Abraham Lincoln

At one time I was collection books about Abraham Lincoln. That was long before every inch of shelf space in our house was filled to capacity and more. There isn't anything about today that is associated with Lincoln but I just thought I would throw in a picture I took some time ago. In my opinion, Lincoln was the most brilliant writer in the English language; a master of words and phrases. He was also a great President, but not too popular with some at the time.

Daytona Beach

This is about as far away from Arizona as you can get in the United States. The Atlantic Ocean, along the East Coast, is much warmer than the much closer to me, Pacific Ocean. But the drive makes it a lot less convenient. In Arizona, anyone who lives east of St. Johns, Safford and Show Low is said to live "back East." So, by our definition Texas is not the West, but very much a part of the East. California is in a completely different category, the West Coast. It is not really the West, but is always referred to as the West Coast. For us, Arizona defines the "West." Everyone else lives back East, up North, down South or on the Coast

Spillway at Roosevelt Dam

Back in 1973, extraordinary rainfall finally filled Roosevelt Lake and the spillway found its use. From time to time this has happened since then, but now the dam has been rebuilt and raised considerably, so this scene may not happen at all frequently. This is reward for driving the long and dusty Apache Trail. But it is worth the trip.

Snow Mountain Chiricahuas

I dug back into my photo archive to find a picture of the Chiricahua Mountains with a light coating of snow. Sometimes it is hard to imagine snow in the desert until you wake up camping and find your tent and camp carpeted in snow. These are memorable occasions.

A Very Large Array

The Very Large Array Telescope in New Mexico is the "star" of many science and science fiction oriented movies. The most famous is probably the film Contact staring Jodi Foster. You will have to click on the top picture to see the some of the telescopes. I took the picture because the huge radio telescopes are so prominent in the movies and most pictures, but in real life, they are an insignificant part of the huge plateau where they are located. The distances and views are so vast, that the telescopes, although huge by human standards are small in a natural setting. Many things are like that in the natural world.

Gettysburg

 We are quickly coming to the 150th Anniversary of this terrible and great battle of the U.S. Civil War called the Battle of Gettysburg. Here is an appropriate quote about the battle:

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls.” Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Speaking at the dedication of the Monument to the 20th Maine, October 3, 1889, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

A Pine Tree

When I was studying drawing at the university, they used to project a slide of an object with a projector way out of focus. We were supposed to draw what we saw, which was mostly just light and dark spaces. Then the instructor would progressively sharpen the image until we could recognized what it was and begin to add details. This exercise was supposed to help us understand the difference between light and dark. I think I learned the lesson.

Wheat

Most people would probably not connect this picture with a birthday cake, but wheat is basic food and is grown around the world. This is a particularly beautiful field of wheat waiting to be harvested. For years we ground our own wheat into flour for bread and other things. We would buy the wheat in 50 lb. buckets or bags and store it in 40 lb. containers. I think we still have quite a bit of wheat in cans for storage, come to think of it.

Tiger Lilies

Things that naturally appear orange or close to orange are fairly rare. These delightful flowers are tiger lilies. They used to be seen in the Salt River Valley but now are quite rare. It is interesting how tastes in plants change just like tastes in clothes and other things. At one time they planted thousands of eucalyptus trees around the Phoenix area. Now, they are so "out-of-fashion" and the only eucalyptus trees left are old and dying. May tiger lilies will come back?

Pennsylvania Dutch

 The Peter Wentz Farm in rural Pennsylvania shows classic farm home architecture and construction methods. Everything about the farm is very "foreign" to the desert Southwest where I live. But upon reflection, I don't think I would trade. I often wonder why people would leave Pennsylvania and walk across the country to settle in the desert, but after walking Arizona for so many years, I really think I understand why.

A country road

This is not a country road in Arizona. I happens to be in Pennsylvania but the view is iconic. I am always impressed by the contrast in farms across the U.S. Out here in Arizona, the farm is likely to resemble a junk yard, with old discarded cars and trucks, broken farm equipment and etc. scattered over the property. The contrast in places like Pennsylvania is dramatic. That is why I took the picture.

Nurturing our youth

One of the most important things we can accomplish as individuals, as families and as a society is to take care of our children. This photo symbolizes how youth can benefit from age. It is too bad that more of the youth of our very mobile country do not have the benefit of directly knowing their grandparents. 

These are real plants, not plastic

We are surrounded by imitations of nature on every hand. Every office and restaurant has its fake plants and flowers. Many of our homes are decorated with fake plants. But even expensive fake plants have a hard time competing with reality even when the colors of the plants are outrageous. These plants are real and growing. Few people would have fake plants like these because everybody would think they were fake.

Let Freedom Ring

Around this time of  year it seems like we start thinking about our country. I love my country and honor those who gave their lives to give us the freedom that sometimes we do not deserve. This is a little reminder of the values of liberty and justice for all from Arlington National Cemetery.

Where the Antelope Play

I realize that these are technically called Pronghorns and that they are not really antelope, but that is still the common name for them throughout the country. They are one of the large animals of the Southwest that I see most frequently, along with deer and elk. They are usually very elusive and I have never been able to get near one, except in a zoo.

Black Eyed Susans

Why are these flowers called Black Eyed Susans? If you think about it, the Black Eye part probably comes from the prominent carpel or pistel. But the Susan part? Well, the plant is Rudbeckia hirta, twith other common names of: Brown-eyed Susan, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy (Rudbeckia triloba), Gloriosa Daisy, Golden Jerusalem, Poorland Daisy, Yellow Daisy, and Yellow Ox-eye Daisy. Wikipedia. It is also the state flower of Maryland. If you believe it, the name came from an American popular song in the early 1700s.

Growing at random

Most plants have a sort-of symmetry with leaves that culminate in flower stocks. Cactus are completely random in their flower production. Although there are certain types of cells that produce the flower stalks, where and when they are produced seems to have no pattern. I guess beauty can come from random moments in our lives also. No matter how predictable your life seems, you never really know what to expect.

Eternity

Can you see eternity in a flower? I can. But, you say, a flower withers and dies. Yes, but the flower brings the seed and the seed, the plant and the plant, the flower. See, there really is eternity in a flower.

A Quiet Conversation

Sometimes when you are walking you need to have a conversation. It may not always be with someone else. Sometimes you need a conversation with yourself. I used to hash out some of my then challenges while walking, but now I mostly look for photo opportunities and think about the scenery. Maybe as you get older, you find out walking is enough and you don't need to talk so much.

Something really strange...

Sometimes you run across something really strange that you cannot explain without knowing a lot more than you do already. This is short movie of one of those things. This little light show was going on in the cattails and there was no way we could see where the light was coming from.

About to run

One evening, we were walking and found dozens of cottontail rabbits. They were very tame as rabbits go, but if you got within a certain distance, they would dive into the underbrush. This one was right at the point of diving, but hadn't made up its mind yet.

Waiting for sundown

Early morning and just as the sun goes down are both really good times to be out taking pictures. The morning light always adds a huge dimension to photos. The evening is more problematic because you have to decide when it is too dark to take any more pictures. In both cases the optimal time is quite short, no more than a half hour or less. Most of my photos are handheld so fading light really makes it difficult to get a shot without camera movement. It also means walking back to the starting point in the quickly descending gloom of night. Maybe I'll start toting a tripod and get serious about the evening shots?

Not another abstract?

Yep, this is another abstract. You really should click on the photo to see the detail however. I could have spent days painting something like this and by walking around I can find the same thing in nature at a much reduced price. Yes this photo is really as weird as it looks. Like I say, "It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see." Any guesses as to what it is?

Every Bush Afire

 

And truly, I reiterate,..nothing's small!
No lily-muffled hum of a summer-bee,
But finds some coupling with the spinning stars;
No pebble at your foot, but proves a sphere;
No chaffinch, but implies the cherubim:
And, — glancing on my own thin, veined wrist, —
In such a little tremour of the blood
The whole strong clamour of a vehement soul
Doth utter itself distinct. Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware
More and more, from the first similitude.

— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (1857)

Book VII, l. 812-826

Can you really see?

On those occasions when I have someone walking with me, I am often surprised at what they do and do not see. I am firmly convinced that seeing is a talent that comes from looking with understanding. You can look all day at the same scene and if you do not understand what you are looking at, your mind will ignore the details. The more you learn, the more you are able to see.

"It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see."
James Tanner

Aviary Abstract

When I was studying painting and drawing at the university, I really liked Rembrandt's etchings. But slowly over my life, my tastes in art have changed. I still like Rembrandt, but now I love a vast spectrum of art from American Indian to Van Gogh. Some of the paintings I have seen with the most emotional content were the French Impressionists. I still remember the impact of a painting by Toulouse Lautrec that I saw at the Chicago Art Institute. Now, I paint and draw with my camera and a little help from Photoshop.

This too is Arizona

When I started this blog, I began by talking about walking Arizona. Well, I am still walking. Whatever preconceived notions you had about Arizona, they were probably wrong. As I have said before, "It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see." This photo was taken only a few miles from my home, next to a public library and no too far from a busy metropolitan street with shopping centers, hotels, fast food restaurants and everything that goes with a big city. But then again, if you walk, you just might see something different. You really need to click on the photo to see it properly.

"It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see."
James Tanner

Desert Solitude

I live in a really big city. But in some ways, I am hardly a big city person. For example, have you seen any pictures of big cities in my blog? Maybe a few. The advantage of living in the Salt River Valley is that there are places, just a few minutes from my home, where you can spend hours and not see more than one or two people. This is one of those places. Do you want to know where it is? Why would I tell you?

Serious Spines Series 5

Walking through the desert without getting stuck by cactus is an acquired ability. Mainly, it has to do with watching where you put your feet and how close you are to any plants. Some cactus, like this one in the photo, are easy to avoid. Others are more insidious and despite your best efforts and years of experience, you just might end up being stuck. 

The End of Days

I don't think I have taken a picture of a sunset for quite a while. Usually when I see a spectacular sunset, I either don't have a camera or don't have an open view. I just happened to be walking around a lake and found this sky just as it got dark. This is always a good reason to live in Arizona.

Euphorbia

Some of the most brilliantly colored flowers in the world are from Euphorbia plants rather than cactus. Cactus is native to the American continents and there is only one species, probably a transport, that is native to Africa. On the other hand, Africa has a huge variety of Euphorbias, none of which are native to the Americas. Both have spines and both have gorgeous flowers.

Serious Spines Series 4

Some cactus are more spines than they are cactus. Just like some people are more prickly than others. Just like me, you probably know someone that this cactus reminds you of. I guess the best way to handle that situation is to stay outside of the reach of the spines.

Serious Spines Series 3

Why do some cactus have serious spines and others hardly any at all? The argument is that spines evolve to protect the plant, but then the animals that eat the plant either evolve to eat the spines also or somehow avoid the spines. Another theory is that the spines shade the plant from the hot summer sun. If that is the case, then why do some cactus have huge spines like this one and others smaller spines that hardly provide shade? I think we need to look elsewhere for a reason and avoid ad hoc reasoning.

Serious Spines Series 2

Not all seriously spiny cactus are devoid of other interest. This is one of the most beautiful pastel colored flowers I have ever seen. But, of course, the cactus itself is a prime candidate for the serious spine series. How do you pet a cactus? Only once.

Serious Spines Series

This is the first in my Serious Spines Series of photographs. Over the next few posts, I will be highlighting cactus with very serious spines. In fact, the spines turn out to be almost the entire cactus. You may have to click on some of these photos to get the whole picture of the spines because seen in a small version, you can't grasp how many spines there are. I hope you have a nice time viewing the spines.

A Tiny Frog

Here is the ambiguity of the desert in a nutshell, a frog in a pond sitting, not on a lily pad, but on a floating mass of algae. This is one of my favorite recent photos, mostly because it shows a lot about where I live and walk. I also like the contrast and the colors. Sometimes, here in the Salt River Valley, the sky is not so blue, but this was one of those days that make the rest of the country look somber and gray.

Mushrooms in the lawn

After several days of unusual rain, I went outside (a rare occurrence) to look around and found my lawn covered with cute little mushrooms. Now, if you look close, you will see that I use the term "lawn" very loosely. Grass is only one of the components of what passes for lawn in the desert. Of course, I rushed back into the house and grabbed my camera and ran out and took some pictures. What else can you do when this particular fungus infests your property? By the next day, they were gone. Shriveled in the 100 degree plus heat.

"It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see."
James Tanner

Anomalies

Anomalies abound in the desert. It is over 100 degrees. The high temperatures of the summer have been going on for more than four months and suddenly we have delicate purple flowers blooming as if it were Spring. You can never tell what you are going to find when you start walking. I could call this the last flower of summer, but that would not be true. There will be other plants that flower as the weather gets cooler. Just wait a while and you will see what I mean. I will never run out of flowers.

"It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see."
James Tanner

Strange Seeds

Every once and while you run across something that seems very strange. The desert is no exception. These dark brown seed pods hang like ornaments on certain species of mesquite trees. When they fall off the tree, they litter the ground with their shapes until they completely dry out and open. When you first see something like this, you wonder what they are. Sometimes learning what they are and where they come from only increases the mystery. Walking in the desert is always full of surprises.

"It is my privilege to let you see things you would otherwise never see."
James Tanner

Fall Gold

Since there are really only two seasons in the desert, hot and not-so-hot, the plants get all confused and bloom at odd times during the year. They follow the old adage, bloom where you are planted, but they add, bloom whenever. On any given day of the year, you could probably find some plant flowering away. I am not talking about huge fields of tulips or mountain wildflowers, I am talking about usually small and insignificant flowers but ones that are spectacular in their own way. There is a moral there somewhere.

Evidence and Faces

There are two things about this photo, first there is evidence of a very recent rain storm. In the desert that small puddle on the rock will evaporate in a matter of hours at the most. Second, there is a face on the rock. I see faces all the time in patterns on the floor, on rocks, on trees on nearly everything. This is called pareidolia and is a common phenomena. It is the same reason you see shapes in clouds. But there it is. Call it what you like. There is a frowny face on the rock.

Fall Mushrooms

Fall or autumn is a difficult concept here in the desert. Most of the leaves do not turn until close to the end of the year and some leaves only fall off the trees when they are replaced by new ones. The other part of the concept, of which I am reminded each time I think of the years I spent in Argentina and Panama, is that this is the start of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere and there is no Fall or Spring in the tropical jungles, only wet season and dry season (which is mostly wet from my perspective). I propose that we designate the day the temperatures drop below 100 degrees here in the desert for the final time each year as the official start of the Fall Season. But wait, that means that it is still Summer here!

Fall Feeding

It is time locally for the Fall migration. I found this flock of geese busy eating their fill in a muddy field. They were so busy that they didn't even look up while I took their picture. There are two egrets visible in the distant background and a few ducks close to the water. Who would guess that this picture was taken right in the middle of the Phoenix-Mesa Metroplex.

Waterlogged

Some of the most amazing patterns come from objects and situations that are less than superficially attractive. You probably need to click on this image to see the detail, but there are an amazing number of things going on with this log in the stagnant pond water. Never underestimate the detail that there is in commonly seen objects and scenes; color, texture, light and dark, all conspire to make a dazzling picture.

Mesquite

Few trees in the desert provide as much as the mesquite. The trees grow in areas known as mesquite bosques or forests. The wood is very hard and used for building fine furniture and other items and is commonly burned for charcoal or for barbeques. The demand for mesquite wood for fires has decimated the tree in some areas. The Indians used mequite beans or seeds and pods to make a flour-like paste that was highly nutritious. The trees are relatively fast growing, but an older one, like the one in the photo can be relatively rare. This is one case where a food product, mesquite beans, goes to waste due mainly to ignorance of its value.

Barrel Cactus Flowers and Fruit

Barrel cactus are pretty strange. They have both flowers and ripe fruit (the yellow colored pods) at the same time. The flowers bloom in the middle of the plant and then the fruit develops from the seed pod and as they ripen, they progressively move to the outside of the ring and eventually fall off or are eaten by animals. You see a lot of strange things in the desert if you are around for a while.