Tucson sun & moon ~ early morning

Here is a cool duo for you to enjoy! On my morning walk I saw the full moon to the west and the sunrise to the east.

The center of Tucson ~ green & leafy

Here is the lovely, welcoming entrance to Tucson's Botanical Gardens. It's a beautiful spot at any time of year but is particularly nice right now before we start getting our hardcore hot weather. Come in, stroll around, refresh yourself!
http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/

The 1st of a new series... Hoof & Roof

As I was driving on Oracle Road I spotted this life-size elk on top of - what else? - the Tucson Elks Club Lodge. It got me to thinking about how many other animals there are around town that maintain a rooftop lookout. All suggestions are appreciated. My list so far includes the cow at OK Corral Restaurant, the horse at OK Feed, and Fred the Bison at Copper Country Antiques. What others am I missing?

Tucson's Ghost Ranch to rise again ~

The old gateway into Tucson that was used by all of the vacationing motorists was called "Miracle Mile." Many motor court style motels lined this route and one of the most famous was the circa-1940's Ghost Ranch Lodge with its distinctive sign (reputedly designed by Georgia O'Keefe).

The lodge has been closed for years but will get a second life as a senior living home due to open in August, 2010. Here's more of the story:
http://azstarnet.com/real-estate/article_930e5781-c17a-507c-b404-87b12b558e21.html

An ornamental beauty ~ bottle brush tree

In full flower right now are Tucson's bottle brush trees. The fiery red blossoms are beautiful and attract bees and hummingbirds. For a good closeup of the flower and more info, click here: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bottle-brush-tree.html

Invisible Lizard ~

I spotted this desert lizard next to my driveway and it stayed totally still as I took a few photos. Can anyone identify this one? I went to the awesome online photo library of the AZ Sonora Desert Museum but couldn't find an exact match.

Making progress ~

Our office construction/renovation continues. The main office space is now cleared and ready for the installation of a new wall configuration. It's amazing how big the space is without walls - like a dance studio!