomew the Great Church.  I hadn't visited this church for over 10 years.  One of my favorite photos was taken at this church on my first visit all those years ago.  This church dates back to 1123 and it has survived a ransacking in 1543 and the great fire in 1666.  It's a true survivor.  

After visiting St. Bartholomew, I walked to St. Paul's and decided to pay the admission fee to have a look inside.  It's been probably 20 years since I visited the inside of this church.

Just as I remembered, the beauty of the place is striking.  They were playing some organ music that was quite relaxing so I stayed inside for a while listening to the music and admiring the beauty of the place.

To top off my evening, I returned to a Greek restaurant that I had visited last week.  I was surprised that I was greeted with a "welcome back" and a friendly welcome.  What a warm and lovely place with great food and a feeling like you are part of the family.  The restaurant is called Apollo and the owners and staff made me feel right at home.