Phoenix in the the Spring (inside joke, not a typo)

I must thank Shirley, Tara, and I think there was one more person for PRESSURING :-) me to go see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens while in Phoenix. (It runs through the end of May dbg.org)


It was a lovely coming together of my old home and my new home, as I grew up loving the desert, and now I live in the land of Chihuly. His studio was right down the road from my Mom's old place. His glass art is very aquatic, generally, and for me, very evocative of the NW.

I really loved how he got inspired by the desert flora.


This is a pretty good representation of the wicked pure heat that is a Phoenix summer:


My friend Dory and I had a great time at the gardens, and most of the rest of the weekend was spent with the family. It was great to see all the little ones of the youngest generation tearing it up. So glad we could be there. And yes, again, we hit the Barrio Cafe for Mexican food and came home with about 10 pounds of freshly roasted green chiles from Food City. Ahhhh.....

Mental Margarita - Vivid Blue

Everyone keeps going on about what a cold winter it was, but being our first, we had nothing to compare it to. We loved the snow and ice (well, we loved it except when one of us had to slog uphill to catch the bus in it...) but it's official: spring has sprung!

I took this and many other images at the Conservatory at Volunteer Park in Seattle. The greenhouse rivals the one in Golden Gate Park but it's free. So these plants and flowers on my new page, had they been out in the elements, probably wouldn't be doing their spring dances quite yet. But things are blooming all over and the sun's been out and it's been lovely. I know we may get more cold weather yet but I don't care. Spring is here!

I also shot a bunch of succulents and cacti at the Conservatory (I will never tire of them as subjects, apparently) and I'll be sending those in the next Mental Margarita. We're coming home to the desert for a family reunion next weekend, so I suspect I'll be in a desert plant mood when I prep the next batch of images.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out all the new images at fotos de karina - new.