Wednesday, November 25, 2009

desert bird

this little verdin was busy picking at something
on a palo verde branch. verdins are bigger than
hummingbirds, but not much.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

lone saguaro, south mountain

one of my favorite places to hike and birdwatch,
south mountain is one mile from tempe.

Monday, November 23, 2009

2.4/112/26.2

at the ironman race yesterday. participants swam
2.4 miles across tempe lake, biked 112 miles and
topped it off with a marathon. what an
accomplishment!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

irrigation standpipe art

several of these standpipes have been decorated in
ASU neighborhoods; here a road bicycle has been
incorporated - one of my favorites

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

cranium fun

a rousing game of cranium was enjoyed in tempe
by these fine characters just the other night.

Monday, October 26, 2009

under construction

another section along the western canal, near ken
mcdonald golf course; when finished, this cage will
provide protection to joggers, cyclists, horses, etc. from
errant golf balls

Sunday, October 25, 2009

western canal

the western canal path is shaping up nicely. construction crews

have been pouring concrete, adding light fixtures, plants, and

art to connect Tempe, Chandler and Gilbert.

Friday, October 16, 2009

go fish!

tempe lake offers year-round fishing opportunities.
expect to catch channel catfish, sunfish, largemouth bass,
Israeli carp, threadfin shad, yellow bass, common carp,
inland silverside minnow; rainbow trout are cool water
fish stocked from November through April.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Saturday, October 10, 2009

tour de fun

the fun tour de fat event was in full force at tempe lake
this morning. thousands showed up on bikes with
crazy costumes. what a blast and a photographer's
paradise! plus great beer drinking before noon!

Friday, October 9, 2009

fall harvest

this mural inside Wildflower Bread Company cafe at
McClintock and Guadalupe makes me think of fall harvest

Saturday, October 3, 2009

fabulous fall

fall has arrived in tempe, what a relief.
for the next 7 months tempeans and phoenicians alike will
be outside attending festivals and other outdoor events
enjoying the great weather. last friday we were
treated to an outdoor ballet on the south shore of
tempe lake. this weekend oktoberfest is in full force.
and me, I'm outside with my camera once more.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

the smell of rain in the morning

a very nice downpour yesterday morning left the 
desert smelling like fresh creosote, so wonderful. 

Saturday, September 5, 2009

delicious dish

Oysters Rockefeller at Casey Moore's Oyster House
located in the Maple-Ash Neighborhood

Friday, September 4, 2009

monsoon action

a bit of monsoon action, foreshadowed by this
cloud/sunset combo last night. lots of rain fell while we had 
dinner at Casey Moore's Oyster bar. 

Monday, August 24, 2009

arizona reminders

at ocean beach, san diego.
the arizona cafe. the surf board out 
front shows the specials of the day -
a couple teriyaki bowls and mac and 
cheese...not sure what those dishes
have to do with arizona, but I'm 
thankful to get a photo in san 
diego that is remotely qualifying 
for the tempe daily....
regular posts are coming soon, temps 
are coming down in az and things are 
starting to happen out of doors again!

Friday, August 7, 2009

running behind, oh my


i've been in indiana and the high heat in phoenix has 
kept me indoors...but I promise to have regular 
tempe postings very soon!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

the company we keep

advertisement for the Tour de Fat 
bike ride on the back cover of the latest 
Rolling Stone. 
What's the TdF got to do with Tempe?
Tempe hosts the ride on October 10. 
Even cooler, I think, is the list of cities
hosting the ride...Minneapolis,
Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Boise, Fort
Collins, Denver, San Francisco, San 
Diego, Austin and Tempe. That's a 
group with some pizazz!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Disappearialis quickius

it made my day when this roadrunner jumped up
 on the ledge of my office window and looked in 
before *beep, beep* jetting off in roadrunner 
fashion. 
Arizona Game and Fish Department headquarters, 
Carefree Highway, north Phoenix.
by the way, the post title is a reference to the pseudo latin name given 
to the roadrunner cartoon character in a june 1962 episode 
titled, "zoom at the top"

Monday, July 20, 2009

Sunday, July 19, 2009

the monsoon clouds keep rolling in....

but so far, no rain. it is a nice change from our 
usual cloudless skies, but a little moisture would
make it perfect. 

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Tempe Fire Station No. 1

the city of tempe encompasses an area just under 40
square miles. we have 6 fire stations. emergency units are
dispatched using GPS to ensure the trucks closest to an 
incident are the ones dispatched. also, all lighted 
intersections have traffic signal preemption, allowing 
emergency personnel to control traffic signals as they 
approach. in 2008, the tempe fire department 
responded to 18,873 calls including 2,414 fires and 15,191 
emergency medical calls. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

flies and more

Arizona FlyFishing has all the gear for pros and 
novices alike. the store is tucked 
back in the corner of a strip mall at Mill and Baseline. 
inside, the walls are covered with tying materials, fly lines, 
leaders, tippets, rods, reels, clothing, and bins full of flies.
fly tying classes and fishing trips are offered. 
shop keepers tie flies and tell fish tales, what a way to 
pass the days. 

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

contemporary urban tempe

the vale condominiums, designed by architect will 
bruder (whose work includes many library and contemporary 
art projects) and completed in 2005. a modern
industrial looking residential building with lime green  
flair. located at university and
beck avenue, 46 units as well as office space.

Monday, July 6, 2009

world exploration in your own backyard...

for wanderlust shoppers looking for a bit of culinary
adventure, trader joe's is the place. the selection is 
unconventional, no keebler, kelloggs or del monte here. 
the food selection and prices are fantastic.
 tempe's trader joe's is located at 
mcclintock and guadalupe roads and I must say, 
shopping here makes me happy. 
 I love getting tj's fearless flyer newsletter too. 

Sunday, July 5, 2009

sunday games

the soccer field at kiwanis park (all american way & 
guadalupe roads) was alive with soccer/futbol 
action this morning. 

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Peace, love, and...

fresh mex food...I hear the fish tacos and margaritas 
are good. Mill Avenue

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

not ripe yet

but these prickly pear flowers have closed
and are well on their way to becoming
plump and juicy fruits. 

Monday, June 29, 2009

under the spell of fun

Flip Orley, known as a "comic hypnotist"
was recently at the Tempe Improv
(Rural and University Road)
Flip first became interested in 
hypnotism when he came across the 
book "how to pick up girls through
hypnotism" in the 6th grade. Seems 
like most things of importance can 
be traced back to getting a date. 

Thursday, June 25, 2009

feed your creative energy here

utrecht art supply store, located at rural and 
university drive, is one of my favorite places for 
paints, pens, pencils, paper and the like.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

purple lake

the light rail bridge is beautiful at night. in fact, roads and 
bridges magazine named the tempe lake light rail bridge 
the 10th best bridge built in 2008. LED lights
illuminate the sides of the bridge and the water below;
 lighting up as the train passes over every 10 minutes or so.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Hidden Treasures

I love that Arizona is a place where desert tortoises
thrive. Rarely seen, I chose my own backyard tortoise 
for this month's theme, hidden treasures. check out
a sampling of AZ's treasures by visiting the other 
Arizona blogs:




Sunday, June 14, 2009

big breakfast

I recently ate at Matt's Big Breakfast in Phoenix. 
Matt's BB is a tiny retro-style restaurant with 
 a big reputation. there's always a wait - mine was about 
an hour, but it was worth it - the food was delicious.

Friday, May 29, 2009

something borrowed

from phoenix. I liked the repeating pattern of 
the windows of this hotel.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

color and order

prayer flags waving in the breeze. 
there are traditionally five flags in a set, one in each 
of five colors representing elements,
 in order from left to right: blue (sky), white (air/wind),
red (fire), green (water), yellow (earth)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

cat on the roof

walking along mill avenue, I looked up and saw this 
cat that I'd never noticed before.

Monday, May 25, 2009

mmmm, yogurt

I tried Mojo yogurt for the first time yesterday. The 
interior of the shop is bright red and modern looking, the 
yogurt is yummy. 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

in the valley of the sun

the phoenix metro area has more than 300 sunny days
each year. it's no wonder solar panels are becoming 
so common. arizona state university has installed
solar panels on top of its parking garages, like this one
near the north end of college avenue and stadium drive.