An acre of space ~

School's out - but not for much longer! Soon the Santa Rita High School parking lot will be full of student vehicles. School starts in 2 weeks~ where did the summer go, anyway?

Turtle baseball, bunny basketball ~

Here are more photos of the Perry Park animal sculptures (see yesterday's post and also July 16 for add'l images). Hiro is putting some final touches on the bunny & basketball. The baseball-throwing turtle is also nearly finished. For more of Hiro's work go to: http://www.tashimaart.com/ and for Jason's work go to: http://www.jasonebutler.com/ If you would like to have a custom piece created for your home, they would be happy to discuss it with you!

Team Tucson ~

As the 9th installment of the "Team Tucson" feature, I am pleased to introduce you to Hirotsune (Hiro) Tashima. "Team Tucson" showcases people who make Tucson a great place to live and I'm happy to tell you about Hiro.

Hiro is standing beside a huge bunny sculpture that will focus attention to Michael Perry Park (Golf Links & Pantano). If you scroll back to my post of July 16 you'll see the unpainted bunny and bat. Now the fun sculpture is getting closer to being completed.

Hiro is a ceramist/sculptor (and professor at PCC) and he collaborated with metal artist Jason Butler to create the bunny, bat, and a baseball-throwing turtle. Stand by for more photos tomorrow!

THIS JUST IN: Hiro told me the TV news just did a feature on this. Click here.

Up on blocks ~

This USAF cargo plane is part of the wide array of decommissioned, grounded aircraft that flight aficionados can view in the "boneyard" bordering Kolb & Valencia. It is amazing to just park your car and walk over to the fence and see these planes. Obviously Tucson's hot, dry climate is perfect to keep these planes in good shape for a long time...

Land shark fins?

Interesting view of some of the many planes that are housed at the various "boneyards" surrounding Tucson's Davis-Monthan AFB and the Pima Air & Space Museum. For flight enthusiasts, the boneyard tour is fascinating!

The Beauty of Flight ~

This soaring sculpture welcomes visitors to the interesting Pima Air & Space Museum on Valencia. I didn't see a plaque citing the name of the artist but I did find a link online that informed me these planes are Northrup Grumman YF -23s. If you know more, please comment!
http://www.pimaair.org/

With not a drop of water in sight ~

Even though these signs look like a joke right now, this stretch of Harrison below Golf Links & Irvington floods very quickly and becomes impassable during a rain storm. And there is always some motorist who thinks, "I can make it" and then you see the photo in the paper the next day of a vehicle stuck in swirling water. Happens every year!

Gravel-topped Mushroom ~

As is evidenced by this amazing mushroom that just sprouted in my yard, Tucson is definitely at the height of its monsoon season! Rain, wind, low clouds and (mercifully!) temperatures below 100 degrees give us a welcome break from the sizzling heat.

Sit a spell ~

After you've walked all around the B & B Cactus Farm, relax for a little while and just enjoy the scenery. This patio chair tucked into the cactus invites you to sit & stay awhile!
http://www.bandbcactus.com/

Crocodile corral ~

Looks like this flimsy wooden corral isn't doing a very good job keeping this crocodile in! This metal reptile is part of the yard art at B & B Cactus Farm. For a fun YouTube tour of B & B, click here. B & B is a Tucson tradition - well worth the drive to get there.

Cookie conga line ~ the chocolate dance!

Who wouldn't do the happy dance for a delicious DoubleTree chocolate chip cookie? To celebrate 25 years of cookie baking, the DoubleTree cookie van & the cookie line dancers distributed free cookies at the main library on Stone on Wednesday morning. Yum~

Arabian beauty ~

This beauty is munching hay at the famed Fable Arabians stable. Tucson is home to many important horse breeding farms.
www.fablearabians.com/

Spools on Speedway ~

There is a road widening project underway on Speedway between Camino Seco and Houghton. These giant spools are part of the work but I can't guess the purposes of the different colored cables.

Cactus crutches ~

This mighty saguaro is being propped up right now by a giant pair of crutches. Notice the rubbery material that is protecting the cactus from being stabbed. I salute the team who is doing this. This specimen is hundreds of years old - it's certainly worth the effort to stabilize it! Did you know that the saguaro is found only in our Sonoran Desert?

Historic icon ~

Mission San Xavier is a local treasure ~ a site that combines beauty and history. It is a shrine that is also a "work in progress." The interior is undergoing renovation and you can see the eastern tower still needs to be completed.
http://www.sanxaviermission.org/

Big bunny baseball ~

I spotted this very big bunny at the entrance to Michael J Perry Park (Pantano & Golf Links). It is a new art installation that is part of the continuing work to develop the beautiful Pantano River Walk project. This bunny and the baseball bat bench still need to be painted for this fun sculpture to be complete. I'll keep an eye on it and post it when it is finished.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_ae35ef1f-aa7d-541f-afdc-c0e4fc9a1135.html

Touch the clouds ~

Kids playing basketball at this school playground could almost touch the big rain cloud when they do lay ups. As the Cowardly Lion would say, "Mighty peculiar weather we're having, ain't it?"

Drape your table in fruits & fun!

You saw the wall 'o bags from yesterday and here are more fabulous finds at Picante. Check out the brilliant and super fun bolts of oilcloth! I'm covering my patio chairs with this fabric and let me tell you, it was hard to choose.
http://www.picantetucson.com/

A bag for every mood ~

No matter what you need to carry, this great store has a bag for you! Want a devilish devil purse? A Frieda Kahlo carry all? A vintage oilcloth tote? A woven beach bag? All this and more fun, colorful, Mexico-inspired items can be found at Picante.
http://www.picantetucson.com/

Black and white landscape ~

The afternoon skies are often heavy with rain clouds now. But at least where I am the moisture seems to be going elsewhere ~ these clouds cleared after about 20 minutes.

Iconic Tucson image ~ purple prickly pear

This shop window features ornamental metal prickly pear cactus and a large bowl of live purple prickly pear completes the picture. Prickly pear fruit is made into candies, syrups, and medicines. They are very thorny so I'm sure there's some trick to cooking with them...

Lots of potential but no rain ~

I watched this low cloud formation pass overhead accompanied by a few claps of thunder. Alas, not a drop fell in my neighborhood. The storm slowly moved north and unloaded its rain elsewhere. So for today I'll continue watering my garden with the hose....

Shaman surveying the landscape ~

This magnificent bronze sculpture, "Shaman," stands guard at the Plaza Colonial shopping center (corner of Campbell & Skyline). It is the work of noted sculptor, Pokey Park. You get a glimpse of the Catalina Mountains in the background.
www.pokeypark.com

BIG things happening in Tucson ~

This fun trompe l'oeil has really slowed traffic down on 6th Avenue & Toole. This mural of a mural being painted is another example of the great work of Joe Pagac. I'll tell you that the painters and the ladder are one-dimensional. Do you think the windows and door are real or paint?

For more info on the BIG happenings, go to: www.tucsonbigs.org

Tucson's amazing monsoons ~

Here you can see a fierce, dark monsoon cloud eclipsing the blue skies. Within minutes of taking this photo the rain and wind were pounding the landscape.

I want to share with you a truly remarkable rain video. You really won't believe your eyes or ears when you watch this one and I bet you'll want to share it with everyone you know. It really is amazing! Just click here.

Can you say, "Four Wheel Drive"?

If you live on this stretch of road, forget having a low-slung sports car for your daily ride. Think Jeep!

Even cowboys want their catalogues ~

On a dusty piece of road near Sahuarita, AZ this long row of mail boxes confirms that even if you want to "get away from it all" and live miles from anywhere, you still want your Pottery Barn catalogue to find you!

Happy Fourth of July ~

Thanks for stopping by on this great American holiday. Hope you have a safe, fun day filled with friends, food, & fireworks!

Hanging plants ~

A bright yellow wall displays pots of plants at the Civano Nursery on Hougton Road.
http://www.civanonursery.net/

Mighty big rooster ~

This big tin rooster lives at the Civano Nursery. I spotted him from the parking lot so I don't know if he is a permanent resident among the plants or if he is a piece of garden art for sale. He is certainly heroic in scale!
www.civanonursery.net

Color blocks ~

Here's a view of some of the bigger houses in the Civano community (yesterday you saw some one-story houses). All are built with green technology in mind - solar power & water harvesting tanks are standard.