A Late Afternoon Neighborhood Walk

And the first stop is right beside my house, where the biggest of several grown-from-seed apricot trees is covered in blossoms. Unfortunately, I might as well give up all thought of fruit and welcome these early blooming trees as strictly ornamentals. Prescott has a bad habit of late, killing frosts.

Next, a quick stop at my potted garden before venturing forth. Daffodils are one of the few bulb plants guaranteed to survive hungry javelinas; the critters won't touch the poisonous tubers. After two or three frustrating years with wild tulips and hyacinths, I decided to put all my spring bulb money into daffodils!

But time to get on my way. Over at the United Methodist Church, there's spring-type construction activity at the pretty little meditation garden which I usually view from one level up.

Here's one sight in the neighborhood that I'm sure most people miss completely -- a little summer house up among the granites. It sits behind a house that, from the front, looks like any small Prescott cottage on a standard long and narrow city lot.

This afternoon I also discovered that not only do our sycamores very occasionally produce their pompoms in sets of two -- but here in threesies and foursies. This particular tree is quite young, which might explain such productivity.

I found one other fruit (or ornamental) in bloom. And it was abuzz with bees. Very good news. A couple of years ago, as I recall, our bees died from a virus. That was the year that even our scruffy little apple trees were barren.

A difficult picture to get: small tree trunks sawed into short lengths to create an attractive ground cover.

Ending my walk on a sad note: the butterfly is broken! But it might get repaired; the wing is down below sitting in a decorative cane chair.

Three Cathedral Ceilings

Crop the picture above a little higher and it might be taken for a modern church structure. But no, the high ceilings and clerestory windows are features of a local cathedral of commerce, the Prescott Gateway Mall. The windows (detail below) invite natural light.


The high ceilings at the United Methodist Church Sanctuary are noteworthy for the many lights, necessary because the design allows for little natural light. The result is a cool, contemplative atmosphere.

Again, lots of Arizona sun is invited into this cathedral of learning, the Prescott College library. But then I'd hate to run into that guy at the top of the totem pole in the dark!

While Strolling to the Bank Today...

...after a morning's heavy rain so gray. Phooey. I give up. W.S. Gilbert I'm not! But it was a good walk, even though I used up the memory space on my camera long before I had recorded all the sights of the day:

1. Apparently the United Methodist Church stores what it calls a Sidewalk Sunday School in this van. First, the left side.



Then, the right. I'm still trying to picture the whole set-up: sidewalk, school, students -- and the mysterious contents of that van!

2. Further along, I came across this rather forlorn fragment. It certainly causes one to speculate.


I'm certain it has nothing to do with numerals -- more likely a youngster, possibly of Pakistani or East Indian or even Iranian extraction, suffering 9/11-inspired attacks from kids who are too ignorant to know that the majority of actual Arab-Americans are Christians! It looks as though a mirror or a picture had been in the frame.

3. Still further along (and more cheerful), participants in tomorrow's fete at the Sharlot Hall grounds were pitching their tents . This event: the annual Indian Arts Fair. If I go, I'll probably have to be satisfied eyeballing the wares. They tend to be pricey.


4. Parked in front -- this car, obviously owned by one of the artists, in from New Mexico.


5. And a fitting finale to this walk -- a poem by Sharlot Hall herself painted on the embankment wall next to the Gurley Street crossing of Granite Creek. Unfortunately, to really see the words, you must lean out over the railing.