Archive for the ‘Tucson’ Tag
High Chaparral Ranch Set at Old Tucson Studios — Image by kenne
My Heart Beats Free
by Keith Ward
Oh how I loved them TV shows and the stories I’d read,
About the cowboys and their horses free and brave.
Heroes to us young boys, a rare and special breed.
Taught us how true men should behave.
And I’d dream about someday and I’d dream about the west.
And I’d dream about the man that I would be.
And I felt that man’s heart beating inside a boy’s chest,
And I knew that heart would die if not set free.
. . . click here to read more.
December in the Sonoran Desert — Image by kenne
On January 8, 2011, and nineteen people were shot in a supermarket parking lot in Tucson, Arizona — six people died.
In Front of Representative Gabrielle Giffords’ Office In Tucson
Impromptu Memorials at The University Medical Center — Images by kenne
Words of Sadness
We love you . . .
Get well . . .
Get well soon . . .
Forever in our hearts . . .
Hope . . .
Thank you . . .
Peace . . .
1.8.11 Never forget . . .
Tucson loves you . . .
Our hearts and our prayers . . .
Peace, hope happiness . . .
Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness . . .
Gabby’s tough . . .
Tucson loves Pam . . .
Spread love, give love, be love . . .
Peace, love, happiness to all . . .
LOVE . . .
kenne
James, Mom and Grandma spent a fun day at Old Tucson Studios west of Tucson. (Click on any of the images to see slideshow.) — Images by kenne
Chapel In The Desert — Image by kenne
Thou whom I name not, whose blood weeping heart
Through thy dry eyes in secret I see,
Divining its pangs by the mystical art
The Fates once sternly taught unto me,
As a soft hand, that beats itself long and in vain
On a locked iron grate, nor can win
A welcome, nor e’en for its bruises and pain
An answering word from within;
So the heart I behold, at Life’s adamant gate
Beating, knocks for Affection, shut out
Alone, while the noon hurries on, and doth wait
In patience and faintness and drought.
The silence that maketh a shrine for thy grief,
My tongue is to reverent to break;
For every sad saint who thirsts like thee, relief
Will I see, though in chief for thy sake,
As a bird, from an oasis frying to sing
To the desolate pilgrims, who stand
At a loss in the desert, and show them the spring
That weeps through the pitiless sand.
. . . from Springs In The Desert by Christo Et Ecclesiae
Image by kenne
Been riding the dusty trails,
Now long in the day
As the sun goes down
In the hills west of Tucson.
A hitching rail awaits Old Paint,
Now covered with dust
Her black and white colors
Are a sepia golden brown.
Pushing open the swing doors,
I step up to my hitching rail
Where I order a double shot of
Taos Lightning, the special rotgut.
“Give me the good stuff,”
Was just a figure of speech
Since I knew the bourbon
Was watered-down with turpentine.
No matter, at the end of the day
This is the real spirit of the west
Where people are real,
not watered-down phonies.
— kenne
Adobe Window — Image by kenne
The Adobe – Layer at Sunset
by Henry Shukman
It hits you
while washing your trowel
in a bucket of sky:
wind humming in the ear,
on the mountains
italic shadows,
and the high snow
like blueberry ice.
The adobe homes
tucked in the hills
gaze out at the sunset
like kids in bed.
You know in your bones
there’s nowhere else.
Times like this
the world opens a door.
You step through,
breathe sweet
pine-smoked air
like nothing you ever
tasted before.
Don’t Tell This Leafing Ocotillo That It’s Winter In The Desert, But Then, It Is Christmas. — Image by kenne
DESERT COWBOY’S CHRISTMAS
by Carol Jarvis
The bells this cowboy’s hearin’,
aren’t off of any sleigh.
They’re ’round the necks of the old milk cows
comin’ in for their mornin’ hay.
There’ve been other times and places,
where there weren’t snowflakes fallin’,
But he can’t remember a Christmas,
when there weren’t cattle bawlin’.
The desert air is chilled,
as daylight tints the sky.
It’s plenty cold enough for frost
but the air is just too dry.
. . . read more
- A Desert Christmas (kimgosselinblog.com)
Source — Arizona Daily Star
Translations: casa=house, caramba=goodness, que pasa=what gives, con mucho cuidado=carefully, cosas=things, aquí and allí=here and there, y=and, los niños=the children, camas=beds, vestidos=gowns, cabezas=heads, esperando=hoping, waiting, nixtamal=ground corn for tamales, buñuelos=sugar-coated fritters, la estufa=the stove, y como!=and how!, chile rojo=red chile, la familia=the family, feliz=happy, a todos=to all.
Catalina Foothills From The Agua Caliente Trail — Image by kenne
This morning’s hike was the Agua Caliente trail in canyons between the Santa Catalina mountains and the Rincon mountains in 32 windy degrees — a life not to complain about.
May the spirits of nature be with you.
kenne
December In The Canyon Painting (View from the Bluff Trail) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Early snow is melting
on the mountain top.
The creek is flowing
in the lower canyon.
The big trees are
showing solstice colors.
I walk the bluff trail
with no painter’s brush.
My camera is there
to take me beyond the brush.
I capture the image
recalling the story.
The whims of nature
stopped for the moment.
Later I use digital brushes
to add a painter’s touch.
— kenne
A Winter Solstice Morning After An Overnight Shower, View North From The Patio — Image by kenne
A Winter Solstice Morning After An Overnight Shower, View South From The Patio — Image by kenne
We were blessed with a little more the a half-inch of rain, with snow on Mt. Lemmon, the day before the winter solstice. Unlike our friends in the north, made weary by a succession of cold, dark days, we are enjoying the desert sun — yes, we are blessed and very thankful.
kenne
Shopping At The 4th Avenue Street Fair — Image by kenne
Oilcloth can protect
Whatever you might expose —
Should I buy or not?
kenne
Being able to adapt is fundamental to all organisms to survive in their ecological niche or habitat. This ability is often more evident in harsh environments such as the desert. Plants need water and sunlight, some more or less than others.
Here in the Sonoran desert, plants that can adopt to a lot of sun and little water adopt well to the hot, dry conditions. While plants needing more water have adapted to conditions near water, i.e., riparian areas where annual foliage plants color the desert at this winter solstice time of year.
Plant Adaptation In The Desert — Image by kenne
Another example of plant adaptation can be found on rocky canyon wall facing the north in Sabino Canyon, just a few hundred feet from where the above photo was taken — there is no direct sunlight this time of year. Even in dry conditions, the wall can provide a perfect hitch for fern, moss and “resurrection” plants.
However, what really caught my attention was a small saguaro cactus that was growing out of the north canyon wall, which had fallen over and has continued to grow. Given the size of the plant and the fact that saguaros are very slow-growing plants, taking 6-7 years to grow an inch in the beginning of what can be a 200 year life, this still small cactus is probably about 20 years old — talk about plant adaption.
This guy is a real survivor!
kenne
P.S. Today we are getting much-needed rain in the desert with snow above 4,000 feet. The ferns, moss and resurrection plants will really green-up over the next days.
Saguaro Cactus — Image by kenne
Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (Cholla) — Image by kenne
