Golden Friends

    Last week we had a special treat when Ohio friends Larry & Connie came to visit us for a few days.   Larry had been a chemistry major with Kent.  He retired earlier this year, and they were planning a trip to the national parks to celebrate.    Unfortunately the government shut down ruined their park trip.  
      They decided to come west anyway since we had been planning this long overdue visit for months.  We were glad they did.  It was great to see them again.   We picked up the friendship as if it had only been a few months, not 30+ years, since we had been together.   Golden friends are like that.
     We took them to the Desert Botanical Gardens, one of my favorite places in Phoenix.   They had never seen so many cacti.   I remember thinking that, too, the first time I visited there.    

 

     We had lunch on the patio at Gertrudes at the Desert Botanical Gardens.   Yummy as always. 

     The butterfly pavilion was filled with Monarchs, too.

 

      Another day we went hiking in the White Tanks.   This county park doesn't compare to a national park, but it is beautiful in its own desert way.   Unfortunately there weren't any plants in bloom this time of year.   

    

 

We took the Black Loop trail, an easy and popular trail.   

 

      They visited other great Arizona sites--Sedona, Jerome, Tombstone--and we had lots of grilling out on the patio time.   We've already made plans to visit their lake house in Ohio.  

      And we're not going to wait 30 years to do it!

    

BUTTERFLIES AND BAUBLES

 

 

         Wild flowers at the Desert Botanical Gardens are beautiful this year.    The butterfly exhibit is open now, too.    We visited there on Wednesday.

 
 

                                                                         Zebra Longwing

Julia

Pipevine Swallowtail

                                       

 Everyone enjoyed the beautiful day.   

      We lunched on the patio at Gertrude's, which was great.  It was the first time we've been to their new restaurant.   As soon as we arrived at the Gardens, we stopped to make reservations.    I'm glad we did, because by noon it was very busy.   
      We were seated near the water feature on the patio, the best seat there I think.   Very pleasant and the food was delicious.     I had the mint pea salad and soup of the day, which was pumpkin.  A perfect choice for a garden restaurant.
       Yesterday was the last Stitcher's Boutique for the season.   There were 12 of us selling everything from art work to purses.   At least four of us make jewelry.  There was only one newcomer in the group.   Some have been doing this since last November.   At least now I'm not the newbie any more.
        The shopping crowd wasn't as large as last month.  The weather was great, but already the winter crowd is thinning.    Still, everyone seemed to have a good time, regardless of how well their items sold.   
       The next Boutique will be sometime in November.   I think all of us are looking forward to a break.  I know I am.   But soon I'll be ready to create some new masterpieces.   
       It took me a couple of hours last night to finish up the paperwork and put everything back in its place.  I had to remove one of my listings from Etsy because it sold at the Boutique.   So that's a good reason to de-list an item.  
         Now my goal is to go through my items and try to build up the Etsy shop for the summer shopping season.   The hardest part about Etsy is taking good pictures.  Next is the challenge of coming up with descriptive words that will lead people to the site.    I have trouble finding my items, and I know what words I used!  I hope to learn the secret to their system soon.
       We'll see how successful my plan works out.



        

  

 

 



Las Noches de las Luminarias

        Christmas is coming...  
        Since we've been in Arizona we've started the holiday season with two events, the Holiday Home Tour and Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Gardens.  The home tour, a money-making event for Sun Health, consists of private homes and yummy appetizers.   It's a fun way to spend a Saturday, but no photos are allowed.  On Sunday evening we went to Las Noches de las Luminarias.
       

     Near the entrance Mariachi Pasion played Mexican holiday Mariachi songs.  A festive and lovely start to the evening.
     The Desert Botanical Gardens looked magical with thousands of twinkling lights.    This spot has a fountain, too.

 

 

      Around the Gardens were different musical groups.   On the patio Groove Merchant Horns played jazz.   Near the wild flower walk, one of my favorite spots, island Christmas music was being played on steel drums by J.T.'s Island Steel.   

       Another favorite of mine is the Native American group Estun-Bah and the Duncans, who are story-tellers.   The Apache burden basket and cradle board shows up better in my picture than they do, but I was at the back of the audience.       

    

 

 

         The desert at night was beautiful.   Hundreds of luminarias lined the paths and walkways.  The Gardens are always beautiful, but at night they look magical.

          Two special exhibits are on display through the spring.  "The Four Seasons" by Philip Haas are huge sculptures of faces with vegetables and flowers.   "Whispers of a New World" by Carolina Escobar are sculptures of other-worldly flowers made from steel and resin.   I can't wait to go back in the day so I can get a better view.

 

 

 

A great start to the holidays!

 

 

     

Butterflies in Bloom

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to the Desert Botantical Gardens.

The butterfly on the left is a Painted Lady. At first I thought it was a Buckeye since the coloring is very similar and the identification card showed that Buckeyes might be in the exhibit.

I wanted it to be a Buckeye since Buckeye is the Ohio state tree. It seemed fitting for 3 Ohioans (well 1 and 2 former) to viewing it. But I looked at my original photo again, magnified this time, and saw that it was a Painted Lady. Buckeyes have some circular designs on their wings. I looked at all of my photos, but I could not find one. Maybe they emerge at a different time. I´m not sure.

The butterfly on the right is a Julia.

This butterfly is a Malachite.

This sculpture is by Alan Houser, who was an Apache artist. The photo doesn´t show the detail and beauty of his work, but I had to include it. The DBG featured a number of his pieces, but this was my favorite of the ones on display.

Spring in the Desert

One of my favorite things to do in Phoenix is to visit the Desert Botanical Gardens, especially when they have their annual Butterfly House open. My friend Lynda visited us from Ohio a few weeks ago, and we went to see the Butterflies.

The one above is a Pipevine Swallowtail.

Here are Zebras and a Painted Lady.

More Zebras, a Julia, and another Painted Lady in the top left.

A white Sulfur possibly? The Identification Guide that I picked up didn´t show one that looked quite like this. So if there are any butterfly experts out there, please feel free to correct the ID.