Cool Moon

Mister C and Master J were out getting new hiking boots for Master J this evening and on the way they called me to tell me about the moon.  They said it was copper colored.  Now of course I rushed right outside to see this copper moon and was sorely disappointed to see no moon at all.  They must have been driving out in the open to see this moon because my view was blocked by my neighbors houses.  I kept checking back and front until eventually I saw it creeping over a nearby rooftop.  Unfortunately by the time I saw it, the nice copper color was gone.  But it was still a pretty neat moon.  So I put on my telephoto lens and set about trying to take a decent pictures.  After nearly thirty shots, I ended up with two that I didn't hate.

It really was much better in person.

Easley's Fun Shop

We accompanied Master J to Literacy Night at his school last night. His role was that of a colonial soldier. Now, I knew about the whole Literacy Night thing, but I didn't know that he was supposed to dress up for it. I figured that out on Wednesday morning when he mentioned it over breakfast. Having nothing in the house that remotely resembled the uniform of a colonial soldier, and no real way of creating one without a whole lot of time, money and effort, I did the next best thing. Or in this case, the first best thing.

I popped on over to Easley's Fun Shop in downtown Phoenix. This awesome, family owned business has been around for over six decades and been run by four generations of the Easley family. There's an unimaginable number of costumes covering just about anything you can think of. I mean EVERYTHING. When I walked in, some guy was picking up a frog costume, complete with huge froggy head. The wall behind the registers is a showcase of at least fifty kinds of high heels, platform shoes and boots of varying heights. The whole place is wall to wall, floor to ceiling costumes and the props that go with them. It's incredible!

But here's the really cool thing, it only took about fifteen seconds for Debi (probably spelled wrong) to find me a colonial costume. And while I was checking out the costumes for sale, she went and pulled several rental costumes out for me to look at. After seeing the awesomeness that was one of the rental costume, I just couldn't resist. I decided it was totally worth it to rent a costume for just one night.

And I don't think I was wrong...



I know, right? How cool does Master J look all decked out? He was a hit a Literacy Night for sure. Several people were taking pictures of him.

So, if you live in the Phoenix area and you're ever in need of a last minute costume because your kid forgot to mention that he needed one until the very last possible moment, head on over to Easley's Fun Shop. If they don't have it, it probably doesn't exist.

*Also, the fine folk at Easley's did not compensate me in any way, nor encourage me to write anything about how awesome they are. They are just that awesome. That is all.

Vacation - Day 1

We headed out at 5:20 this morning and started north for the first day of our driving vacation.

Here's Master J looking bright and perky (much more so than the rest of us I might add.)



He didn't know I'm was taking the picture or he would have acted goofy.



Vermillion cliffs.



Burned tree on the side of the road. The wildfires have done a lot of damage the past few years but the amount of regrowth is really amazing.



The Colorado river, taken from the original, 1929 Navajo bridge.



The new Navojo bridge is on the left, the original one is the right. These two bridges are one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado for 750 miles.



Mister C with Master J on the Navajo bridge (you can't get out of your car on the new bridge.)



The bunch of us looking a little rough after the first six hours in the car. Only five more hours of driving after this picture was taken...

Day of the Spanish Horse

I had the opportunity to attend this annual event at Estrella Mountain Regional Park out in Goodyear this morning. I thought it might be a cool place to take some photos and I wasn't disappointed.

A four year old Paso Fino, Lucero de Pretencioso, owned by KK Dubois of Rancho de Esperanzo, and trained by Steven Lopez.



Paso Fino Pretencioso de la Virginia, sire of the good looking guy above.




Another Paso Fino (I think)



I am woefully bad at identifying the different Spanish breeds but this could be a Lusitano.



These three flamenco dancers were kind enough to pose for me on their break.



Pretty sure this is the Andalusian, Espartano MF, of Flat Baroque Farms in Skull Valley, AZ.





Saw this little buckaroo as we were getting ready to leave.



And no festival would be complete without an adorable chihuahua...

San Xavier del Bac

Mister C and I went to Tucson on Thursday to hear a lecture by a photographer. The lecture wasn't until five thirty but we headed down early so I could visit San Xavier del Bac, which I absolutely love. It's so beautiful and so very out of place. You come around a bend in the *rode and it just rises up out of the desert. This gorgeous, blindingly white mission contrasting sharply with the mostly brown background.

It's really hard to get a decent photo of the place though because of the tourists. When we went a few years ago, we made the mistake of going on a weekend and there were thousands of tourists milling aimlessly around. This time, since it was a Thursday afternoon, there were probably less than a hundred. But it was still amazingly difficult to get a decent photo because even though the total numbers were down substantially, the number of idiots didn't seem to be reduced much.

I don't mean to judge (or maybe I do), but the fact is that NOBODY needs to make a cell phone call while standing smack dab in the middle of the front gate to the place. Nobody. Especially not four hundred pound bald guys with mismatched outfits and heavy facial hair. And especially not for an extended period of time. I mean come on, it's obvious that other tourists are trying to take a picture of the place in it's entirety. Which means that we'd like to get the whole path leading through the pillars with the gorgeous heavy wooden doors to the chapel beyond. No, really, we would. We're not actually all standing here with our cameras pointed in your direction because we want you in our pictures. I finally gave up and went to take the rest of the pictures I wanted and then managed to get a few on our way out. Even then though, it was like playing a game of cat and mouse trying to avoid having a tourist show up through one of the portholes just as I was pushing the button.

But, idiots aside, it's really such a beautiful, peaceful place and they've done a fantastic job on the renovations so far. When my friend Brandy eventually comes down here we're going to head on down to Tucson so she can take pictures as well. I've already given her the heads up that I want to try and get there right about when they open, which is seven in the morning. Which means that we'll have to leave our house by about five am. It won't be pretty, but it's doable.

So anyway, here are a few shots that I managed to take that didn't have tourists milling around in them. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm pretty sure there's a tourist in the fifth portal from the left but he/she is wearing a brown or black top so they aren't standing out.









*I'm leaving this in as written because it made me laugh out loud when my mother pointed it out to me. Guess I shouldn't type up posts past my bedtime! I do actually know the difference between "rode" and "road", just not late at night apparently. Thanks for the heads up Mamoo!

Pioneer Village

Master J (and the rest of the fourth grade) went on a field trip to Pioneer Village today. I went along as a quasi-chaperon and mostly photographer. I only got two kids and one of them was Master J. Another mom and I mostly worked together so that an adult had full time eyes on the kids while I did my thing.

I ended up taking over three hundred photos and still managed to miss getting all of the kids. Bummer. It was a fun day and it's really a neat place. Anyway, here's a (very) few shots from the day.

The guys from the gunfight...



The local bank



The church



The kids favorite thing

Vehicle: 1 Qwest Box: 0

Some time last night someone plowed into the Qwest box around the corner from our house. It didn't seem to affect our internet or phone lines but boy, what a mess! Forgive the poor quality of the photos, I was on my way to pick up my produce and the only camera I had with me was in my cell phone.

Vulture?

I dropped Master J off at I Mamoo and Papa's house earlier today so I could go meet a friend for breakfast. As we were about to turn onto the dirt road that leads to their house, we noticed an unfortunate young rabbit that had lost in a conflict with a car laying in the middle of the road. I drove carefully around it so as not to decimate it further, remarking to Master J that yes it was sad but sometimes it happens. I didn't think too much more about it until I had to skirt it again after I dropped him off and then again on my way back to pick him up. I hung out with my mom for a few minutes chatting and then Master J and I headed home. As we were turning onto the pavement, I noticed a rather large bird in the road. I did a double take as I realized it had to be some kind of vulture. We watched as it grabbed the rabbit and dragged it to the side. I drove slowly forward so I could get a picture of it. Unfortunately it didn't like that and walked away from the rabbit. I didn't want it to take off so I just took a few pictures with my phone and rolled slowly off. I watched in my rear-view mirror as it went back and started picking at the rabbit. I've seen them circling around out in the desert before, but never up close. It was really cool to see. This picture does no justice to what this bird looks like up close. For the record, they are butt ugly.

Meep! Meep!

Javelinas!

So check out what Mister C saw on his way into the building at work the other day. Two adult javelinas hanging out in the parking lot. You can see in the one picture that there are foothills really close by and that's where these guys would usually hang out. But on this day, they decided to come down for a visit. According to the security guards, they come down fairly regularly and like to nap under one of the windows.

In case you're wondering how Mister C was able to get relatively clear and close up pictures of two wild animals with self sharpening tusks, just know that he did not exercise the proper amount of caution. Another employee was showing everyone the pictures he had taken from the safety of his vehicle. Mister C all but ignored basic safety and opted for better pictures. He brushed aside my concern with a comment about not having the ability to zoom on his phone. Well of course that makes it totally acceptable. Anyway, it's a pretty cool way to start your work day.

Javelina One



Javelina Two

The Wild, Wild West

Heading in to my local library one day last week, I noticed something I'd never noticed before. It struck me as odd to have a keyed locker outside of a library. I mean, what could you possibly need to lock up here?



Ahhh, that explains it!



Apparently, we don't want any gunfights breaking out in the library. Making me believe that our state motto isn't so much "Ditat Deus (God Enriches)" as it is "Welcome to Arizona, we've got ya covered!"