tuesday on a friday

earlier this week, on tuesday night just before 10, one

of the rubber bladders of tempe's town lake dam

broke; as quickly as a billion gallons of water could flow

through the gap - surprising not long at all - the lake

drained leaving a strange sight that tempe-ans have

not seen in the 10 years since the lake was created and filled.

luckily, no one was boating or recreating at that hour and

there were no injuries.

lots of attention is centered on the future at the lake and

the current situation - smell (which I didn't find to be that bad);

the potential for mosquitoes to breed in the abundant

puddles and pools of standing water; and quite a lot

of dead fish; this morning, tuesday the alligator was

a star attraction, having been brought in to eat of few of

the dead fish, and she seemed happy to oblige.

absolutely fabulous

the weather in tempe is so absolutely fabulous in

the spring. this new stretch along the salt river

corridor just east of tempe lake (rural to mcclintock)

was recently opened with a bike/jogging path. the flowers

on the slope are a dazzling mix of purple and gold.

red

these smilin' fellas in their bright red shrine club cars

were a part of the NAMI (national alliance on mental

illness) walk around tempe lake last weekend

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

dragon boat races

there were all kinds of things going on in Tempe last

weekend, a photographer or outdoor enthusiast's feast;

dragon boat races were underway on the north side of the

lake and I'll show other happenings throughout the week.

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.

nothing to rake here...

on the north bank of tempe lake near Priest drive is this

iron tree, the lowest "leaves" have names of those who

contributed to getting it installed. 

what more can I say...this looks like a lot of fun!

first day of spring

happy first day of spring to the rest of the world. 

we've been celebrating here for several weeks, and 

are glad for you to join us.

a man and his boxer, wearing a "therapy dog in training"

vest, take a break on the grass at tempe beach park.

Delicious

the food smells were fantastic at the aloha festival; I had 

a hard time containing myself as I looked down at 

this delicious sight.

weekend fun

the aloha festival was in full swing last weekend, as 

thousands of people converged downtown and at 

the beach park to celebrate polynesian culture. this photo

gives a view of the celebration from mill avenue bridge.

urban windows

new artwork frames the urban 

landscape along a multi-use path

between hardy and priest at tempe 

lake. several window-like 

sculptures frame features of 

the surrounding landscape. 

camelback mountain is framed by this 

piece, sculpted by tempe artist Tom Strich.

sign of signs

sign near the recently completed

path along tempe lake

from hardy to priest

Tempe, Arizona Sunset

last night's sunset, near Priest and the Rio Salado. the

Arizona bloggers have gotten together for a group 

post this month; we plan to do so on the 15th of each 

month. Check out the other great Arizona sunset 

photos here:

Phoenix Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

Flagstaff Daily Photo

Prescott Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Scottsdale Daily Photo

Chandler Daily Photo

what we do in the winter

i know there are a lot of people out there who enjoy

the snow and the cold, but me, i'm a fan of our 

70 degree winter days where you have your choice

to wear a sweatshirt in the shade or short sleeves in the

sun. 

festival of lights entertainment

musicians and dancers were part of the 

entertainment at the festival of lights boat parade.

snow on a 70 degree day...

it snows in some areas of arizona - it's 2 hours to the

ski slopes of flagstaff - but it's a certainty that there 

will not be snow in tempe, except on special occasions

when the someone gets the snow machine out. 

this afternoon, amidst sunny

skies and short sleeves, there was a big pile of the 

cold stuff for the kids to play in. it was part of the

festivities at tempe lake leading up to the 

fantasy of lights boat parade.

ctenosaura

*tempe lake*

this little dinosaur was on display last weekend

at the arizona herpetological society exhibit

at the dog walk event

little people climbing

*tempe lake*

the climbing wall was quite a hit at

the big dog walk this weekend

walk to save animals

today was the annual 2k and 5k pet walk to raise

money for two pet charities: the arizona animal 

welfare league and the society for the prevention of

cruelty to animals. strays were available for adoption.

it was a gorgeous day and there were hundreds of 

dogs out with their people, walking and smiling. 

bridge over troubled water

*railway bridge, tempe lake*

sorry for the cheesy title, it was quite blustery 

this evening. the water was choppy, the wind was

strong.