Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Colors of Spring

Yellow, purple, white, spring green--these are the colors of Spring.  It is a beautiful Spring now in Arizona.  The first kaleidoscope is created from a patch of London Rocket which is consider a weed, but I like to think of it as a native.


 Yellow flowers on the London Rocket
 This sweet white flower is encircled by a piece of sun weathered wood
 Spring Green is showing at the top of the cottonwood trees
 I believe the yellow flowers are oregon grape
We have begun the packing up process as we leave 2 weeks from tomorrow for the beginning of our cross country trip to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Spring has Definitely "Sprung"

Bees are active, the birds are chirping and pecking at the roof, the Canadian Geese are flying overhead in formations, the grass is greening and the weeds are being chocked off with pesticides which is the worst part of Spring in the Southwest.

Michael had a workshop this week and I tagged along the last day to see what signs of Spring I could find down by Oak Creek at Crescent Moon Ranch.  The tops of the cottonwood trees had a faint blush of green, but the sycamore trees has little evidence of the next season.  The grass was greening and the tourists from the North were out in their shorts and tee shirts.  I have adapted to the climate and am afraid of skin cancer so I generally wear at least 2 layers over all skin surfaces where practical.

Flowering Shrub amongst the Red Rocks

Subtle Greens at Crescent Moon Ranch

Perennial bunch grasses greening pp from the bottom up




Sunday, March 17, 2013

From Melting Snow to Flowering Trees

What a difference a week makes.  Last Sunday, the snow was pinging off the trees and seven days later I am racing around taking pictures of flowering cherry, apricot and quinces in that brief window before the petals fall and the leaves come out.  The furnace went off this week which must sound pretty great to our northern friends and relatives and now the emphasis is on not getting warm so we installed a solar shade on our bedroom patio door this week.  The sun is so strong in Arizona that it isn't the temperature as much as the sun's relative strength that makes it seem warm.

Pretty in White

A Quince Explosion by the Porch

An Explosion of Cherry Blossoms

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The "Sound" of Melting Snow


 
I promised some flood sculpture kaleidoscopes this week, but first some kaleidoscopes from photos taken in Sedona from the snowfall on the 9th and 10th of March.  Michael had a meetup with the http://www.meetup.com/Plein-Air-Painters-of-Sedona-and-the-Verde-Valley this morning so I went along to take photos and a hike.  It was beautiful with snow in the high country and just a dusting on the trails and hardly any mud!  The most remarkable thing was the constant ping of the snow in the trees dropping like a bomb.  In the west the sun is so strong that by 9AM on a sunny day after a snowfall the snow begins melting very quickly.





Snow on the Red Rock Pathways

Plein Air Painter of the Red Rocks!







Saturday, March 2, 2013

A Beaver's Work is Never Done and Some "Flood Sculptures"



I was walking along Oak Creek looking for some flood sculptures when I came across some recent beaver activity.  I couldn't help making some kaleidoscopic photos from the picture below.

A Beaver's Work is Never Done!


They have almost killed this young cottonwood!


No it is not a large "bird's nest!"

The debris can weave an intricate pattern



Next week I will share with you some of my kaleidoscopes made from the "flood sculptures".