A Little Floral Beauty

 

I haven't been out taking photos for the past few days so I scrolled into the archives and snatched a couple of photos from last year's orchid show at the Desert Botanical Garden.

I spent most of the weekend watching and reading news and writing to my representatives.  

Flowers mean a lot of things to different people at different times but their beauty is universally recognized by all.  We can all use a little beauty right now.

In Hope For Our Future

 

I'm kind of at a loss for words this morning.  The results of the election has both saddened and frightened me.  I'm not quite sure what to make of it all and I'm questioning everything.  In 2016, I could say that the voters just didn't know what they were getting but in 2024 everyone knows and it looks like a majority wants this.  How can that be?  I'm sure there will be a lot of soul searching going on but for now, I fear we have a bumpy road ahead.  Sorry for the rant.

I chose the "peace" dove above as today's photo for a reason.  

The Impact of Art

 

First, I have to say that this is not my photo.  It was taken by Amir Hamza, a New York Times photographer.  I copied the photo from a front page story in yesterday's newspaper.  The photo was one of many photos in a story about an art exhibit being installed in Madison Square Park in New York.  The artist is Sheila Pepe.  The reason this story prompted me to write this post is that I immediately recognized the artist and her work.  (the link above goes to the NYTimes article in case you are interested)

Back in 2017, there was an exhibit of her work at the Phoenix Art Museum and I did a post about it here.  My post was not very complimentary.  I found the art work strange, confusing and pretty much a mess and many of you agreed with my assessment.

The thing that prompted me to create this post is the recognition that the art I critiqued in 2017 had an impact on me.  I remembered the artist's name and her work.  Whether I liked it or not was beside the point.  It had a visceral impact.  Since that is what art should do, I guess it accomplished that mission.  

So, the next time you see art that you dislike, keep in mind that it is having an impact even if it's a negative one.  

I wonder how this New York work will be received. I'm sure it will have an impact, one way or another.

Something New

 I was in Scottsdale briefly yesterday and found a new art piece on the Scottsdale Waterfront.  These colorful, mosaic balls were a pleasure to see.

These colorful balls put a smile on my face and I must admit, that wasn't easy.  News has been pretty dire here in the US the past few days.  Between the January 6th hearings and the totally damning testimony and a Supreme Court that appears to have gone completely off the rails, life here has been a bit depressing.    I'm struggling to make sense of it all.

Busy Bees

 

If I want to capture a bee or two, I just head over to the gaura belleza plant.  There is always a few bees dancing around these blooms.  

Trying to capture the busy bees and the swaying blooms is always a nice challenge.  Sometimes I'm lucky.  

Memory Trigger: Typing that title "Busy Bees" brought back a childhood memory.  There used to be a store in Quincy Illinois where I grew up called "Busy Bee".  It was one of those places that sells just about everything.  If I needed a new pair of shoes or dad needed some T-shirts or mom was looking for a summer hat, the Busy Bee had it all.  I can still picture the place with its creaking wood floors and a ceiling full of fans that were all connected together with one, very large fan belt.  Great memories!

Theme Day: The Future

 

Today is December 1st and the first of the month is always "theme day" for City Daily Photo Bloggers.  The theme for today is "The Future".  I had a very hard time with this subject.  Every time I tried thinking about what the future holds, I would get a little afraid for the human race.  The inhabitants of this small, blue planet appear to be facing an ever increasing amount of  insurmountable problems and we haven't seen much being done solve any of them.   So instead, I decided to use the title to an exhibit running right now at the Heard Museum, "Remembering the Future".  It would be nice if any number of years from now I will be remembering all the positive moments from the days I'm living right now and be thankful for the few who are willing to look at the bigger picture and create new ways to live life here on planet earth.

To see other expressions of the future, click here.

Observations on the Road

 

This pink car caught my eye.  That is a a very unusual color for a car.  My first thought was that it would be advertising something but no, there were no ads on this car.  It's just PINK!

The car above is another that caught my eye.  An example of a seriously misinformed person.

Ho hum...the amount of proudly displayed irrationality is so disheartening.  

Together We Rise

 

Local artist Hugo Medina created this wonderful mural to honor our first responders and to shout out that all of us are in this pandemic together no matter who we are or what we do.  The woman painted in the foreground was inspired by a photo (below) that appeared in our local newspaper The Arizona Republic.

The photo by Michael Chow of The Republic, depicts ICU nurse Lauren Leander as she stands in counterprotest to the people marching at the capitol to protest to the Governor's stay-at-home order. This was in April of last year.  It seems we have more than our share of crazies here in Arizona and they were out in full force when the pandemic hit.  Most of these people are still down at the capitol protesting an election that happened over 6 months ago.  It's mind-boggling.  And exhausting!

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

A Message of Hope and Unity

 

I had the TV on all day yesterday watching the inauguration of the new President and Vice President and continuing into all the events that followed.  It felt so good to be able to watch leaders who instill a feeling of pride and hope.  (I borrowed the above photo from the New York Times and photographer Erin Schaff.)

I snapped this photo of my TV screen when the ceremonies were just beginning and the dignitaries were arriving.  It was so great to see the Capitol properly adorned with celebratory bunting.  It helps to wipe away the memory of two weeks ago.

And as the evening celebrations started, I did a little celebrating of my own. This event was certainly worth a special bottle of bubbly.  And even though I was home instead of with friends, I took heart in knowing that all my friends were doing exactly the same thing in their respective homes.  We may not be able to celebrate together, but we are all celebrating this event.

Something I Never Thought I'd See

 

I had a different post ready for this morning but I felt compelled to move it to another day because yesterday turned out to be a day that will go down in American history.  I spent the day with that tingly, nervous, jittery feeling that I had on 9/11 almost twenty years ago.  What I watched on the news coming from Washington DC was something I thought I would never see.  

I've known from the beginning that our president was not fit for office and I've been appalled as he unfurled one chaotic situation after another.  And I've been dismayed as his loyal followers became more and more irrational.  I admit that I've been a bit on edge ever since the November election simply because of all the people who believe a perfectly normal, completely well run election was some how fraudulent.  I watched yesterday morning as congress started the process of certifying our election eager to see a bit of history unfold.  I did not expect to see a completely different bit of history. A very horrible piece of history and one I will never forget.

As I write this, congress has reconvened and the election will be certified.  Good riddance 45!

Things To Be Thankful For

 

Today is Thanksgiving here in the United States and it got me to thinking about things I am personally thankful for.  Given how awful the year 2020 has been, it took me a few minutes to come up with my list.  So, here goes....

• I'm thankful that 2020 is coming to an end even though much of the world's problems will still be with us, there is new hope on the horizon that progress can be made.
• I'm thankful for the few brave elected or appointed officials who stood up for truth, civility and fairness while lies, acrimony and stupidity seemed to be the order of the day.
• I'm thankful that my two sisters both made it through serious health issues recently and are having a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day today.
• I'm thankful for my close friends who have found new and fun ways to stay in touch and to make this current physical isolation feel more like a moveable feast.
• I'm thankful for my blogging community.  I get to take a little virtual trip around the world every day. Your photos and words always inspire me. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time To Celebrate

 

I'm breaking out the champagne to celebrate a positive end to this troubling election year!  Joe Biden was confirmed as the winner yesterday and it seems like the best thing that has happened this entire crazy year.  History was made with his Vice Presidential choice of Kamala Harris.  Not only the first woman in that role but also a woman of color.  

On the downside, it appears that the loser is going to scream and yell like the child he is.  The legal battles have already begun.  It will be a true test of our legal system and our endurance.

For now, I just want to celebrate!

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  It's lunch time with a view.

Still Waiting....but Hopeful

 

As I write this late on Tuesday night, we still don't have sound election results.  It looks like it might take a day or two or maybe three to get a solid answer.  It hasn't turned out to be a solid win like we were all hoping.  I'm troubled by that.  

To top things off, blogger is acting horribly strange.  I've spent way longer than usual trying to upload a photo and finally had to use a different  computer and a random photo of a palm.  Then it wouldn't let me align the photo the way I wanted.  Clearly something is amiss in more ways than one.

A Tribute to a Remarkable Woman

The news of the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg hit me rather hard yesterday.  She was someone I had great admiration, respect and even love for.  Her work over the years centered around gender equality but she was always a champion of justice no matter the cause. 

She was already in her 80's when she became the subject of a documentary film and a feature movie about her life.  And about 3 years ago, I saw a play called "Sisters In Law" that was about her and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when they were both on the court bench.  I was lucky to see her at work when I sat in on oral arguments at the Supreme Court and I attended a lecture at Arizona State University featuring her and O'Connor.

She was a remarkable woman with a compassionate heart, brilliant legal mind and a searing wit.   She will be greatly missed.

Rest in Peace RBG! 

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns.  It seems appropriate to revisit the United States Supreme Court.

Good News/Bad News

The good news is that my friends (and neighbors) who have the cabin in Yarnell found out that their cabin has survived but sadly, it and one other house are the only ones left on their street.
The bad news is that the beautiful cabin once owned by my close friend David and that I pictured yesterday did not survive.

Another friend who is an elected official got a tour of the area yesterday and sent the photo to the left.
I was going to post just this photo today but, I decided to look at the bright side.  When David owned the cabin he planted a wonderful garden with lots of tulips and iris.  The tulips above are from that garden.  The cabin might be gone but as long as those bulbs are in the ground, the garden will bloom again next spring.

There is one more bright side.  I have hundreds of photos taken at the cabin and in the town of Yarnell and wonderful memories of fabulous weekends with great friends.  You really wouldn't believe some of the delicious, gourmet meals that came out of that tiny cabin kitchen.

My thoughts are in Yarnell Arizona

I've had a few pictures from Yarnell Arizona on my site in the past because I used to spend a lot of time there when my friend David had his cabin (pictured above) in that community .  He sold it about two years ago and I've missed his beautiful stone cabin that sits among the granite boulders.  After the tragedy on Sunday, my thoughts are with the families of those brave fire fighters who lost their lives and with the home owners who have lost their homes.  We don't know if David's old place survived unharmed.

My neighbors also have a cabin in Yarnell and they were there on Sunday when the evacuation orders came down.  They packed up their cars and headed back to the valley.  When I talked to them early this morning they were pretty certain their house was in the line of fire but, they called me later in the day and told me that officials had told them their place had survived even while homes across the road from them did not.  The fire is still out of control so the possibility of losing it still exists.

I want to thank all of you who left messages on my site yesterday.  Worse than the loss of property is the devastating loss of life of those who fearlessly dedicated themselves to saving others.

I posted this second photo showing the walk up to David's old cabin so you could see the size of those wonderful boulders that dominate this little community.  Those boulders make this place a unique and picturesque spot in Arizona.

Senseless Tragedy

By now, I would guess that most of my readers have heard about the horrible shooting in Tucson Arizona that critically wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killed 6 other people including a well respected judge and a 9 year old child.  I have met Ms. Giffords on several occasions and found her to be an intelligent, gracious, and down to earth person; someone you instantly like.  As I write this, we still don’t know the motives of the young shooter only that he did have some anti-government views. 

When I think about senseless things like this I wonder how anyone so young could be filled with such hatred that he commits such a horrific act of violence.  I certainly don’t have the answer but I will say that I do think we Americans have to tone down the inflammatory rhetoric and revive the art of civil debate with respect for each other’s opinions. 

I took a drive down to the State Capitol this afternoon after the Governor ordered the flags to be flown at half staff.  The photo above is of the capitol building. 

The smaller photo is of the line of news trucks that have gathered in front where a candlelight vigil is going to take place in the evening.

Imagine

The City Daily Photo Community has set aside today to show support for the people of Iran and to honor a fellow blogger from Tehran who has been missing for the past week. We are all hoping for his safe return so that he can continue to show us his beautiful city and share his insights.


I thought this image of a poster inspired the words of John Lennon would be an appropriate tribute for today’s post. I don’t believe I need to quote any of the words from his famous song, but if you would like to be inspired by it again, here is a link.

One of the best things about the City Daily Photo blogging community is that it allows a little glimpse into the lives of people from all over the world. We get to see sights in each other’s communities; sights both, old and new, famous or unheard of, public or private. In our comments to each other we reach out with praise, advice, humorous anecdotes or fond memories and in doing so, we make friends all over the world. We all share our love for the photographic image and our pride in our individual communities.

Regardless of our geographic remoteness and our multitude of diverse backgrounds, we exist peacefully and happily in our cyber-world, learning from each other and enjoying each other’s keen eye for beauty. If our real world was more like our cyber-world we would come very close to achieving the vision imagined in John Lennon’s words.

To view what other City Daily Photo bloggers have posted with thoughts of Iran, click here.

Reach for the sky

Reaching for the sky, I seek adventure and excitement. While soaring on high, I seek the solid ground of home.