Blue Sky over Snake Bridge

Greetings from sunny Tucson, Arizona! This post is for Skywatch Friday.

Diamondback Bridge is a pedestrian bridge which crosses over Broadway Boulevard in downtown Tucson. The outside of the steel bridge is painted to look like rattlesnake scales.

Pedestrians and cyclists can enter through the mouth between the fangs...



or through the other end. The tail has a motion sensor which triggers a rattle sound.
Rattlesnake Bridge was part of a fun one-mile race on December 19Th which also went through Basket Bridge. The sky was clear and blue which is typical for Tucson. To see other skies from around the world click the Skywatch Friday icon below.

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Sepia Scenes - Bird on cactus

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

To see more Sepia Scenes at Mary T's site, click on the picture below:

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Ruby Tuesday - Costco

About once a month I shop at Costco to stock up on groceries. The store and its baskets are trimmed with red which reminds me of the Ruby Tuesday meme. And this time of year there seems to be an increase in merchandise and shoppers sporting the color red.








To see more fun Ruby Tuesday posts, visit Mary T's Work of the Poet.

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Better late than never

For months I've been enjoying beautiful fall foliage on blogs from other areas. Around here, deciduous trees are few and far between. But lately I've been noticing this one small stand of cottonwood trees on my way to the market. These cottonwoods, tucked behind an office building, could easily go unnoticed most of the year. However, because I'm blogging, these trees have my attention.


12/16/09

12/20/09

12/27/09

Once they get going, they sure change quickly!

Next time I go by this tree, I expect it to be nearly bare.

Then before long, new leaves will begin to grow. We have short winters here in this corner of the desert, lasting from late December through January.

For more posts with the color yellow, check out Mellow Yellow Monday.

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Shadow Shots - Basket Bridge

Basket Bridge in Tucson is for pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross over Euclid Avenue south of Broadway Blvd. The steel bridge represents coiled Tohono O'odham basketry and is adorned with stylized lizards and coyote tracks.



Basket Bridge is a great place to find shadows! If you enjoy light and shadow like I do, visit Shadow Shot Sunday at Hey Harriet and see all kinds of shadows.

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Skywatch - Gray Days

Noon Gloom - Monday 12/21/09

Dust at Dusk - Tuesday 12/22/09

Misty Dawn - Wednesday 12/23/09

I know it's hard to believe, but this week Tucson had some days without clear blue skies or vividly colored sunrises, and sunsets. It was still interesting to skywatch. On Monday, storm clouds started rolling in and by Tuesday dust was blowing. Wednesday morning, we enjoyed a nice rain that washed away the dust.

See what's been happening in skies around the world at Skywatch Friday.

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Wordless Wednesday - Red and Green

In front of Tucson Medical Center:


Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts here.

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Ruby Tuesday - Dinosaur McDonald's

Dinosaur McDonald's is a landmark in Tucson on the southwest corner of Grant and Tanque Verde Roads.

This month it is decorated for the holidays so there is plenty of the color red.










Smaller dinosaurs are at the back of the restaurant and the inside follows the dinosaur motif as well.


At one time there was a "Rocks and Minerals" McDonald's in Tucson that was like a little museum inside. Does your town have a McDonald's with a special theme?



To see more red posts, visit Ruby Tuesday at Work of the Poet hosted by Mary T.

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Mellow Yellow December

Greetings from the desert! These are some of the yellow things seen around here during the past week.

1. Lesser Goldfinch
2. Cottonwood tree
3. Brittlebush bloom
4. Lemons
5. Barrel cactus fruit

For more Mellow Yellow Monday posts featuring a little or a lot of the color yellow click here.
Have a great week!

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Afternoon Sun and Shadows

As I opened the blinds in the late afternoon, line shadows appeared on the cardboard sculpture and on the wall.

"Of all creatures in this visible world, light is the most glorious; of all light, the light of the sun without compare excels the rest." ~William Gurnall

For more Shadow Shot Sunday pictures, visit Hey Harriet.

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Santa's Big Adventure

I often pass by this house when I go for a walk. The lady who lives there is creative and resourceful using the same bale of hay as a platform for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations.

Here is Santa Claus on his sled with a reindeer. In case you don't know, the little browns sacks on the ground are luminarias, or southwestern lanterns. Traditionally luminarias have candles set in bags of sand, but these use tiny electric lights which are less dangerous.

I noticed the reflection of the white reindeer in the window across the street during daylight...

and I found the reflection again at night.

Oops, my camera moved while shooting Santa and the reindeer!
(The following pictures are not of reflections)

I liked the squiggly picture in the camera screen, and tried shaking the camera some more.

Motion distorts images like reflections. Maybe that's why it appeals to me.

Okay back to earth now. Santa looks a little dizzy, but he's safe and sound.

This reminds me...One day last year, this very Santa Claus and his sled went missing! Turned out someone had played a prank and switched the decorations in the neighborhood. Santa eventually made it home from up the street unharmed. The practical joker brought neighbors together who had not met before. It wasn't me!

For all sorts of reflections posts visit Newtown Area Photo, hosted by James.

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Skywatch - Cloud

“A pessimist only sees the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all--he's walking on them.” ~Leonard L. Levinson

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." ~Gil Stern

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~Bill Vaughan

For more sky images from around the world visit Skywatch Friday hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia.

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Sepia Saguaro Skeleton

Fun with sepia and layers in Photoshop:

full sepia

half-sepia lights

half-sepia darks

sepia close-up

half-sepia vertical-horizontal montage

sparrow on branch

sparrow-saguaro montage

For more posts with sepia-toned photos, visit Mary T/TheTeach at Sepia Scenes.

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Ruby Tuesday - Here and There

Here are some of the little "rubies" I saw here and there during the past week:

House finch in Vitex tree outside my computer room window

Holiday decorations on cacti at the entrance to the canyon

Cardinal in Jojoba bush

Desert Mistletoe in Mesquite tree

Cholla cactus turning red due to cold temperatures

Gila woodpecker on backyard hummingbird feeder

Chili Peppers hanging outside Mexican restaurant by the grocery store

For more Ruby Tuesday posts featuring a little or a lot of red, visit Mary's Work of the Poet.

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