At the park...

We went to a running event at Reid Park in Tucson early yesterday morning.  These snapshots are from the Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza on 22nd Street.  The yellow caution tape around the structure was due to landscaping work.  My pictures don't begin to capture the beauty of this plaza, just one of several R.A. Bloch Cancer Survivors Parks in North America. 

Palm Shadows

Morning sunlight and palm tree shadows grace St. Augustine Cathedral on Stone Avenue in downtown Tucson, Arizona.





For more Shadow Shot Sunday pictures, visit Tracy at Hey Harriet.

Weekend Reflections - Happy New Year

I saw this reflection in the window of a small shop downtown:

It turned out to be a decorative street lamp with a colored glass shade and whimsical metal butterflies.

And there was even a little caterpillar just beginning its journey!


New Years is a time of reflection and also a new beginning...enjoy!

For more "Weekend Reflections" posts, click here to visit James at Newtown Area Photo.

Blue Sky over Snake Bridge

Greetings from sunny Tucson, Arizona! This post is for Skywatch Friday.

Diamondback Bridge is a pedestrian bridge which crosses over Broadway Boulevard in downtown Tucson. The outside of the steel bridge is painted to look like rattlesnake scales.

Pedestrians and cyclists can enter through the mouth between the fangs...



or through the other end. The tail has a motion sensor which triggers a rattle sound.
Rattlesnake Bridge was part of a fun one-mile race on December 19Th which also went through Basket Bridge. The sky was clear and blue which is typical for Tucson. To see other skies from around the world click the Skywatch Friday icon below.

Afternoon Sun and Shadows

As I opened the blinds in the late afternoon, line shadows appeared on the cardboard sculpture and on the wall.

"Of all creatures in this visible world, light is the most glorious; of all light, the light of the sun without compare excels the rest." ~William Gurnall

For more Shadow Shot Sunday pictures, visit Hey Harriet.

Portals of Discovery

"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions.
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy
and we're gonna make mistakes. ~Mel Brooks

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include
the freedom to make mistakes. ~Mahatma Gandhi

It was when I found out I could make mistakes
that I knew I was on to something. ~Ornette Coleman

"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." ~James Joyce

Skywatch - at the gardens

under autumn sky
hunting for sunny colors
the bee and i

To enjoy skies from around the world visit Skywatch Friday.
Thanks to the Skywatch Team: Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia

Scarecrows

These scarecrows are part of the Fall Festival at Tucson Botanical Gardens.

Traditionally, scarecrows are human figures placed in fields to discourage birds from feeding on crops. But these days they are more often used to celebrate autumn.

Some alternate names for scarecrows are: Mommet, Hodmedod, Tattie bogle, Flay-crow, Mawpin, Bird-scarer, Moggy, Shay and Bogeyman.

Madame Monarch

Paper Dancer

Paper Dancer unwinding

“The first and great commandment is: Don’t let them scare you.” ~Elmer Davis

Ruby Tuesday - Sonora

Sonora is a monumental steel sculpture which stands in front of the main library in the heart of downtown Tucson. Completed in 1991 by artist David Black, the piece is an example of proto-architecture that blends sculptural and architectural elements with abstract imagery from native cultures and the environment.



The pavilion-like roof and arches are designed for people to walk under and the curved benches are for sitting on.
Southwest Native American basket designs are found around the top of the structure.
The huge central ring of the sculpture rests on arrow-like columns.
Sonora also features abstractions of streams, wind and mountains from the desert landscape. The bright red color represents Tucson's mountains at sunset.

I like this reflection of Sonora in the windows of the library. You can see books inside as well as buildings, cars and a red bicycle parked outside.

The sculpture reminds me of a dinosaur. It is a coincidence that the artwork is named Sonora because in 1995 the fossilized remains of a dinosaur were found in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The genus was named Sonorasaurus which means "Sonora lizard."

Unfortunately, I was viewing Sonora when the sun wasn't right for casting shadows of the structure onto the ground. Next time I visit downtown, I'll look for Sonora's shadows.

For more Ruby Tuesday Posts featuring red things, visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

The Griffin of Scott Avenue

By definition, a griffin is a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. So what is this 12-foot glittery orange half-lion, half-eagle doing in downtown Tucson?






Rumor has it that this creature is a reincarnation of one of four griffins that once guarded the nearby 1901 Carnegie Library on 6th Avenue.

As the story goes, in 1941 when the library was burning down, one griffin fled by foot. The old library building is now the Tucson Children's Museum. Today, one can follow griffin footprints embedded in the pavement from the children's museum to the new griffin sculpture.

Part of the Scott Avenue revitalization project unveiled in May, the steel griffin sculpture by local artist Joe O'Connell can be found on Scott Avenue at Corral Street. If you're anywhere in the vicinity, you can't miss it. It's big...it's orange...and it sparkles in the sunlight!

And after dark, red lights on the griffin's ribcage light up its raised wings.

Spiny Metal