Our return to North Mountain, Phoenix

Yesterday we returned to the home of one of our earlier house sits. For those who follow this blog it's the home of ... the three dogs, the people who go fishing, the people who lent us their home in Mexico ... people who make us feel so welcome. This time they've gone skiing in Colorado. Personally, the idea of going somewhere cold just doesn't interest me!

Shiloh, Jake & Zena - the Tres Amigos

So, over the past day or two ...

We went to Matt's Big Breakfast on St. Patrick's Day, where Greg had corned beef hash, which seemed fitting. To save me repeating myself, here's my Tripadvisor review. Greg was quite taken by these stools, and so posed for the photo below. When I asked why he held his hands like that, he said it was because he was sitting on a tractor seat. He was amazed I didn't realize it was a tractor seat, but I've never up close to a tractor. At least I recognized that the base was a milk can. He thought they would be great for decorating our home ... not a chance!

I commented that he looked so serious. He said it was because he was focussed on driving the tractor!

We went to the Wednesday Wind Up at the Civic Space Park in Phoenix. This park was built in 2009 as part of the area's Grant Park revitalization project, in the heart of the city. It's urban design boasts:

Sustainable park features include:

• Solar panels on the park's shade structures will generate 75 kilowatts of power (enough to power 8-9 residential homes) to offset the park's lighting and electrical needs.
• Extensive shade; more than 70 percent of the park's surface area will be shaded when its trees and vegetation reach maturity.
• Hard surfaces made with pervious concrete and pavers that reduce heat reflection and allow rainfall to seep through, reducing damaging storm runoff
• Trees planted with a system that utilizes grates and specially engineered soils to protect roots, minimize compaction and allow ample room for root expansion.
• Immediate access to Light Rail and bus transit stations, which are located just feet from the park. To encourage pedestrian visitation and use of mass transit, there were no parking spaces built for the park.

It's easy to find this park because of its large sculpture, titled Her Secret is Patience. In reading the article in this link I see that it's Oprah's #1 Wow. Lit up at night, as seen in the link, it is impressive. However, here's my daytime photo.

Easy to see? Yes. Impressive? Perhaps. Would you spend $2.5 million of revitalization project funding on it? Undoubtedly, everyone will have a different opinion.