J. Knox Corbett House & Cafe a la C'Art

Part of the impressive Tucson Museum of Art in downtown Tucson is the Historic Block of which the J. Knox Corbett House is the centrepiece.











Completed in 1907, the two storey mission-revival style house has been restored and furnished with period pieces.



































The house was built by a merchant family, the Corbetts, who were involved in lumber and hardware businesses in Arizona, and later in politics. The house was one of the finest in the city in its time and has been restored in the elegant fashion of the period. Tours occur not all that frequently and are well worth the time, if you are there at the right time.

Nearby is the wonderful little Cafe a la C'Art. Located in the courtyard of the museum, this place is a gem. While the espresso drinks were lacking, in temperature and strength, the food items were impressive enough and the outdoor setting, on a fine desert afternoon in winter, was delightful.

Photos by Jim Murray.  Copyright 2014.

Who are these people?

Sometimes, at those scenic viewpoints along the highway, where people take photos of family and loved ones with a beautiful backdrop of mountains or lakes, your faithful scribe and photographer has offered to assist with the taking of the photo. This very thing happened along an Interstate in Arizona, where a family of Spanish speaking americanos, were trying to take a photo that would include everyone, and Jeem stepped in to help.

Initially the plan was to take a few photos of the nice family, with their cameras, and then, for fun, to take a photo of Sherry, the writer, with her new, extended americano family, with our camera. Jeem might have been a wee bit confused; it's a multitasking problem for men generally, and to be fair, there were at least two different cameras involved in the process.

So today, somewhere in the Excited States, and probably in Mexico too, someone is asking, "Who is that nice woman with the family?" or quite possibly, "For the first time in seven years we get the entire family together and ... who is that woman?"









Yes, Sherry is in all the photos on all the cameras.

And who is the guy with Sherry?

Group photo by Jim Murray.
Photo of the couple, by the female, 
back row, fourth from the right. 
Muchas gracias senorita.

Copyright 2014.

Leaving Tucson ~ and the saguaro cactus

The saguaro cactus is an amazing life form. The one here is probably almost 100 years of age, perhaps more. It stands 10 metres and is actually displaying a different type of arm growth: that of a crested fan shape.



The fantail saguaro is an example of fasciation, which can be caused by hormonal imbalances, random genetic mutation, or some kind of bacterial phytopathogen. The fantail saguaro isn't all that common, so it was interesting to see this one on one of our walks near our cottage on the outskirts of Tucson.



Tucson was an interesting city, rather sprawling, and the downtown is beginning to see the early stages of a much needed revitalisation. The city is devoted to the automobile. We were fortunate to be outside the city itself and near the eastern half of the Saguaro National Park.








At night we heard the coyotes howling as though they were right outside our door, and they probably were at that. I wasn't going outside to find out.

This is not a coyote. A guard dog perhaps but not a coyote. Nor is it any other wild creature from the desert. It's a wonderful Corgi pup watching me from the main house at Serenity Guest House.


Photos by Jim Murray.
Copyright 2014.