Golf and Reflection at The Phoenician

Here is a reflection photo of a portion of the golf course at the Phoenician Resort and Spa.

You will notice a golf cart at the bottom left corner.

I took this near sunset so the light was very dim.

Golf courses in Arizona are quite beautiful.

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Sunset Shadows on Golf Course

Look at this photo of the shadows of sunset on the Phoenician golf course.

I like the undulating fairway with the green grass and trees.

Anyone for golf?

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Jokake Inn at the Phoenician

Here is a photo from Camelback Mountain looking down on The Phoenician Resort and Jokake Inn.

When hiking Camelback Mountain, you eventually end up on the southside of Camelback Mountain and can look directly down on The Phoenician Resort.

The Phoenician is buttressed up against Camelback Mountain.

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Pool at The Phoenician

Today, we will start a tour of the Phoenician, which is a fabulous first rate resort located near our home.

Here is a photo of one of the pools at the Phoenician.

Look at the bright yellow cabanas.

We have experienced great pool weather lately.

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Papago Park at Sunset

Here is a photo of Papago Park at Sunset.

You can see the houses below and all the green trees.

I am very grateful to see a mix of mountains and trees.

I took this photo while hiking on Camelback Mountain.

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Gila Woodpecker and Mexican Fencepost cactus

Here is a photo of a Gila Woodpecker holding onto the Mexican Fencepost cactus.

You can see the tiny vibrantly colored flower buds that the bird is hanging onto.

I posted a close-up of the flower bud five days ago. These flower buds are amazingly beautiful.

We have seen this pair of Gila woodpeckers around for the past 6 years, but we have never seen them on the cactus. Generally, the woodpeckers are trying to peck holes into the mesquite trees.

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Desert Path

Here is a photo of a lovely desert path at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

You can see how important shade is to those of us who live in the desert and have primarily sunshine every day.

Every little bit of shade helps. The desert trees may look sparse but actually they filter and create diffused shade in larger sections as compared to a dense round tree, which might require a person to sit directly underneath it to obtain any benefit from its shade.

You will observe that Arizonans have a habit of always finding shade and standing in it or parking their cars in the shade. It really does make a huge difference.

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Ball of Fire

Here is another Sunset photo. This image was taken looking across the Valley of the Sun.

Valley of the Sun is the name of our Phoenix metropolitan community.

We have had a lot of great sunsets lately so I hope you are enjoying them.

This sunset looks like a ball of fire!

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Tall Saguaro at the Boulders

What a great day for a hike among the Boulders in northeast Scottsdale.

Look how tall the Saguaro Cactus is. It is over 100 years old.

I love the mix of boulders, blue sky, cloud and cactus. A perfect Arizona day.

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Backlit Clouds Over Camelback Mountain

I took this photo at sunset from by backyard.

You can see the sky is full of wonderful clouds that have turned pinkish with the rays of the sunset giving the sky a very neat effect.

You are looking at the profile of Camelback Mountain amid the pinkish lit sky.

I think this photo looks like a painting.

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Flower Bud on Mexican Fencepost

Look at the colors on this flower bud growing from a Mexican Fencepost Cactus.

These flower buds have such iridescent colors.

The flower that opens up is very tiny and not anywhere as pretty as the bud before the flower opens.

These buds fall to the ground and grow into new cacti.

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Happy Monday Flower!

I hope you like this macro photo of a vibrant fuscia flower with a yellow circle.

I like how the color pops out.

The little yellow circle at the center looks like a plastic snap.

Happy Monday to everyone!

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Sunset with Green Reflective Circles

Here is a photo of a sunset I took from Camelback Mountain overlooking downtown Phoenix.

You can see the tall buildings that are part of the Phoenix skyline, as well as the golf course in the foreground.

I also find the green reflection circles add an interesting dimension to the very bright sunset.

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Hummingbird Action

Hummingbirds are such cute little critters.

This hummingbird was caught in action while it tried to get its nectar from this pink penstemon plant that was in bloom.

I believe this is an Anna's Hummingbird. Look at those wings flap in record speed.

Penstemons bloom for a limited time once a year.

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Cactus Fabric

You might have a hard time guessing what this photo is.

It is a close-up macro photo of a cactus in my backyard. This part of the cactus has spread out instead of staying in a round cylinder shape.

I like the subtle ripples of the green flesh of the cactus.

I am having fun sharing macro photos with you this week. I hope you are enjoying them.

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Diamond Cholla Cactus in Bloom

This macro photo is of the tip of a diamond cholla cactus in bloom.

The photo is deceiving in that the tip of this cactus is very small, less than two inches.

The tiny flower that barely bloomed at the tip of this cactus is about 1/8th inch high.

What does it remind you of?

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Delicate Tendrils

Today I share with you a photo of the delicate tendrils of a small flower blooming in my yard.

The pink petals are almost translucent with the light of the sun.

The tiny details of this flower were rather impressive to me. I really enjoy taking macro photos.

These tiny flowers are on the Emu Bush or it is sometimes called the Valentine's Bush because is blooms around Valentine's each year.

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Delicate Pincushion Flowers

Here is a photo of the delicate tiny flowers on a pincushion cactus that is blooming in my backyard.

Surprisingly, pincushion cactus need more water than some of my other cactus.

I find it very interesting that a ring of pink flowers develops on a pincushion cactus. The circle pattern the flowers make is quite unique.

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Composition of Desert Mountain Formations

This photo shows the red rock and desert plants on the west side of Camelback Mountain.

We went hiking last weekend and I thought this was a nice image of the rocks and shapes on the mountain.

Growing up in Arizona, I really like the looks of the desert and various geological formations.

I am always looking at rocks when I hike. Often I carry some of the interesting rocks home and put them in my yard.

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Yellow Cylinder in Chihuly Red Reed

I have dug into my photo archives and wanted to post this Chihuly glass photo.

I took the photo during Chihuly's Nature of Glass exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens which occurred last year.

I was able to catch the sun's rays piercing through this red glass which changed from the sunlight into more yellow colors. Also, much more detail could be seen of the tall glass red reed that was standing straight in the desert sand.

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Arizona Sky and Boulders

I like this photos of the big Arizona sky filled with clouds overlooking the Boulders Resort golf course and the natural boulders in the desert.

This is a great time of the year to go out hiking in Arizona.

Nice weather, great outdoor activities, but we do have to start watching out for snakes when hiking as it is starting to warm up, which means snakes are coming out of hibernation.

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Fireworks of Cactus Flowers

Look how many cactus flowers are in bloom or going to bloom in this photo.

These fine pink, tissue paper-like flowers were exploding like fireworks on this Beavertail Prickly Pear Cactus.

This type of cactus is scientifically called Opuntia Basilaris.

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Prickly Pear Pink, Papery Cactus Flowers

Here is a photo of some vibrant Prickly Pear Cactus flowers in bloom.

These types of cactus flowers look a lot like thin paper, similar to carnation paper flowers you may have made in school.

I saw this cactus in bloom when hiking and tomorrow I will show you how many blooms were opening up. I was glad to see so many on one small prickly pear cactus.

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Mystical Boulders

Here is a photo of those mystical boulders in the area I like to hike at in north Scottsdale.

These boulders are so special and spiritual to many.

Anyone who has the opportunity to visit Arizona, should make time to hike at the Boulders. It is a great lunch spot and has a beautiful golf course also.

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Sunset From Camelback Mountain

Here is a photo of a beautiful sunset that I took when I hiked Camelback Mountain.

The colors of the sky were so orangish and the silhouette of the cactus on this ridge line made a nice image.

I am looking from the southeast side of Camelback Mountain towards Downtown Phoenix. South Mountain is the mountain in the distance that you are seeing.

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Moon, Clouds, and Mountains

Here is a photo I took while in Tucson. It captures the full moon, the interesting clouds and the majestic mountains.

I like this image because the mountains have so much detail with the fading sun giving the mountains a faint glow.

I hope you enjoyed the Biosphere 2 series and the photos from Tucson.

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Happy Easter from Arizona

For those who celebrate Easter, Happy Easter!

I took this photo at dusk on a full moon night next to San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, Arizona.

The light on the cross was perfect and the night sky with the unusual blue coloring and clouds made this a good Easter image.

Enjoy your day with family and friends.

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Yucca at Biosphere 2

Here is a photo of a yucca in front of the modern structures that have been added at Biosphere 2 for researchers and students to live in and attend class.

In 2007, the University of Arizona has taken over the site to study climate change.

The project has not had people living in it sealed off from the world since the 1990s, but there are still lots of research and testing opportunities to be performed at the project. It is a living laboratory for scientists and researchers.

For about nine years, Columbia University ran a research site and campus at Biosphere 2.

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Scientists Living Quarters

Here is a photo of the scientitsts' living quarters at Biosphere 2.

The researchers and scientists lived in Biosphere 1 (Earth) while monitoring and running tests of the eight member crew who lived in Biosphere 2 for two years.

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Theme day: Red

Such a happy red photo for theme day, don't you think?

I was walking in a park in Scottsdale and this little girl was being pulled in a red wagon by her father.

She had her pet Tigger riding with her also.

She turned around and gave a quick flash of a smile.

This is a photo to make all of us smile.

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