Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Work Truck

This truck, just down the street from Allison and DeQuan, was loaded up like this every night for the next day's work with various items, always piled high.  Gotta hand it to 'em...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Flower Sprays

Everything in nature has its beauty - bugs, snakes, trees, cacti, mammals, birds... everything.  In the flora world, however, nothing can beat natural sprays of flowers such as these.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Praying Mantis

Suppose these guys are found just about everywhere; pics here of some encountered in Taiwan and Japan.  This one was reposing on the front door of the kids' house there in Chandler.  They are pretty scary looking - even more so if you've seen them lightning-strike prey with those forearms.  And the way they cock their head up and swivel around to look at you seems a bit too personal...

It's in family lore that Bob, my oldest brother, when he was a little tyke, saw one on the handlebars of his tricycle and was terrified enough to scar him for life.  Will have to fact-check that one.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Palm Seed Pods

The seed pods on some sort of palm tree they have over there.  Koko ate some of these after they'd shriveled and fallen to the ground, which created a bit of a scare, but they turned out to be harmless.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Ornamental Yard Cactus

Another bear of a cactus.  Had to be very careful with Koko on walks, as she would want to get close to sniff and identify these strange new plants.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Prickly Pear Cactus

These grew everywhere where I lived down in Mexico ('80 & '81), and my friends there introduced me to the tunas, those red things that are actually quite tasty.  Unfortunately, they left me a little bit estreñido (you translate)...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Disappearing Rain

One thing interesting about being in the high-and-dry desert is this phenomenon.  The sun is shining at an angle that allows us to see this rain falling from the could above.  It's pretty obvious that it's fallen about halfway to the ground.  I tried to trace its fall downward, but it didn't seem to change at all, even after the usual three minutes it takes rain to go from cloud to ground.  Why is this?  Well, as it turns out, it is so high and dry in the Sonoran desert that it never makes it all the way to the ground.  Yes, in some cases the rain evaporates completely before reaching terra firma.  Don't see that in Houston...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Pima Park Willow Tree

 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Succulent from Above

Like pictures of plants taken from this perspective, which remind me of this post, a favorite from the Houston Zoo.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sotol Cactus

I remember seeing these things in peoples' landscaping in Orange growing up; think maybe we even had one in our back yard.  Evidently this species of cactus thrives in humid, sub-tropical as well as dry desert climates.  Scientific name is Dasylirion graminifolium, commonly referred to as sotol or grass-leafed Dasylirion.  Not that I knew this while growing up...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Family Portrait

 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Interesting Tree Trunks

A couple of interesting tree trunks we came across while out and about on our walks.  The one above is in Pima Park adjacent to a schoolyard; the one below is...somewhere else, I think South Gilbert:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Very Tasteful and Understated Halloween Decoration

...a unique, artsy and fun Halloween decoration in the middle of a yard just a few doors down the street.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Yet More Halloween Decorations / A Skeleton in the Classroom

As stated earlier, those in Chandler went all-out to celebrate Halloween in grand style.

Can't look at a skeleton without thinking about my 10th grade biology class.  In those days most schools had at least one real skeleton for study in their science classes.  This was Orange Stark High School in 1973, a standout school even in those days, when schools were generally better than they are now.  One day the teacher introduced us to their skeleton-in-residence, showing us how he knew it was a female (pelvic bone widened due to having kids) and her approximate age (via the dentition), which was mid-forties.  She was about 5'4" tall, had this or that disease, and through lifetime engaged in this much or that much labor.  Was very interesting, and the teacher was tactful and respectful in the way he handled the lesson.  "Can we touch?" some of us asked.  "Yes, if you come up one at a time," was the response.  Some of us did and some of us didn't.
 

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - More Halloween Decorations

Believe it or not, this was captured at the same address featured in the last two posts.  It wasn't a huge house, so we wondered where all this stuff was stored during non-Halloween times.  And are they just as eager about Christmas?

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Halloween Lady

Saw this lady at the same address.  Actually they do Halloween in grand style there in Chandler, as can be seen in these and the pics to be posted in the next couple of days:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Alien Creature

Spied this creature on one of our morning walks as the rising sun caught the webbing on its wings just right.  Koko was not too interesting in getting to know this guy better...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Strange Blue Yard Plant

Closer-up shots of one of those strange blue plants featured in yesterday's post...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Rock Yards and Strange Plants

No less interesting to us were the yards, typically covered over with rocks instead of grass.  The suburban plant life there is full of strange and - to us - exotic plants, such as these blue things.  Naturally the cactus plants used in landscaping was varied, including saguaros, which are sold by nurseries or transplanted from other areas.  The larger saguaros, such as the one below, carry a price tag of $100 or more per foot:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sunset-to-Dusk Cloud Formation

Enthralled by this cloud formation, a little further down the trail I zoomed in a little and recomposed for this shot.  Lucky it was captured, as only a few minutes later the brilliant sunlit scene was lost in the edge of dusk:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Reflected Cloud Formation at Sunset

Having said that about the dried-up parks, there are canals that snake through the region that have continuously running water with trails aligning both sides for all to enjoy.  Our son-in-law was eager to show us this one just north of Chandler, in the city of Gilbert.  This is where our dog Koko met a horse for the first time, an introduction that lasted about a millisecond.

What caught my attention here was that awesome cloud formation at sunset, with its brilliant orange hues; as a bonus we have a reflection in the water of the canal.