Flags to celebrate springtime

I suppose that if I really checked out the local True Value thoroughly, I could locate the proper hardware to mount my own flags. I like 'em; they're bright, colorful, seasonal and generally of good cheer. Thus far, I've left it to others.

Sandy's Corner on Gurley Street obviously owns an excellent collection; the flags are changed quite regularly. BTW, a question of old-timers -- what did the original occupant of this store sell? There's that hint of a Dutch windmill building on top of the roof, which is symbolic of dairy products in the USA, which, in turn, says that the primary product must have been ice cream.

Another business with a big-time collection of flags is JB's. Currently the theme is obviously Spring!

Happy bluebirds (above) & a pissed-off bluebird (below).

My neighbor has furled his dog and is now flying a stylized sun, seen through the aspen catkins. What could be more springlike?

Was tempted by the pretty swallowtail butterfly when I stopped by Tuesday Morning on Wednesday. But, again, there's that business of the necessary hardware. And the installation. And making up my mind just where to put it. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I hate to make decisions.

The trouble with pines...

As my dotter pointed out, the problem with pines is that we have not one but two seasons of needle fall. This is our month of high winds, cleaning out the Ponderosas and depositing pine needles everywhere -- even as the winds also dry out the forests, leading into our fire season. There is an accumulation of pine needles on roofs...

...and littering imitation Japanese landscapes of carefully placed, rounded river rocks ... which can only be tidied up by those awful leaf blowers. Raking won't hack it; I suppose it could be done by hand, but I don't expect that of many Prescottonians.

My ivy is almost covered by pine needles, tho I have only one big tree compared to my next door neighbors who must have 14 or 15, thus adding greatly to their property value ("in the pines" is one of those real estate code terms).

The neighbors did a bit of raking the other day; here is the result. As for me, I wonder about mulching pine needles and why, in forest speak, it's called "duff", not mulch.

Automotive bling

One day two years ago, I discovered the variety of wheel covers/wheel rims/wheels one sees on cars nowadays. And a wonderful world of bling it was. One more way to dress up one's ride to make it more stylish than the next guy's. This wasn't the sort of thing that the LH and I worried about on our muddy, dusty Subes that took us through the Arizona bush and so the entire concept was quite new to me.

What a far cry from the wire wheels that would have adorned an MG 40 years ago!

All I can say about the following series of 6-7 pictures is that they vary -- and I don't think any are the sort that continue spinning once your car is stopped.






Ah, yes, there is some attempt to achieve the wire wheel look (above, below) for your higher priced motor cars. And, of course, the price of wheel covers for your car goes up with status. One site I checked offered wheel covers ranging from $40-50 for an everyday vehicle, $178-250-ish for your BMW and some $200-350 for the Caddie (except older models, one for a mere $75).


Another consideration: bright shiny chrome instead of the brushed metal or matte look.



And you might want to consider the appearance of speed (above, below). By the way, you ought to take a look at the various wheels when cars start up or slow down, though you may get dizzy! For that matter, I achieve the same effect by rapidly scrolling down through the pictures here.



Periodically, I come across poor lost orphan wheels. A pricey matter, that. One gone and it's time to buy a complete new set.


Will all this bling disappear in the new world Michelin is introducing with its see-through air-free tires? I doubt it, sincerely. Too many people have their self-images tied up in the appearance of their rides.

Linkage: To Americans, the Family Circus is a comic strip... to Germans, a family circus is the real thing: a small, 1-ring entertainment that is largely the enterprise of a single family of many talents, according to World Photos2, with a three-post series on the subject. And you might like to take a look at the inner basin of Red Mountain, up on the plateau between Flagstaff and Williams. It's mighty interesting.

Not open for business on Gurley

OK, it makes sense -- somebody is finally living in one of those second floor spaces that downtown is full of. For a long time, this door appeared to be of little use. Perhaps the talk about $million condos or lofts for city living prompted other landlords to reconsider their empty upstairs quarters.

So, that's one non-business door taken care of. Now here's another, right next the ATM of the bank on the corner of Gurley and Cortez. The bank has big elegant, polished brass doors for customers. I wonder where this door leads.

Strangest of all is the red door next to the Lone Spur. It does not appear to be related to either of the businesses that abut. Does it get used? If so, I repeat -- where does it lead. There's something very strange about mysterious, unidentified doors on major business streets.

The roots of Prescott

Though I cursed whoever was to blame for cutting down this beautiful old sycamore at the corner of McCormick and Gurley, I understand the reason. Take a look at the bit of sidewalk to the right and note the crack; just the sort of sight to give the city's attorney visions of lawsuits.

The fact is that the Arizona sycamore may be a lovely streetside tree. BUT. Our native sycamore is given to shallow and surface roots, which play havoc with sidewalks, streets and other manmade constructs. Note how far the roots of this big tree spread; if you look carefully at this Sharlot Hall lawn, you will see barren spots beneath which more roots are growing.

Nor are sycamores the only trees to spread out their roots. The specimen above and below is in the small park at the junction of Gurley and Sheldon.

Here's another tree in the same park with a good supply of surface anchors. I wonder the reason: maybe something to do with our rocky subsurface or the necessity of soaking up every little bit of rainfall that happens?

Even our towering Ponderosa pines grow a shallow root system, plus a deep tap root. You can see the obstacles that a pine must overcome below.

A street cut through our local granite revealed this root about a foot below the surface. It probably belongs to a nearby scrub oak.

For picture purposes, creekside trees are perhaps the most interesting. I thank my dotter for thinking to take these images on the February afternoon we spent out at Lynx Lake.

Is this how the trees just grow naturally -- or are we witness to many years of erosion by seasons of heavy run-off?

Tulip time

If you wander over to Karoliina's Photos from Prescott, you will surely enjoy her series of individual tulip flower pix. I wouldn't try to compete, so here are masses of blossoms from a neighborhood garden. The gardener in question is a youngish male, so when it was suggested that he plant tulips in clumps, he did it guy-style -- he planted groups of 12-15-20 bulbs in a big hole, not the 3 to 5 that is more usual. Maybe more folks should follow his example; the garden is brilliant this early spring.

One spring, while he was away, his electric fence failed and the javelina had not one but several great feasts. However, enough bulbs had been planted that many survived and others were scattered to spread the color.

I confess to a fancy for the little wild tulips as they come from the Mediterranean and Middle East; the flower above is a native of Crete. Of course, just because they're wild and from far away doesn't make these tulips any less appealing to the javelina; I've lost most of mine, not having an electric fence.

No, I am quite aware that this is no tulip but it is blooming at the same time. The stock-model purple iris has naturalized to Prescott so completely that a large garden-sized bed of purple iris in an otherwise empty field can be a clue that long ago a house stood near by. Our little pigs? No, they don't touch the iris. Nor daffodils, which are quite poisonous to man and beast.