A yellow rose

Hey there buckaroo . . .

Runnin' with the big dogs!

Wow! I hope the driver survives this landing!

Yeah, I guess he'll be okay!

This is a radio controlled automobile track in Prescott Valley that I just stumbled across yesterday. (By the way, the pictures are more impressive if you click on them.)

It seemed to be a very popular place though many cars were in the pits when I was there.

But get up some speed and they can all take the jumps.

A fun afternoon for those who don't really want to get behind the wheel of a real race car!

Memorial Day

Moon over . . .

Before you criticize, recognize that was hand held (pretty unsteadily), with a teeny, little camera at full zoom.

So . . shine on, shine on . . springtime moon.

And the winner is . . .

Warren from Tucson, who was first with the correct answer (to the "puzzle" in my previous post) almost instantly. I should have known better than to try to fool an engineer! For those of you who are not familiar with Warren, be it here known that he is also an expert photographer. You might want to take a look at his blog.

And for you, Warren, please accept from me . . . a million praises!

Now, I might add that Sheri also came up with the correct answer but she was a little late. (You're supposed to be checking my blog by the minute, Sheri!)

An amazingly honorable mention goes to the revered Joey Polanski, who came up with an answer that I had to google to figure out what he was talking about. I bow to you Joey.

As to the rest of you . . . well . . . enough said.

???

Anybody know what this is?

The first person to identify it wins a million!*






*A million praises!

Poor lonely Blackie Detroit

He says he just wants to be friends, though the notch in one ear and other various battle scars would seem to belie that. But Jazz isn't having any, anyway. Yesterday, Blackie came up on the back steps near a screen door and when Jazz saw him she went berserk, clawing at the screen and screaming. (Just like a woman.) Blackie calmly walked away and I saw him a bit later outside, looking forlorn and confused.

But he has access to the garage and the other cats don't so he has a "shelter from the storm."

Oh! Those toes!

I have a friend who answers to various names - Cin Bob, Sin-Bad, Cyn, or just plain Cindy.

She has a habit of showing up with a great paint job. Here's the latest iteration:

I tend to make a big thing about this, for which I've been accused of being a foot fetishist! Well, I admit nothing but to Cindy . . I dedicate this song. (And, by the way it's better if you pause the video, then click on it to make it bigger.)

Another sad loss

Yesterday afternoon I was sharing with friends tears and laughter and new and old memories of our friend Reed, who passed away last month. This morning I was reading through blogs and learned of the passing of another friend, Julie - - known to the blog world as Granny J. Her daughter, who lives in Alaska and blogs under the name Omegamom broke the sad news here this morning.



I'm not sure how I got to know Granny J but I suspect she found me when I began blogging several years ago. She and I and other local bloggers got together a couple of times for coffee and face-to-face talk. Julie and I shared a background in journalism . . at one time not too far apart as she was working in Chicago and I in Indianapolis.



She was a wonderful woman and I will miss her and her posts and e-mails greatly. These are the only two photos I could find of her.



The first photo is one I took, unfortunately from behind her, at a blogger gathering. The latter one was the one she used on her blog "Walking Prescott". Go in peace, Granny J.

Blacky Detroit

Here's a new photo of our interloper, resting on his favorite spot in the garage.

Go Green with Diversity!

Miller Valley School in Prescott had a big day today as two large murals painted on the school were dedicated. Retiring Superintendent of Schools for the District, Kevin Kapp, told me there were two themes - Go Green, and Diversity. Youngsters from the school had a parade to the dedication site and were praised by several speakers.

There were costumes and large papier mache sun faces to celebrate the big day.

Several students who participated in painting the art works stood by as proud parents took pictures of them.

It certainly brightens up that corner of town.

Bleary

O.K. Pick on me. Bad picture. Well, he was under a truck and I had to zoom in and I couldn't hold the camera steady. So it's fuzzy. I will do better in days ahead.

BUT. This is Blacky Detroit. He started visiting but he was very nervous, at first. I called him "Blacky". Gee, I wonder why. Then one day I encountered our neighbor and asked her if he was her cat. She said he kind of visited but that he was all over the neighborhood. I asked her what she called him. She said "Detroit". So. He has become Blacky Detroit.

He sleeps on a chair in our garage from time to time and he has become very much tamer. He talks to us and he allows himself to be petted. Loves it, actually. And he indicates an interest in coming in to the house. But . . . uh, uh. We have two cats in the house already and Jazz has indicated he WANTS NO PART OF ANOTHER CAT! When they have encountered each other on opposite sides of the screen door, Jazz puts up an incredible scream that chases Blacky Detroit away. Slowly. But he goes.

But, all in all, I feed him in the garage and he seems relatively happy. He comes back from his forays with scratches and scars and I suspect if he was "fixed" and allowed inside he would become a very tame house cat. But he will have to remain . . . just a visitor.

You tart!

Yes, SWMBO does make a great apple tart!

Roses

Titanic!

Keeping watch

I'm on alert . . .

And I see you!

More flora

I have a new camera! I bought a Nikon Coolpix L22 on a whim this afternoon. I'm still learning all of the ins and outs of it and I expect I will be for days, if not even weeks. But I am thrilled with it so far, especially the ability (FINALLY) to do some real macro photos.

These are a couple of the roses that are now blooming in SWMBO's front patio garden.

Let's hear it for Nikon!

Prescott Flora

These trees are a common sight in Prescott.

They begin with a pinkish color but change to dark red which can look nearly black from a distance.

I asked the expert in my home, SWMBO, what they were. She didn't know. I asked if they were Flowering Plum trees. She said they were not. Then I went to the Interwebs. Guess what? Flowering Plum.

Here is a somewhat murky attempt at a macro look at the leaves.

Then nearby was this little bush, covered with yellow posies, so far unidentified.

And finally, one of the banes of this area. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed detritus from Cottonwood trees, you would be correct. This white stuff sheds from the trees, floats through the air and lands on the ground. Many people are allergic to it so it is not a pretty sight when it begins the moulting process this time of year.

Magpie Tales 14 - Blue Willow

This week's Magpie Tales photo prompt from Willow of Willow Manor is a Blue Willow plate. Writers are to compose a haiku, a poem, a vignette or a story based on the photo. Here's the prompt.

I usually write a story based on the prompt but this week I did some research on the photo. When I learned the legend behind the plate, I thought for awhile about what I could write. I finally decided the legend was better than anything my imagination could come up with. So . . here it is:

Long ago in China lived a Mandarin and his daughter, Koong-shee. Koong-shee fell in love with a commoner, a man named Chang, and their love grew as they met beneath a willow tree in the palace garden. When the Mandarin discovered their secret, he banished Chang and imprisoned Koong-shee by encircling the palace with a zigzag fence.

Soon the Mandarin promised Koong-shee to another, and the marriage date was set. A great feast was held to celebrate, but afterward, when everyone had fallen asleep, Chang crept into the palace and fled with Koong-shee.

The Mandarin awoke and pursued the couple across a little bridge that spans the river. The lovers escaped, but soon the Mandarin discovered where they were hiding and sent his men to kill the couple. The men came upon Chang as he was working his fields and killed him. Koong-shee, who witnessed the entire scene from afar, rushed into the pavilion and set it afire. She was determined to be with Chang in death as she had been in life.

The gods, looking down on the tragedy, took pity on the lovers and transformed their souls into a pair of immortal lovebirds to forever live in the pagoda.

We can still see Chang and Koong-shee flying over the willow tree where they first pledged their love. Their story lives forever on the Blue Willow pattern.

With apologies for my plagiarization, I gathered the legend from The Blue Willow Restaurant in Tucson, Arizona