Sedona

With a little bit of time off from work, I got to go on a hiking/photography trip to Sedona with my friend Joe. The weather was perfect, the scenery great, and the company enjoyable. 

Phoenix Botanical Gardens

Saturday was a lovely day to get out with this gal, J. Do you ever wonder what all those funny images are on your camera? I'm sure one is for sports (the running man image). One is for scenery (the mountain image). But I just don't know what the one below is for.


Anyway, J and I took our cameras and went out with our friend S (who has a totally legit camera, being a real professional) and went to the Botanical Gardens. I love that place. And now, you can love it, too! (We had the good fortune of catching all the desert plants in bloom. They are fantastic!)

I love the green in this shot, contrasted with the white. This plant never fails to catch my eye.

I really like this particular picture--I think it's the yellow specks surrounding the cactus...

We stopped in for a brief visit at the Butterfly exhibit. (Most of them were hanging upside down on the plants getting ready for sleep because the sun had started going down. We did catch a few of them out and about, though...)

I would like to sit on this bench...for a few hours. With a book. Anyone care to join me? The weather is in the 70's and upper 80's...

I don't really know the name of this plant, but I love the red and green...

Did you know that cacti have the most wonderful textures and colors?

It was a lovely day! And to think I almost didn't go...

Around town...

I had the great opportunity to get out and enjoy the Mesa Arts Center recently. I mainly wanted to go so I could mess around with my picture. Note that I have to say "mess around"...because I'm just not all that sure what I'm doing with it. Anyway, it was a great day to go. For whatever reason, they've intertwined thousands of strips of fabric along the guardrails around the place. It's a great place to take pictures of water and plants. AND, as luck would have it, I ran into another band, but unlike last time this group had lovely hats.

My favorite picture of the entire day. By far.

I just love these plants with those silly little strings all over them!

I love this--the hats, the suits, and the cheap white sunglasses.