Veteran's Day Event

 The Heard Museum had a members event Saturday morning to honor veterans and talk about the role Native Americans play in the military.  For a long time, the Heard Museum had the only monument to Veteran Native Americans in the country.  I didn't realize that. The monument is pictured in the sign above.

They talked about the Code Talkers and their role in WWII.  This sign shows the variety of tribes across the country who participated as code talkers during the war.

They also featured a few art works by veteran Native American artists like this painting by Navajo Narciso Abeyta.  

After the event, my friend Glenda and I had lunch at the museum cafe where we were entertained by a lively group of Apache crown dancers.  

It was a perfect day for the event.  

Musical Celebrations

 

On Saturday evening I attended the season opening performance of the Phoenix Symphony and what a great concert it was.  The symphony named the night "The Mighty Carmina Burana" and mighty is a perfect adjective for this monumental piece of music.  If it doesn't sound familiar, click this link.  I'm sure you've heard it before because it's been used in a number of movies and television shows. It's music that will get the blood pumping.

The photo above was taken from the 4th row so you can't see the huge concert choir behind the orchestra.

There was a welcome reception before the performance and a champagne toast after the concert both of which I got to enjoy thanks to my friend Dave who is on the board of the Phoenix Symphony.  

And, here is Dave with the Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony, Tito Munoz.  

It was a fantastic way to open the 23/24 season.  

An Evening with Audra McDonald

 On Friday evening, I joined my friends David and Riley and we went to the Mesa Art Center to see Audra McDonald perform.  This photo was taken after the show at a special question and answer session.  It was a beautiful performance.  She has the most amazing voice.  She has the kind of voice that brings the words to life with such emotion.  

One of the songs she sang was a song I had never heard before called "I Always Say Hello to a Flower" by Murray Grand.  I could only find two YouTube recordings of the song, one by John Lithgow and another by Faith Prince.  Neither of these are quite as great as the way Audra sang the song but you get the idea.  I'm not sure why that song filled me with such joy.  Maybe it's because I spend so much time walking in a garden.

Celebratory Dinner with Great Friends

 

I enjoyed a fantastic dinner with my great friends David and Riley on my birthday last Saturday.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants called Renata's Hearth at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.  As you can see, they serve meals "family style".  We had the smoked brisket with some roasted fingerling potatoes and fava beans with a mushroom sauce.  We managed to clean every one of those serving plates.  

My birthday dessert was a coconut cheesecake topped with a strawberry jelly and a honeycomb cracker.  The star here was the scoop of jalapeño ice cream.  Sounds crazy, right?  It was delicious.  So delicious that David and Riley are thinking about trying to make it at home.  They are both great cooks so I'm confident they will accomplish that goal.  

15 Years of Blogging

 

Phoenix Daily Photo blog turns 15 years old today.  When I started this blog on this day back in 2008, I had no idea that I'd still be doing it 15 years later.  What can I say, I love doing it.  It has never become a burden or chore.  I love taking photos and I love sharing those photos with others.  And, I truly enjoy reading your comments and seeing the photos you all post and learning about other places and adventures around the world.   I'll mark this milestone and keep on blogging as long as I can!

About this photo: I started this blog with a photo of the Arizona State Capitol.  Rather than repeating with a photo of that building, I decided to zoom in on the "Winged Victory" weather vane at the top of the building.  It has been perched up there since 1901 however, the Arizona Territory purchased it in 1898 when construction of the building first began.  It cost $150 and is actually a 17-foot-tall, 600 pound wind vane.  She's looking pretty good for her age!

Rainbows are Appearing

 

I went for a rare late afternoon walk at the Desert Botanical Garden Thursday evening and saw that the garden had once again decorated for pride month.   Good for them!  Those flags look great at the entrance to the garden.  

Stallion Stampede

 

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show event is sponsoring a painted stallions event in Scottsdale.  I found three of the horses in different locations but according to their website, there are a lot more out there.  I need to see if I can find a few more.  

The one above was inside the mall and the one to the right was in the park in Old Town Scottsdale.  

They are fun to find.  

A Learning Experience

 

I experienced an enjoyable learning event last Saturday at the Desert Botanical Garden.  I attended presentation on making bonsai arrangements.  A garden volunteer, Tom Katz made the presentation explaining the steps he takes along the way.  That shaggy looking plant he's working on above was the start of his demonstration.

Within 30 minutes, he had created this tall and shapely bonsai right before our eyes.  It was such an enjoyable presentation that I might even try it myself one day.

Tom's bonsai creations can be seen from time to time around the garden.  Here is one I snapped a photo of several years ago.

Pink Martini Time

 

Last Saturday night, I was back in downtown Phoenix to see my all time favorite band perform with the Phoenix Symphony.  When I sat down in my seat, the guy next to me asked "are you a groupie too?" I had to admit I probably was.  I've seen Pink Martini perform between 6 and 8 times.  I just love their music.

They performed in the historic old Orpheum Theatre.  Here you see lots of very happy music lovers leaving after the show.  They have such an eclectic mix of music and the songs are sung in a huge variety of languages.  Their next stop was Florida and the band leader Thomas Lauderdale wondered how this song would go over down there.  It was a great show and a wonderful evening.  

More Fine Art in Scottsdale

 

Today I have a few pieces that appealed to me at the Scottsdale Fine Art Expo.  This first one is made from a gourd.  I've seen gourd art before but these were pretty special.  They are by Jenny Kerr.

Jane Boggs is also a sculptor who uses gourds but these are truly mixed media creations done with paint, beads and feathers.  

I thought these were so extraordinary that I photographed two of them.  They are wonderful.  I think they would be perfect in one of our many southwestern styled resorts. Or maybe over the fireplace of one of those fancy homes I toured recently.  

These last sculptures are by a husband and wife team, Terry & Marilyn Alexander. These are also creations that would fit in at many local resorts around here.  They are made from metal and glass.  

I'm glad I got to see these beautiful creations.  I also wish I had the money and space needed to acquire one or too.  

I hope these art exhibits attract decorators.  They would surely be inspired.

Arizona Fine Art Expo

 

Every year I try to attend the Celebration of Fine Arts in Scottsdale and share some photos with you.  This year I did something different.  I was recently reminded that there is another fine arts event that goes on during those winter months in Scottsdale housed in a similar configuration of white tents.  However this one is much further north in Scottsdale.  I decided to check it out.  First up is this gorgeous painting by Lexi Sundell.  I absolutely love this painting.  

Above is an array of paintings by Peter Freischlag, all of them very colorful.

To right are some paintings by Ted Blaylock.  

It's hard to tell from this photo, but this is part painting and part sculpture.  Those cowboys seem to be racing right out of the painting.  This mixed-media art is by Lori Thompson.  

The copper artistry by Ken Borchardt was another that really appealed me.  I talked to this artist about his process and he uses a type of heat reduction and oxidation to bring out the colors on a piece of copper.  They were literally stunning.  That tree on the end was my favorite.  The sculptures in the photo are by Ken as well.

Tomorrow I'll show you a few more from this show.  I will probably still go to the Celebration of Fine Art but I'm glad I went to this one too.  There is so much talent in this world of ours.  

The View From the Top

 

As I mentioned yesterday, we had another hill to climb to get to this last house on the tour.  This is the hill and this one had no shuttle.  We had to climb this one on foot.  And if we wanted to go further, we could even climb up the the tennis court above this hill.  You can see the fence surrounding the court in the upper left of this photo.

The view from up this high was quite stunning.  We had a full view of Camelback Mountain along with the rooftops of thousands of houses in between.  

In order to get to the pool and garden area, it required descending a little way along a set of stairs.  I decided it was enough to see this area from above.

As you can see, the house itself sits right on the mountainside giving sweeping views across Phoenix and the valley below.  

So that sums up another home and garden tour.  It seems like there is always at least one house on these tours that surprises everyone.  With this house and all its animals clinging to side of the mountain, this one was this year's surprise.

Chickens and Goats

 

The last house on the home and garden tour was full of surprises.  The first surprise was that we had to climb up a very steep mountain to get to it.  In fact, it was so steep, the owners ran a two-car shuttle service to take people up so they wouldn't have to climb that hill.  The car in the photo is one of the shuttles.  

When we got to the top, we were greeted by a selection of farm animals.  These two goats were putting on quite a show with a lot of head-butting action taking place.

In addition to the the playful goats, there was quite a selection of chickens wandering around.  These were not just your average farm-yard chickens, they were a colorful bunch.

The adventure did not stop with the friendly farm animals.  We had yet another hill to climb to get to the house.  Tomorrow I'll show you the view from the top.

By the way, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sculptures Around the Garden

 

There was an abundance of art to admire at the third house on the tour.  We start with these sculpted chairs.  These look a lot like they might have belonged to the Flintstones.  None of us tried to sit in them.  

This little lady was spotted hiding among the tall plants.

This might look like an ordinary table and chair but it is actually a sculpture.

This last piece is a sculpted bicycle that is also serves as a planter for more flowering plants.  

At this house, we were offered refreshments.  I loved the plate of mini-cupcakes adorned with "sculpted" icing.  They were made to look like a variety of botanicals.  What a nice touch!  They were tasty too!

Made for Outdoor Living

 

The first thing you see when you step out onto the back patio is a wonderful seating area perfect for entertaining.  The outdoor fireplace is the perfect focal point.

When you turn around and face the opposite direction, you get a view over the beautifully landscaped yard and a very inviting swimming pool.

Looking at the pool from another direction, we see the hot tub in the foreground along with lots of blooming plants to brighten up the sculpted landscape.

Tomorrow I'll have one more post from this house.  These owners added lots of artistic touches to their landscape and we will take a look at those.

The Third House

 

The third house on the home and garden tour was also open for guests to walk through.  Basically, only the living room of the home was open so we could walk through to the garden. 

It was a pretty living room with a few art pieces to admire along the way.  This house was much more traditional than the modern/contemporary house I featured before.  

Tomorrow we will see the back garden. 

More Art Outside

 

The back garden of the house I've featured the last two days, has a nice covered patio and lovely pool for those hot summer days.

There was also a small building located back in the corner that contained a lot of exercise equipment.  The path to the building featured another interesting sculpture.

The front of the house is nicely landscaped with desert plants. The plain, concrete walls complete the contemporary look of the house.