It was around this time last year when I was calling my mesquite tree a slacker. Thing was taking its sweet old time about blooming. Not this year. That tree’s well into ultra-green mode. Fully bloomed in less than a week. After a winter of looking at leaves falling to the ground and the branches…
Spring has come to my front yard in a big way. Cue up the flowers, starting with the potted aloe vera… Just to the west of the aloe is another front yard flower-fest. This is bellflower beardtongue penstemon… Pretty yellow flowers. But the name for this one? Dogweed. That’s right. Dogweed. I think it’s time…
For a variety of reasons, this has truly been the winter of my discontent. Which means that I have been looking forward to spring. Oh, have I ever. This week’s forecast promises 90-degree temperatures. So, time to head out back to the furnace room and shut off the gas. Done. Outside the furnace room door,…
Back in January, I blogged about my Tragic Garden. It was hit hard by sub-freezing temperatures. Since I grow some of what I eat, crop losses are never good news. But what should I see this week but rebirth! Plants growing in places where I’d given up on seeing any such thing! Check this out:…
I like postcards. Oh, do I ever. To the point where I’ve been known as The Passionate Postcarder. That character has been on hiatus for a few years, but now the passion is back. Feast your eyes upon the front image from my latest promotional postcard… Okay, so you’ve seen the bike-tography on the front…
Twice a year, the City of Tucson has a Brush and Bulky Pickup. Which prompts thousands of Tucsonans to lug their old couches, busted-up bookshelves, cracked flower pots, and tree branches out to the curb. For those of us who enjoy the creative re-use of castoffs, the weekend before Brush and Bulky Pickup means one…
Since I didn’t win the slumbering championship last night, I decided to sleep in. All the way ’til 7:25 a.m. Time to rise and shine and go outside for a look at the snowfall in the yard. No, I’m not kidding. This is a blog post about snow in Tucson, Arizona. It’s a sequel to…
Being a native Pennsylvanian and photoblogger, I’m will never pass up a good snowstorm. Those flakes start falling, and I’m outside with the camera. But wait a minute. I’m writing this post from central Tucson, Arizona. This is the desert! It doesn’t snow here! Oh, yes it does. Here’s the evidence from my place. Poor…
If my Official Bike-tography Bike could talk, it would tell you about all the interesting places it has gone while carrying camera gear. Here it is, awaiting the next assignment at El Tour de Tucson 2012… What is bike-tography? It’s the art of combining bicycling with photography. And it’s my photographic passion. Between 1980 and…
My central Tucson neighborhood is one of those places that grows on you. It wasn’t my first choice of places for home buying, what with all that talk about the high crime rate west of Euclid Avenue. But, given my modest and wildly fluctuating freelancer’s income, this area is all I could afford. I confessed…
Winter is still very much in evidence here in Tucson. My frost-damaged container garden is an ongoing reminder of a recent cold snap. The good news is that some of the leafless plants are still alive… That cold snap caused my mesquite tree to drop leaves all over the yard, driveway, and sidewalk. Here it…
The word spread around Tucson like wildfire: “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey is coming to town! And he’s going to be organizing a big ride with racer Tom Danielson and Bicycling magazine editor Peter Flax! Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 20! The hastily organized event was called Ride On, Tucson, and you just HAD…
My usual gardening posts are filled with happy-looking plants in my xeriscape. Or shots of what’s poking its head through the soil in my kitchen garden. Sorry, but there won’t be much joy in this post. We’ve just emerged from a hard freeze here in Tucson. Almost a week of overnight lows in the teens…
Late last week, I spotted a City of Tucson streets department worker marking the sidewalks outside my house. Being the curious type, I went out to ask him why he was doing such a thing. Answer: The sidewalks that have shifted or buckled need to be replaced. Well, to me such a task spells just…
This past Thursday, Tucson was visited by something we hadn’t seen for a while: Rain. Our soggy guest stayed around for the weekend and was most welcome. On Saturday morning, a nearby neighbor hosted a Watershed Management Group (WMG) earthworks workshop during intermittent showers. More than a dozen people turned out, including this couple from…
Last week, I got a request from Tucson’s Food Conspiracy Co-op: Could I photograph their 5th annual Chicken Coop Tour? Well, sure! I’ve always wanted to shoot a bunch of chickens. What a great way to spend this past Saturday, which happened to be a lovely sunny day here in Tucson. The Chicken Coop Tour…
Yesterday was my eighth house-iversary. Meaning that it’s been eight years since I first became a homeowner. Being in charge of a 56-year-old house that sits on a small plot of land in central Tucson has been quite the learning experience. One of my ongoing areas of study is self-sufficiency. To what extent can I…
This past Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of El Tour de Tucson. Once again, this event attracted thousands of bicyclists and a a really fast guy beat out the rest. That would be Arizona’s speediest chiropractor, Scottsdale’s Eric Marcotte, who has won the 110-mile race for three years in a row. No Eric pictures here….
It’s mid-November, the fall rains have returned, but wet weather won’t stop thousands of bicycle enthusiasts from swarming to the intersection of 5th Avenue and 7th Street near Downtown Tucson. What’s the occasion? The Fall 2012 Bicycle Swap Meet. Once again, it lives up to its billing as the shopping place with just about anything…
Nothing like a sunny fall day for admiring low-water use landscaping in Tucson. This past Saturday’s Homescape Tour attracted more than 100 people to 13 private residences and one public elementary school. The tour was organized by Tucson’s Watershed Management Group (WMG). Although I wasn’t able to participate in last year’s inaugural event, I added…
You have to hand it to Tucson’s bicycling community. When a cycling legend comes to town, they turn out in droves. Such was the scene this past Wednesday when Gary Fisher, the father of mountain biking, rolled up on Trek Bicycles of Tucson. The store presented the annual Ride with Gary Fisher, which attracted around…