backyard birds and blooms, trailrun, saguaro permutations

Spring continues here in the Sonoran Desert...

Some doves built a nest in our backyard; it's amazing how fast the chicks grow--I took the two photos below with my iPhone5, just six days apart:

The nest is up under the patio roof--kind of dark there...

snapseed is perfect for 'brightening up the exposure--

before-and-after:

A few feet from the patio, a ferocactus in fiery bloom: 

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Now, for trailrun scenes: 

down by the creek in Sabino Canyon this morning: 

bees loving the palo verde trees in bloom:

hedgehog cactus starting to bloom on the exposed hillsides:

(I have yet to get one of those macro clip-on lenses for the iPhone;

you can get remarkably close almost-'macro' shots by just holding still

and selecting the focus area on the touch-screen.)

above Sabino Canyon, lined with cottonwoods getting greener each day,

some glorious ocotillo in bloom:

The clarity of the scarlet blooms against the sky got me thinking that this scene would be a good candidate for a particular 'grunge filter' effect that I like: photographically real images imposed on a texture that mimics parchment or heavy watercolor-paper, for a pseudo-illuminated-manuscript effect:

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And now for some saguaro permutations--

using symmetry and isolation against the sky

for a surreal effect.

Here's the original shot,

of my favorite pair of saguaros

near Sabino Canyon:

Cropping the tops,

then using (actually, repurposing) PicFrame app

in order to get a mirror image:

...and then re-cropping 

and re-mirroring the image to end up with this:

...again--

imposing the photographically-real

on a texture that evokes older methods of illustration,

using the 'grunge filter' in snapseed...

...and one more,

a color version:

A week off: spring landscapes, downtown, and close to home

The school district I work for gave us a long spring-break this year: the week before AND the Monday after Easte--off! Always good for mental health...

So, here's some of what caught my eye over the past week-and-a-day...

My wife and I went for a hike in Catalina State Park, just north of Tucson--the winter rains came at the right time for spring wildflowers in the desert:

While not as spectacular as the spring of 2010, it's always worthwhile 

to go for a hike in the desert when the wildflowers are out...

lupine, Mexican gold poppies, owl clover

(AND, incidentally, the photo above was featured 

on the local TV news last Tuesday.)

...so ephemeral...

Spring runoff, flowing water in the desert, saguaro reflections...

While running the loop in Saguaro National Park, on the city's eastern edge,

I noticed this saguaro-skeleton

with its signature downturned arms:

Just a few years ago, it looked like this:

 Memento mori, from a cactus...

A couple of downtown evenings:

Late-night coffee-and-dessert at the Cup Café in the 1919 Hotel Congress:

No longer a motel,

but this vintage neon sign has survived:

And one of the best restaurants in Tucson,

Downtown Kitchen & Cocktails:

Some street-art--on the corner of 4th and University, just north of downtown, just east of the Univ. of AZ:

Seeing this, this phrase came to mind: "Read me a good story, and I'll never forget..."

love how the b&w ants seem to pop off the brick...

and a bit of the ColorSplash app here, to make the 'bouquets' stand out.

Pistols. Flowers. Ant.

Hmm...

Today--a trail-run into Bear Canyon...

...four miles in, four miles out: crisscrossing a seasonal stream,

a few boulders and a couple of switchbacks,

trail lined with wildflowers this time of year...

 ...with Seven Falls as the destination:

(I love these guys--not that common,

Coulter's hibiscus, a.k.a. desert rosemallow)

On the way to Bear Canyon, 

a stand of cottonwoods I keep returning to:

 Closer to home, something abstract:

Well, actually, inside home, these permutations;

here's the original image:

(looking up in the entryway)

And who can resist a bird's nest?

 --on the back patio--the mother dove left for a few minutes, so I thought I would check on the two babies (dovelets? dovelings? chicks?) The mother dove did come back...all is well...

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...and a fun surprise from last night--

I found out that this photo, "nighthawks for noodles,"

was featured in this week's "Through the lens of an iphone" showcase

by iphoneography.com

 

Taken on my last night in Seoul, a couple of summers ago...

An honor to be included...