more from september eleven, tempe lake...

september eleven at tempe lake...

the smallest of all...

birds are the hummingbirds; their tiny bodies and long bills are hard to mistake for any other. this male Anna's hummingbird, crowned in red, sits on a creosote branch...very commonly seen in Tempe.

arizona sea life aquarium

located in the arizona mills mall, near priest and baseline, the arizona sea life aquarium has interactive pools, a 360 degree ocean tunnel, and thousands of sea creatures including rays, sharks, crustaceans, sea horses and jelly fish.

the art of the standpipe...

a few years ago, the residents of the Maple-Ash neighborhood west of ASU commissioned an artist to craft irrigation standpipes into works of art. Here’s a close up of one at 11^th and Farmer to show the eclectic mix of colorful tiles that is common to each standpipe, and also to show something I really love about photography – the opportunity to really look at something and have it open up …the closer I look at this photo, the more objects I see have been incorporated into the design... 

at the corner of wilson and howe...

this metal bicycle sculpture sits atop a mitchell park neighborhood mini round-about. several of these have been placed in the neighborhood in lieu of four way stops. they are just enough of an obstacle to slow drivers down, and more fun to look at, i think, than yet another stop sign...

bridging a gap...

and so, with this shot of tempe's new pedestrian bridge spanning the western end of the lake, my attempt to re-engage the tempe photo blog. i could say i was just released from prison...the reason i haven't posted in a year...the truth is not quite that exciting...

all four sections of the bridge are installed. the sprinkler system is sprinkling cool water onto the bladder dam. the bridge is beautiful, not quite ready for crossing yet, but the scoop is it will be available for short cutting the lake by October.