Tucson’s 2009 St. Patrick’s Day Parade happened a couple of days ago. But an Ides of March Parade just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Like any notable Tucson parade, it had its own touch of weirdness. If such an award were given, the Green Man Group would have won first prize for having…
When you live on an eroding hillside, you’ve got a problem. Whenever it rains, valuable topsoil is being carried away. This past Sunday, members of the Watershed Management Group’s co-op program were hard at work, restoring a homeowner’s hillside. The goal is to prevent erosion and stabilize the hillside so that native plants can grow…
Been doing a window upgrade on my house for the past four years. The old casement windows are of the single pane variety. And they leak like a sieve. Last Friday, I cleared out my design studio and let the window replacement crew move their gear in. Then it was time to bid two more…
Ever been a tourist in your hometown? I decided to take that idea for a little test-ride this past weekend. My itinerary included the Pima Community College West Campus, Sentinel Peak (aka A Mountain), and Tucson’s oldest tree. This eucalyptus hangs in there at the edge of Congress Road, just west of Downtown… Then there…
This past Saturday, it was Carnaval time in Tucson. Downtown’s Armory Park was taken over by all manner of festive types. We’re talking singers, dancers, drummers, and plenty of watchers. Included in the merriment were Capoeira Malendragem… Mimes… Jovert, the steel drum band from Tucson High School… And those high-steppin’ stilt walkers from Flam Chen…
Yesterday morning was perfect for bicycling. So, I pedaled down to Tucson’s annual Fords on Fourth car show. Held on Fourth Avenue, this show was the place for all things Ford… I visited this show last year and decided it was an annual must-do.
Who says that University of Arizona students won’t get up bright and early on a Saturday morning? Especially if that Saturday happens to coincide with Valentine’s Day? This past Saturday, I worked with UA water harvesting students in the Rincon Heights neighborhood, which is just south of the campus. The students were joined by a…
Neighbors just had a Friday the 13th party. In the backyard, there was plenty of skateboarding action… In the living room, there were three live bands… I got photos of two bands performing. First up was Lenguas Largas… Lenguas Largas was followed by Vanish Twin…
This past weekend, I worked with the Watershed Management Group on a greywater harvesting project. This project will take washing machine water and redirect it to plants outside the laundry room. These guys are dry-fitting the ABS pipes that are part of the greywater drainage… After they were finished with the pipe-fitting, we filled trenches…
They sure didn’t make playground equipment like this when I was a kid. This thing is a slide in Tucson’s recently dedicated Balboa Park…
This past November, I wrote a post on Tucson’s new ordinance that requires water harvesting for commercial developments. To show how this can be done, the Ward 1 City Council Office is creating a public demonstration site. Work on the Ward 1 site is now being completed. On Saturday, January 24, Watershed Management Group volunteers…
On Monday, January 19, hundreds of Tucsonans commemorated the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a march and festival at Reid Park. The festival featured music, mime, poetry, and dancing. Tariq Rasool and the Songhai Drummers got things going… My neighbors, Chuck and Beatrice, enjoying the festivities…
My recent trip to Pennsylvania featured just about every kind of weather imaginable. Most of my time there was snow-free. But not fog-free… And certainly not wind-free. Gusts of 40 mph and higher were recorded on New Year’s Eve. This had predictable effects on local trees and powerlines…
March 2019 update: This website is no longer online. Nutrigenomics draws on research in nutrition, genetics, and several other scientific fields. Although nutrigenomics is fairly new, there is a great demand for collaboration, training and education. I just finished working with Randy Burd, Ph.D., who is on the faculties of the University of Arizona, University…
My holiday plans were simple: Go back to Pennsylvania to visit the family for Christmas and New Year. Since I live in Arizona, such a plan involves air travel. And, to put it mildly, the 2008-2009 holiday travel season has been hellacious. My flight from Tucson to Chicago reached Chicago airspace as a major snowstorm…
The people in these photos may look like they are doing a landscaping project, but there is much more to it than that. They are volunteers in a Watershed Management Group project that aims to improve urban water quality… The focus of the project is on reducing non-point source (NPS) pollutants like pet waste, auto…
Care to visit one of Tucson’s hippest streets with hundreds of thousands of your best friends? Well, have I got a street fair for you! The 4th Avenue Street Fair has been going on since the early 1970s, and it features artists and artisans from all over the U.S. In addition to admiring the artwork,…
Every Sunday morning, the St. Philip’s Plaza becomes an open-air market. You name the edible item, you can probably find it here. You can also find what you need to help prepare your food. How about some wooden utensils? Or would your taste run more toward some pie?
This past Saturday, a handful of photographers met outside of the Downtown Main Library. We’re all members of the Tucson Photography Meetup group, and we’re always up for a chance to improve our skills. Our instructor was Roger D., who gave us a series of assignments to tackle. These included three studies in motion: Freezing…
Last month, Tucson became the first American city to require water harvesting for new commercial developments. The new city ordinance requires new developments to meet 50 percent of their landscaping water budget with water that falls on the property. To show how the ordinance will work, the Ward One City Council Office is creating a…
This past Saturday, thousands of bicyclists converged on Fourth Avenue near Downtown Tucson. While many of the two-wheeled legions rode to the semi-annual Bicycle Swap Meet, there was more looking than riding. With so many people gathered in one place, it was hard to get more than a couple of pedal strokes in. Besides, there…