Getting Late

Light thickens and the crow makes its way to the rooky wood . . . No, wait, that was in Scotland. Here I saw no crows, but I did see a lizard.

Sunset Panorama

Sunset on the desert gave me the panorama opportunity that I had been looking forward to and planning for. Here are a pair of views of nightfall in Phoenix.

Night Falls

Night falls quickly on the desert, as I learned a year ago, but taking the time to find the Desert Botanic Garden, getting to the garden two hours before listed sunset time, and being ready to go as light thickened -- all these preparations set me up for some sunset fun on the desert, all about 16 hours after I left the house in wintry darkness.
These images will be followed by more in the next post.

Touches of Color

Touches of color on the desert can be found in flowers that grace the heated climate or on various cacti that seem to be crowned with color. Adding color to the size and strength of the desert flora only makes it more impressive.
In the next post we will look at what we came for . . . sunset color.

Golden Hour of Cactus

Every photographer knows the magic of the Golden Hour, the time around sunrise and sunset where the light from the sun is colorful and soft rather than hot and overly bright, and where the low angles generate interesting patterns and effects. The effect is as important on the desert as anywhere else as the three selections show the interplay of light and form and the wildy varying types of cactus found in the Desert Botanical Garden. From round to upright and even including a runner that looked like a cactus-snake, there was a lot to see there in the perfect light.

Desert Botanic Garden

With a Cub win already highlighting my day, and having already seen the statue imported from Chicago, I was determined to collect some powerful sunset photos on the Sonoran Desert. My research led me to the Desert Botanic Garden in Phoenix, an outdoor museum of cactus and other desert plants. Taking no chances on missing the colors of the sunset, I arrived there nearly two hours before sunset.
Here are three of the thousands of cactus I saw. I will not have to specify which one was not live but a sculpture in glass. Those familiar with the phenomenal art of Dale Chihuly had already realized whose work graces the main entrance of the garden.

A poem about the long wonderful day:

RACING THE SUN WESTWARD

On an icy winter day I packed up two decades of old baseball cards
Found a store that likes to make deals and sold the cards for a goodly sum.
Not willing to use that income for anything less than memorable,
On a chill spring morn I drive to the airport before dawn for Arizona.
Our plane races the sun westward, landing thirty-eight minutes early.
Later the same day I find myself eating a hot dog and keeping score
At a baseball game under more than eighty degrees of summerlike sun.
Life can be such a wonderful connection of adventures:
Tonight I will find my way to Desert Botanic Garden, an outdoor
Museum of Cactus, to photograph the sun setting into the Sonoran Desert,
Settling for the night between a Saguaro plant and a stony mountain.

Standin' on the Corner

An outstanding example of outdoor, public art is entitled GOD BLESS AMERICA by J. Steward Johnson, dated to 2005. For the past couple of years, this statue, inspired by Grant Wood's AMERICAN GOTHIC, has stood outside Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Its time expired, the work was packed up and gone without a word about its destination.
Without a word, that is, until a week before I headed out to spring training. It was located by Phil Velasquez, a TRIBUNE photographer, about a mile south of HoHoKam Park. Looking at the suitcase with its travel labels as seen in the full length photo, I realized that the travels of the artwork demanded a response. My photo of the suitcase has magically gained the two missing labels that I know of!

Recruits Seen

Every team has new members each season, and two of the 'recruits' seen in Cubs camp are about as opposite as could be. Carlos Silva was a solid pitcher three or four years ago in Minnesota, then signed a big contract with Seattle and was not the same player. The Cubs took him in exchange for one of their problems, Milton Bradley, and are willing to endure a non-productive player just to be shed of Bradley. But other than his first outing, Silva has looked capable of being a decent starter or a helpful bullpen pitcher. Fingers crossed, we wait and see.
At the other end of the spectrum, shortstop Starlin Castro was in minor league camp last year and was not attracting all that much attention. But he skyrocketed up three notches last season, helped Tennessee in the playoffs, and starred in the Arizona Fall League. Although he has been sent to the Smokies again at the AA level, he seems on a fast track to Chicago. I assume we will see him around Labor Day and he might be a major leaguer for 2011.

Good View of the Ballplayers

HoHoKam Park is a wonderful place for fans to get that closeup look at the action as we see in these shots of LF Alfonso Soriano and new 3B Chad Tracy at the plate. Soriano is on the way back from injury, while Tracy is trying to win a spot as backup to Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee.

Cub Stars

Cub Stars are always represented at HoHoKam Park, of course. Downstairs in the main concourse are a set of five banners to represent the five most famous modern-era Cub Hall-of-Famers. Andre Dawson is the most recent addition to the list.
Upstairs in the grandstand, Cub fans line up before the game to speak to and ask autographs from Ron Santo, who most certainly belongs in that group.

Vendors

On the day before St. Patrick's Day, one of the beer vendors was decked out in the full green of the Irish, while another vendor -- wearing what was once called a Brock-a-brella on his head -- showed off his juggling.

HoHoKam Park

An early flight from Chicago coupled with the two-hour time difference and the 1800 miles traveled westward managed to get me to Phoenix by 9:15 in the morning. By noon I was at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, ready for a Cub game. Road signs show how much of a Special Event every game is.
Cars are parked in a clean flat plot of grass, and in a small ditch a father was playing ball with his daughter. A great start for a few days of baseball!

Two More Large Animals

Our final two images from Brookfield Zoo this trip are the bison and the camel, two of the larger animals that were out in the sun on this wintry day.
In our next post we begin a look at our second straight March trip to Spring Training, with Cubs pictures and some Desert Sunset shots.

Long Drink of Water

Giraffes are fascinating to watch. Their ungainly bodies move and suddenly look not so ungainly but smooth and flowing. The shapes their bodies display are at least as interesting as finding shapes in clouds!

Referees?

In my long career as a basketball official, I was called a zebra more than once. As beautiful and powerful as these animals are, I was not at all displeased.

The King and the Queen

Our final Lion images include a cartoon-sketch shot of the female lion and one of the happy couple together, right in the viewing area.

Closeups of the King

My recent trip featured several opportunities for closeups of the King of the Jungle, including one that looked as if he were hungry.

King of the Jungle

Two views of the male lion.

Big Cat Portraits

Did they come up to the window out of boredom? To look at me? To pose for portraits? Does the reason matter to me, since it worked out just the way I planned? That last question has an answer -- no, the reason does not matter!

Cats on the Prowl

Upon arrival at Brookfield, I headed directly for the big cats and found them all asleep. Leaving them to their naps, I toured the other areas of the park that I had targeted, then bypassed the exit and took that last look at the cats.
The Snow Leopard seen here was on the prowl, walking laps around her outdoor area, sometimes adding a bit to the loop, but on each lap approaching the glass and walking right toward the audience.
A good omen as I headed toward the Lions. Some closeups in the next post.

King of the Treetops

While the Lion is considered to be King of the Jungle, and while I coached enough Lion teams to agree with that, the Gorilla is clearly the King of the Treetops. And from the look of this great specimen, he knows that!

Gorillas

Among the more impressive animals at Brookfield are the gorillas. Here one yawns while preparing for a nap or waking up from one, while the biggest one sits high in the tree watching the watchers who are watching him.

Mother and Child

Watching mother and child is an endlessly-renewing pastime at Brookfield Zoo. This small pair of monkey was high in a tree but therefore easily seen across from the viewing area. For the longest time the interplay was hilarious, as the rambunctious youngster tried in various ways to get mom's attention when all she seemed to want was a little rest. The differing energy level was ofcourse familiar to any human parent!

Brookfield

Recently becoming a member of the Brookfield Zoo, I have found the time to run in for a few hours of walking and of collecting animal photographs. Truly one of the great zoos in the country, Brookfield is an ever-changing, growing entity. In the next few posts, we will look at some of the images collected during the current winter season.
Here we see the proud flag of the zoo, posted near the main entrance, and the bright colors of the mandrill, an "Old-World monkey," whose front and rear colors are so intense that no enhancing of the hue could possibly work. The animal fills your eye's color sense immediately.