Corona de Tucson
April 27, 2025
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| A garden of wildflowers at Tucson Botanical Gardens |
April just seems to have come and gone without much going on. We followed our vet's orders and made sure Lucy had two weeks for recovery from her surgery although it was much harder the second week than it was the first week. We have started back walking the past few days. I was surprised Lucy picked up right where we left off. She tolerates the leash and walks without pulling unless she hears another dog(s) bark or sees someone she needs to greet. We aren't quite sure how to teach her to ignore those two things and are banking on some maturity. She turned eight months old on April 20th.
Joe and I have each had a couple of appointments in Tucson. We headed straight to Baja Cafe for liege waffles with berries and danish cheese on one of our outings and ate every morsel Another day we enjoyed a nice lunch at Wildflower. I always say I'm going to try a different meal there, but always end up ordering the lobster and artichoke salad with grilled asparagus, roasted cherry tomatoes on greens served with a delicious truffle vinaigrette. We also indulged ourselves with bars of sin for desert...cappuccino mouse covered in praline chocolate with vanilla gelato...quite tasty !
Our only other outing was a spring visit to Tucson Botanical Gardens. Joe and I both agreed that the gardens were more beautiful and colorful than we have ever seen them. The iris were gorgeous...
The amaryllis were striking...
Lady's Glove were dramatic...
The poppies were vivid...
The Swallowtails were busy...
The Dove were protecting...
The bees were working...
And the guests were playing.
One of the exhibits is Beautiful Spirit : Art in Motion. The dragonfly wings are about 6 feet wide and hinged at midpoint. With a little pedal power, the wings will flap and the body moves up and down.
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| Majestic...artist Joe Benedict |
We also enjoyed the Fiesta De Los Animales exhibit. It is a collection of folk art sculptures to celebrate the imagery and symbolism from indigenous Mexican cultures. Each sculpture showcases a region and culture.
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| Hummingbird...in the style of Purepecha ceramic. Purepecha are an indigenous culture from western Mexico and their influence on folk art dates back hundreds of years. These ceramics have a limited color palette with detailed line work. |
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| Parrot...in the style of Tonala burnished earthenware. Tonala pottery dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Burnishing is a finishing technique that uses stone to polish the piece creating a smooth, shiny appearance without the use of glaze. The color is derived from iron and manganese oxides and local clays. |
And one more exhibit located in the Porter Hall is Curious Allies. It is a collection of 48 paintings in a range of styles and media that shine a light on many environmental benefits derived from mutualistic relationships between fungi, lichens, parasitic, etc and the species with which they interact...ourselves included.
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| The Fifth New York Botanical Garden Triennial with the American Society of Botanical Artists |
Tucson Botanical Gardens has been rated #4 in the country for "Best Botanical Garden" in the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards for 2025. This marks the third consecutive year the gardens have received this national recognition. Joe and I sure enjoy our walks at the gardens. As many times as we have visited, we never tire of the beauty during all the seasons of the year.
Back at the oasis, we are enjoying the rockers. The birds come and go..the oranges have been a favorite.
And I happened to see the Cooper's hawk at the bird feeder, but by the time I grabbed the camera he was resting on the fence.
Until next time,
HAPPY TRAILS!
