beautiful vision

what's my line?

i happy cleaning windows

take my time

i'm a working man in my prime

cleaning windows

not Rudy's day...

go devils!

despite the encouragement of fans

asu just couldn't get it done today

zoom, zoom, zoom

cars zoom westbound on the 202, near downtown tempe

male grackle

with head held high and proud, in typical male grackle fashion

lines and columns

at arizona state university

bicycle galore

it's easy to see when school is in session

wind power

school for sustainability at arizona state

great blue heron

the largest heron in north america

in flight, it looks quite large and has a 6 foot wingspan

on a dock, it looks past its reflection for fish

this heron is a juvenile - gray overall and with a black crown 

as an adult it will have a yellower beak and during 

breeding season will have long black plumes on its head

moon rise

moon rising over tempe center for the arts - 

celebrating its one year anniversary this month 

on campus

arizona state university style

mayan snake

building decor at arizona state university

thirsty?

the new thirsty dog store - first convenience store to be built right downtown. 

off mill next to the post office.

comics and more

...at Pop Culture Paradise store near ASU. 

postings for the rest of the week are scheduled and without 

commentary - i'm headed to the field for a little 

black-tailed prairie dog reintroduction!

connect

artwork at arizona state university

i am a part of all that i have met (a. tennyson)

welcome

an open door welcomes muslims and visitors to the islamic community center just a block north of arizona state university campus. the mosque was established in 1984. it is beautiful, modeled after the dome of the rock in jerusalem with an eight-sided structure, minaret, and a gold dome.  

Eisendrath Center for Water Conservation

Local architect Robert Evans designed and constructed this Pueblo Revival - style adobe and wood structure in 1929. It was purchased by Rose Eisendrath, a wealthy widow of a Chicago glove manufacturer, after she was refused accommodation at Valley resorts because she was Jewish. The property is on Tempe's registry of historic properties and is being restored by the city for use as a water conservation center. 

red door

st. augustine's episcopal church at college and broadway

in flight at sunset

reflection

a great blue heron sits on a rental boat dock at tempe lake. kayaks and paddle boats are available to rent. lake reflections and ambiance are free. the lakeside area is a great place to run, walk, or ride a bike.  

desert zen

at Arizona State University campus, i came across a small garden with golden barrel cacti and several cairns. there is such peace and balance in the stones, their order, their smoothness, the horizontal lines, the way they lift the eyes to the capstone. the cairns (maybe 20) in this little garden, poised like downtown loiterers among cactus fixtures, offer no obvious clue as to what point of reference or navigation purpose they serve. however, i was so intrigued by their placement that i stopped to take a photo. and wanting to write something interesting i googled a few word combinations to see how common a cairn configuration like this one was written about or photographed. and in doing that, i came across a blog with photos of similar looking cairns. the blog had a very nice song playlist, including "the littlest birds" by the be good tanyas. a new song to enjoy - that's where this cairn led me.

even if you're on the right track you'll get run over if you just sit there (will rogers)

initiative (noun) self-motivation, resourcefulness, inventiveness, imagination, ingenuity, originality, creativity, enterprise, drive, dynamism, ambition, motivation, spirit, energy, vision, get-up-and-go, pep, moxie, spunk gumption. 

the power or opportunity to act or take charge before others do

so many flags

one more shot of all the flags. they were up all weekend, but will be taken down tonight.

green

a green lamp at tempe marketplace, near D'arcy McGees irish pub.

new corner store

recently opened, CVS/pharmacy on the corner of University and Mill. it gives the corner a very different look. I'm not a fan of CVS, but this corner store is certainly an improvement over the vacant lot and various gas stations that have cycled through. many Tempe projects are wrapping up, and others still have a few months to go, Tempe has been undergoing dramatic changes, evolving toward being more walker-friendly everyday... 

nine eleven

at tempe lake, a very moving tribute to those who lost their lives on september 11, 2001. 

3000 flags, row by row, each with a card bearing a name and photo. 

grand opening

Tempe's first fresh & easy store opened today, on the corner of kyrene and baseline. i have been anxiously awaiting this store, a pleasant half mile walk from my home. don't forget to bring your own bags! 

i'd be remiss if i didn't also mention that the clouds in the background brought us incredible rains shortly after this photo was taken. i happened to be at carver dog park walking around the track with my dog, baloo and looked up when i heard a commotion coming from the nearby soccer field. i saw parents and young girls who'd been at practice scramble as a wall of hard rain and hail moved swiftly toward us. it was amazing! i was frozen for a split second, mesmerized by the sight, before yelling "run!" and crossing the field to get baloo's leash and get out. the first drops began to hit and when i reached the leash and unclipped from the fence the downpour was full force. it was chaos as 15 people and their dogs all tried to exit. soaked. then the hail began. i was parked close, but couldn't get my keys out of my pocket (trying too hard!). baloo was quick to jump in the car (that's a first!) and the hail continued for about 5 minutes. 

waiting in line...

a line of black t-shirted 20 somethings wrapped the side of Zia Record Exchange (university west of mill) tonight. i remember the days before ticket lotteries and online brokers, when we'd wait out over night for concert tickets. turns out, these folks were a couple hours early to a signing by someone called "head" - used to be in the band KoRn.  

ode to the supremes

strange sight

it is strange to see a large tree fully uprooted and resting on the side of a house. one of many large old trees that were uprooted in the storm that came through a week and a half ago. lots of damage in the neighborhoods near ASU and at tempe lake where giant trees and rows of mesquite that had just begun providing decent shade were victims of heavy winds.

money may not grow on trees, but bicycles...

i can say with certainty, this is the first time i've come upon a bicycle in a tree. 

warm sky on a friday night

the big arizona sky provides a perfect showcase for our lovely sunsets 

crossing green

a dog running off leash is a beautiful thing.

somewhere in tempe, a man in a fedora hat walks his yellow lab...

...they wait in the cross walk, watching for a break in traffic that would allow them to move safely across. the light changes; the man and his dog cross the intersection. they continue down college street past green lawns. a man riding a bicycle passes the man walking his dog; the cyclist arrives at the light and unclips from his pedals; waiting for the light to change. 

Timbuktu - Sister City to Tempe

Timbuktu - the very name conjures a far-flung and mysterious place. A city smack in the middle of the Sahara desert of Mali, Africa, and I was excited to find that it is one of Tempe's 7 sister cities. Timbuktu has been our sister since 1991 when both city councils approved the affiliation. Timbuktu has 30,000 residents and was founded around 1100 AD as a camp for its proximity to the Niger River. Today, Timbuktu is threatened by encroaching desert sands of the Sahara - desertification - which is destroying vegetation, many historical structures, and the water supply. It was named to the UNESCO world heritage list because of these threats. Because of the threats to the precious water supply, Tempe has committed to providing 7 wells for the city; 4 have been completed. 

Special thanks to Galen Frysinger for the use of this image from his adventure travels (www.galenfrysinger.com/index.htm) 

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Joshua tree

Named by Mormon pioneers, it is a symbol of the Mojave desert; also a small California town which serves as the gateway for a national park of the same name, and the title of an immensely popular album - the 5th studio album by U2 released in 1987 - inspired by the open spaces of the western United States; Yucca brevifolia is only pollinated by a specific species of yucca moth. It is not found in the Sonoran desert, but can be seen occasionally in a random neighborhood in Tempe, like this one near College Avenue and Southern.

Trees down and standing water

We have officially made it into the top 10 wettest monsoons in recorded history. There's still much to clean up after Thursday night's big storm cut power to 80,000 homes, including several thousand in Tempe. That night, more than 1,500 lightning strikes were recorded in a single hour. Wind gusts up to 100 mph blew out windows, blew over power poles, uprooted hundred year old trees and demolished an 8 million dollar indoor athletic building at Arizona State University. As is typical with the hit and miss pathway of the monsoons, my neighborhood got heavy rain but was spared the devastating winds, although I'm less than 3 miles from some of the hardest hit areas. 

Public Transportation

The Orbit is a free shuttle circulating through Tempe neighborhoods every 15 minutes. Orbit shuttles are named "Earth," "Mars," "Jupiter," and "Venus" and each has its own circular route to provide residents with a means to travel to ASU, Tempe Marketplace, downtown and otherwise.  

Contour

At the Tempe Lake Marina, among other things the railings are designed to enhance the atmosphere of wave and shore. 

Prickly Pear

The bright red fruits of the Englemann prickly pear (Opuntia engelmannii) are eaten by a wide variety of animals - javelina, deer, birds, desert tortoises, packrats, and rabbits. They ripen in July and August and are especially plump and numerous this summer after all the monsoon rains. We've had a lot of storms - nearly twice the rainfall of our typical monsoon. Less than an inch more and our total rainfall will fall into the top 10 rainfalls of recorded history. 

RA

Tempe has several sushi restaurants. Ra has great sushi and super happy hour prices. Salmon nigiri and shrimp tempura are two of my favorites. 

atop paradise

A beautiful black butterfly sits atop the bright crimson and yellow flowers of a Mexican bird of paradise plant.

the monsoon continues, but not for long...

Outside, the evenings are still alive with a cicada buzz, but each day the drone is less pressing. Last night the clouds gathered in various areas of the valley, including western Phoenix where I watched the Dave Matthews Band perform outdoors. Just enough raindrops fell to cool the thousands packed on the lawn, and quickly dissipated. Perhaps we will find that that was the monsoon's farewell for the season. Soon, cicada exoskeletons will be all that remain to remind us of all that summer rain, as each day gets a little drier and bit by bit a little cooler. 

foreclosure tortoise

How is it that something like the mortgage foreclosure crisis could impact desert tortoises?

Unfortunately, desert tortoises, dogs, and many other varieties of pets have been impacted by the housing slump as people walk away from their homes and their animals, leaving them stranded in back yards. I don't really understand that; to me, leaving a pet behind is not an option. 

Brain Power

ASU's Interdisciplinary Science and Technology building #1 has labs and work space for various bio engineering disciplines. Behind the soothing lines of the window louvers, scientists are working to develop artificial organs and smart implants - like ones to find and stimulate specific areas of the brain to power robotic arms or alleviate seizures.  

gotta love having a tortoise in the yard

                                   One thing I really like about life in Tempe is that the climate is just right for a desert tortoise. Sonoran desert tortoise are native to Arizona - this guy is adopted, born in captivity - not from the wild. Unfortunately a lot of tortoises get taken from their desert homes - either because well meaning people find them lumbering along and think they need help, or because they are such fabulous creatures that when found people just can't resist taking them home. The result - lots of tortoises available to be adopted. Once in captivity it's not appropriate to take them back to the wild, since they can spread diseases to wild tortoises. They're great pets though. This guy is all business. My other tortoise, Charles Barkley (named before we realized it's a female), is like a dog - she follows us around the yard and loves to have her shell scratched. 

A note about my inconsistent posting this month - since August is a tough month to get out and take photos (hot AND humid!), I am giving myself a bit of a break. Photos will be sporadic for the rest of the month then effective September 1 I will post every single day again. That will also give me an opportunity to get some practice with my new camera (canon 40d, yippee!) and make the switch from pc to a mac. Big changes, looking forward to it!

Don't Get Caught...

...running a red light or speeding in Tempe. Throughout the city and the greater Phoenix area, photo radar "robots" are poised holding radar guns, waiting at intersections to catch light runners. They are also positioned along several streets with posted speed limits of 45 or less. Get flashed by the camera and expect a $165 ticket to arrive in the mail. Although Phoenix ranks as the 2nd safest city in the country to live in as far as natural disasters go, the metro area is the worst in the country for red light running fatalities.

Green Shoes

Teens and their shoes - these green ones really stood out as they crossed the road. The back of the shoes say "Kool - Aid" - hope that means they provide some heat relief...August is not the most flattering month for the Phoenix area.

Sunday Browsing

Borders at 7th Street and Mill was my bookstore of choice today. This store has robust travel and literature sections and had just the photography instruction book I was looking for.

A mountain - convenient inspiration

I still remember my first time in Arizona, visiting a friend just after graduating from high school. As I began to think about moving to Phoenix, it was the view of the city from Camelback Mountain that helped seal the deal for me. Only a couple months after, I was driving cross country in my little brown pontiac sunbird with my ferret Charlie.

I'm still inspired by mountain vantages. Here's a view of the Phoenix skyline backlit with a gorgeous sunset (double inspiration!) from Tempe's A mountain.

Theme Day - Metal

Iron fence, scrap metal and metal oil drums for today's theme day photo

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