every once in a while i like to stop by the barry goldwater memorial park in paradise valley. it’s like a little tucked away treasure. (let’s not get into goldwater’s politics; this is definitely not an endorsement of them… although his distaste for the religious right is well documented and were he alive today i don’t think he’d be pleased with the republican party. and, if that were the case, we could probably be friends.)

anyway, it’s kinda hard to call the memorial a “park” by typical standards, but to me it’s definitely a playground. every time i go, there’s something to explore that i didn’t notice before and i also like to check in there once in a while to see if anything new is blooming or if birds or bunnies are running around. . . that sounded a little too “disney princess”-y …it’s not that little creatures scurry around there it’s just that if you’re there long enough you’re bound to see a jackrabbit, a hummingbird and for sure quail (the bird, not the dan.)

yesterday i was there taking pictures and just as i was about to leave, i noticed a beautifully mint-green agave against a sort of adobe-orange-ish wall (i should really work for pantone, shouldn’t i?) i started photographing this plant, which i’ve been surrounded by pretty much my whole life, but when i really started SEEing it, i noticed things i’ve never noticed before. most surprising to me was that each palm (i don’t know if that’s what they’re actually called and i don’t feel like googling it to find out) is outlined in this fantastically gorgeous chartreuse-y color  and also has strokes of a gorgeous pinky-red (what’s up, pantone!) i started trying to get in close to capture it and then this abstract “i’ve always admired painters but never been able to effectively paint” side of me came out and pretty much took over.

and (in case you can’t tell) i was super-geeked about it:

in addition to his political career, barry goldwater was also a photographer and you can see some of his work here. his native american portrait work is especially stunning. i think he’d like the park that’s been created in his honor and how it lends itself to so many photographic opportunities.