Thanks to all of you for being in our lives! Here’s wishing you and everyone a very peaceful 2024, and way beyond!
In July (2023), we moved from Yachats, Oregon to Green Valley, Arizona. We’ve posted lots of details and images from both “halves” of this pivotal year on Nancy’s Facebook page and my Facebook page, but since not everyone is on Facebook, here are a few photos and stories from the year. Aside from some artistry from buddy Dave Van Dyke and a few miscellaneous items, I haven’t posted much on this blog in recent years, and just realized that the last seasonal post like this was from six years ago! However, I’m hoping to spend more time – shifting gears a bit, this next year – on neglected projects such as this! So below are some visual vignettes (with brief comments) from the past year or so:
(Solstice 2022, Newport, Oregon harbor)With friends in Yachats, Oregon (Christmas morning, a year ago) at the Green Salmon coffee shop:
At the annual New Years Day Peace Hike from the Yachats Commons to the Amanda Statue next to the new suspension bridge (a frequent short hike destination)
An example of Nancy’s acrylic art (a meadow “up river” from Yachats):
ocean foam near Yachats, Oregon
sunset near Agate Cove, Yachats, Oregon
Cape Perpetua from the Yachats River estuary
the ocean view from our former home in Yachats
sea foam, Yachats
bird on post silhouetted against bright ocean
ice formation
Looking north to Yachats Oregon and Walport, Newport, from Amanda Trail
Sophie in Nancy’s art studio wastebasket
snow in the front yard that Nancy landscaped
Yachats estuary
with friends in Santa Barbara, California (Bruce, Dean, Patti, Shelly, Nancy)
Moreton Bay Fig Tree (Santa Barbara, California)
flower, looking up, Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
lamp shop, Santa Barbara, California
Orchid show, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Museum of Art with friends
interior courtyard fountain, Santa Barbara, California
sailboats, Santa Barbara
colorful parrot
the exterior of a shop near Santa Barbara, California
Sacred Geometry (by Miranda Lundy) book featured in mystical shop display
Altamont Pass wind generators, Livermore Valley
skunk cabbage, Yachats, Oregon
Nancy’s first look at our new home (before escrow)
Our 2023 Yachats banners
sea thrift plants, Yachats, Oregon
our former home, Yachats, Oregon
dining along Ashland creek with friends
photo from plane, flying back to Eugene, Oregon from Tucson after buying our new home
shadow of jet contour on clouds with rainbow halo effect
Nancy’s acrylic painting of the Yachats River, looking from the bridge
Nancy at Yachats Arts Guild art show
sand pattern, Yachats estuary
lilies, Yachats, Oregon
foxglove, Yachats, Oregon
slide scan: Winchester House between Boonville and Ukiah, California (I scanned a few hundred 35mm slides among thousands before turning them loose before our move; this is just one of them; me with my siblings when we scattered our father’s ashes at his favorite hunting grounds)
loading the U-Pack trailer, Yachats
Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project near Tonopah, Nevada
blown U-Haul trailer tire, quickly repaired, as we approached Phoenix, July 21, 2023.
Sophie (the cat) checking out her new kitchen
cactus face, Green Valley, Arizona
cactus blossom
before our furniture arrived, Green Valley, Arizona
rainbow sunset from our back porch
hiking in Madera Canyon with our new friend Frank
closeup of beetle chewing cactus
prickly pear and tile mural in exterior decorative arch after sunrise, Green Valley, Arizona
cactus blossoms
Mexican Bird of Paradise plant
Tucson padlocks
Tucson mural
Green Valley wall art (in abundance in every neighborhood)
morning light on prickly pear and cactus
bell and fountain
morning light
road runner
rabbits
mouse
cactus detail
morning landscape
sunrise palm trees
asphalt abstract
Elvira Restaurant, Tubac, Arizona
Green Valley yard art: Tyrannosaurus Rex and golden Buddha
coyote
alien yard art
one of several bird’s nests in our lemon tree
prickly pear and lizard
neighborhood vista
yard art galore!
screen snap of Merlin (bird call identification) MacOS app
Nancy (and I) at El Charro Restaurant, Tucson, Arizona
en route to Mount Lemmon, looking back at Tucson with new friends
Tucson from Mount Lemmon
saguaro forest en route to Mount Lemmon summit
cactus blossom
ocotillo and flowers
sun-scorched sign, Tucson Botanical Gardens
blossoms, Tucson Botanical Gardens
Day of the Dead art, Tucson Botanical Gardens
oriental garden, Tucson Botanical Gardens
overhead trellis with blossoms, Tucson Botanical Gardens
Hibiscus flower, Tucson Botanical Gardens
Tucson Botanical Gardens
blossoms, Tucson Botanical Gardens
Tucson Botanical Gardens
cacti, Tucson Botanical Gardens
superman, Day of the Dead skull art, Tucson Botanical Gardens
plant sculpture, Tucson Botanical Gardens
mural, Tucson
painting, Tucson Museum of Art
art, Tucson Museum of Art
javelina
quail on wall
store interior, Tubac, AZ
desert color, Green Valley, AZ
yellow flower and butterfly
lemons halved ready to squeeze
desert home and landscape color
Dragoon, Arizona (highway 10 rest stop)
Apple Annie’s: sunflowers and cornfield
colorful ceiling, La Unica Mexican Restaurant, Willcox, AZ
grasshopper
blossoms
Steve Miller band concert, Tucson, Arizona
tree bark abstract
cleaning gutters, looking east, late afternoon
waiting for lunch
chick-alope? at Wisdom Cafe, Tumacacori, Arizona
pond, Tubac, AZ
talavera ceramic art, Tubac, AZ
rusting metal, Ruby ghost town near Nogales, AZ
abandoned doorways, Ruby ghost town near Nogales, AZ
layers of wall history, Ruby ghost town near Nogales, AZ
dump truck, Ruby ghost town, near Nogales, AZ (Here is a calendar with closeups of this truck.)
Green Valley from desert, looking east near sunset
CPAC concert (Olivia Newton-John tribute)
bobcat, Green Valley, Arizona
The World’s Largest Rosebush & 1880 Museum, Tombstone, Arizona
open pit mine, Bisbee, Arizona
pyracantha berries, Bisbee, Arizona
chair-y tree, Bisbee, Arizona
tropical trailer, Bisbee, Arizona
Historic Museum, Bisbee, Arizona
staples and paper scraps, Bisbee, Arizona
metal scroll work, Bisbee, Arizona
tree bark, Bisbee, Arizona
pastry shop, Bisbee, Arizona
satellite photo of northwest corner of Green Valley, AZ
Sophie with family photos, office
holiday desert decor
Fox Theater, Tucson where we saw Tommy Emmanuel & Jerry Douglas perform
mosaic detail, downtown Tucson
parking lot mural, Tucson
Fox Theater, interior architectural detail
Jerry Douglas, Tommy Emmanuel & bass player perform at Fox Theater, Tucson
Mescal movie set (interior)
Mescal movie set (interior) Nancy in a jail cell at gunpoint
Tumacácori National Historical Park
foliage along Anza trail, near Tumacácori National Historical Park
on the Anza trail, near Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tai Chi practice, Green Valley, Arizona
crocodile rock (holiday garb), Green Valley, Arizona
cactus skeleton
reddish cactus spines
coyote in holiday spirit?
sunset succulent spikes
telephoto view of Green Valley from Madera Canyon
deer, Madera Canyon
hollow trunk, Madera Canyon
water reflections, Madera Canyon
roaming roots, Madera Canyon