Mission San Xavier del Bac

"White Dove of the Desert"

https://www.boasdeibiza.com/boat/india-valium-online.php "White Dove of the Desert" © 2011 Bo Mackison

http://geoffnotkin.com/laygu/online-doctor-prescription-valium.php Mission San Xavier del Bac is located only a few minutes south of Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O’Odham Indian Reservation. The mission was founded by Father Eusebio Kino, a Franciscan missionary, in 1692. Father Kino also founded the mission at Tumacacori, located 20 miles south of San Xavier, and several other missions in southern Arizona and in Sonora, Mexico.

source url The church, which is a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1783-1797. It is the oldest European structure in the state of Arizona.

Sacristy,  Mission San Xavier del Bac

https://tvnordestevip.com/ou4m9xvw Sacristy, Mission San Xavier del Bac © 2011 Bo Mackison

enter site San Xavier’s interior is filled with many pieces of original statues and mural paintings, all dating from the 18th Century. The Baroque architecture has many dramatic features including painted faux doors, wood sculptures painted to resemble marble, and many niches that hold statues in curtained surroundings. It is all quite intricate and full of ingenious detailing.

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Mission San Xavier del Bac, Interior

enter site Interior, Mission San Xavier del Bac © 2011 Bo Mackison

source url Once inside the church, one barely knows where to look first. There are more than 300 angels an over one hundred saints represented in paintings, sculptures or bas reliefs. Many of them are highlighted in gold leaf.

go site It is hard not to look in amazement at the decorative features that cover nearly every inch of this masterpiece. The church has undergone several restoration projects, and some of the nations’ most talented art conservators gave new life to much of the art a decade ago. It’s an amazing collection of church art, considering it was conceived and constructed over 200 years ago.

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Buy Valium Roche 10Mg Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”  There are many gifts to find, here in the desert.

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Bird Cage, Ocotillo, and Freedom

Study in Brown

go here Freedom © 2011 Bo Mackison

Buy Ardin Diazepam A visit to Tubac Presidio Historical Park in Tubac, Arizona, gave me an opportunity to photograph some amazing objects from an early historical period in Arizona–from the middle of the 18th Century through the early years of the 20th Century. The above photo shows a part of the historical museum’s veranda. The wooden bird cage is hung from a ceiling made of ocotillo, a thin, wood-like desert plant.

source The park protects the ruins of the oldest Spanish presidio in Arizona, founded in 1752. It is the site of the first European settlement in  Arizona.

https://www.iql-nog.com/2025/01/19/3orifz8h00d Tubac is one of only three presidio sites to survive into modern times. The second (if you can consider this surviving) is buried under downtown Tucson, the third in is Cochise County. The Tubac Presidio Historical Park was Arizona’s first state park, dedicated in 1958.

https://opponix.com/j6bzl2s In early 2010, the state of Arizona decided to close the park due to severe budget cuts to the Arizona park system. Santa Cruz County administrators and the Tubac Historical Society stepped up to thwart the crisis.  The county assumed the role of governmental agent for the park and the Historical Society took on the administration and maintenance of the site — a bold move to protect a historical gem in the town whose motto is “where history and art meet”.

click here All of the people who take care of the Presidio are volunteers–a difficult, though rewarding job–and they deserve big thanks. Without their many hours of time and effort, the park would be boarded up and fall into a state of disrepair. So kudos to the Tubac Historical Society docents.

The park preserves three historical buildings which are on the National Register of Historic Places:

Old Tubac Schoolhouse

Old Tubac Schoolhouse © 2011 Bo Mackison

  • Arizona’s second oldest Territorial school building, the Old Tubac Schoolhouse, built in 1885.
Otero Hall, Tubac Presidio Historical Park

Otero Hall © 2011 Bo Mackison

  • Otero Hall, an adobe building built as a community center and later used as a schoolhouse, built in 1914.
1930s Kitchen

1930s Kitchen © 2011 Bo Mackison

  • And the Rojas House, a typical adobe row house that has the original furnishings of Luisa Rojas, a life-long resident of Tubac, built in 1890, and restored to the period of the 1930s.

On a personal note, I love the photograph of the empty bird cage. It is very symbolic to me–I feel like I am tasting a type of freedom and independence I haven’t experienced since my college days.

I’m learning that independence gives not only freedom, but also demands responsibility. I woke up this morning with such amazing feelings, almost too hard to describe–feelings of wonder and accomplishment and the knowledge that whatever needed to be done today, well, I’m the one that had to do it. But the responsibility feels good; it makes me feel competent, effective, satisfied.

And so I love the photo of the empty bird cage–the bird has flown to freedom.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for the next eight seven weeks, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs of Arizona landmarks, both historical and natural, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and learning to live on her own. Her mantra is “Bo goes solo!”

Arizona Report – Life in the Southwest

Sun Seat

In the Sun Seat © 2011 Bo Mackison

I’ve been in Arizona for a week. The weather has lived up to its promises, and then outdone itself on a few occasions. Except for one windy day, it has been calm and sunny. I’ve basked in the first 80 degree days I’ve seen since last August. I’m 1888 miles from my home, and sometimes it feels like that distance is half way around the world. Life, for sure, is different in the Southwest.

A few observations from the first week:

  • The critters I see still surprise me. A road runner “ran” across my back yard the first morning I was in my new place. I’ve seen it a couple times since, but that old cartoon didn’t lie. “Beep, beep” and it’s outta here, way faster than I can grab my camera.
  • The birds are simply amazing. As soon as the art show was over, and I had time to slow down, I bought a book on Southeast Arizona birds. Sherpa and I spent our only free day together exploring a canyon world famous for its birding populations. I’ve never been a birder. Except for the few birds that are easily identifiable, I refer to the whole of the avian population as “bird.” I am going to learn to identify some of the birds while I am here, though I don’t think I will ever be a bird photographer. I don’t have a lens capable of capturing most birds, although I’m told the hummingbirds are quite tolerant. At least they hover, almost long enough to get their photographs taken. Maybe I’ll get a photo of a hummer or two.
  • My washer and dryer are outside in a utility shed. I haven’t quite gotten used to this. Yesterday, I returned home from an “explore” and headed for the laundry to get my clothes. I nearly came face to face with a javelina. At first I thought it was a large, gray dog, but when it turned around to gaze at me with its beady eyes, its snout was no dog snout. I don’t much like the idea of sharing my laundry room with the javelinas, but they are crepuscular – they visit at dawn and dusk – so I’ll just do my laundry at other times.
  • Early this morning, I threw my arm over the pillow that is sleeping next to me in this king size bed. At first I thought it was Sherpa. But no, it was only a pile of pillows. That moment gave me my first taste of “alone”.  A sudden heave in my chest and a better realization of what I have taken on, and then the moment was over.  But I was shaken enough by my solitary feeling that I got up and made coffee. Every morning, so far, I’ve watched the sun rise from the porch, a cup of coffee in hand. I figure each day deserves a great start.

It’s time to start my day–I can smell the coffee–and give thanks that I am here, living my dream, and that I have this gift of a new day, full of possibilities.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for the next eight seven weeks, exhibiting her photography in art fairs, taking photographs in deserts and desert gardens, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and learning to live on her own. Her mantra is “Bo goes solo!”

An Alphabet in Four Parts – II

Red Yucca Flower

Red Yucca Flower

Continuing the second annual edition of my year-end musings:

https://www.mssbizsolutions.com/kadfgpw G is for GARDENS.

GARDENS. I seem to be naturally attracted to gardens of all kinds. Greenhouse gardens. Perennial gardens. Tropical gardens. Rain gardens. Wild gardens. And desert gardens, too. The photograph of the red yucca in bloom was taken at Tohona Chul Park in Tucson, Arizona, an amazing desert urban garden. I’ve spent many, many hours wandering in gardens, sitting in gardens, working in gardens, and now taking photographs in gardens. I’ve taken so many photographs in all these gardens, when I take Seeded Earth Photography on the road, my art show booth almost looks like a garden.

https://thelowegroupltd.com/p3fgikswqz H is for HOURGLASS.

HOURGLASS. Time passes, second by second, just like the sand passes in an hourglass. How many of those seconds, minutes, hours, have I missed by not being mindful, by not paying attention to the present? Not saying that there isn’t time to goof off, to day dream about the future, to watch the wind blowing in tall grasses or a single leaf flutter to the ground. But I want to keep reminding myself that it does no good to live in the past, to question what might have been, to second guess decisions already made. So – living in the present, noticing the details? Good. Dreaming and planning about the future? Good, too. But…I want to keep the past in the past. Learn from the mistakes I’ve made, but not live in the past with regret.

https://tudiabetesbajocontrol.com/relanzam/buying-valium-online.php I is for INKLING.

INKLING. I love inklings, just the briefest grasp of an idea. I love taking that bit and turning it over and over in my mind, letting it gather more and more bits until it’s a full fledged idea. I love ideas. I love mulling over ideas. Sometimes I love the idea more than the implementation of the idea. Sometimes that’s OK. Sometimes I need a push to take my ideas to fruition, to make them real. Seeded Earth was an inkling of an idea for a long time. It came to life as a blog, a place to store a photograph a day for a year. And after that year, I wanted to do more than post photographs on my beloved blog. I wanted to make them real (in print) and I wanted to share them with others. Sometimes those inklings really do turn into reality!

https://www.rmporrua.com/rb3belwjd J is for JUICY.

JUICY. I like juicy living. Full of flavors and textures and bright colors, and a certain amount of messiness, but with such glorious rewards.

https://valkyrieswebzine.com/nouvel/buy-valium-2mg-uk.php K is for KINDNESS.

KINDNESS. Being kind to others, yes, but more than that. Also practicing the art of kindness towards myself.

click L is for LONG SHOT.

LONG SHOT. Sometimes it’s wise to go for the sure thing. Dribble the ball across mid-court, closer and closer to the hoop. Get your defensive lines all in place. Move in close, focus on the goal, and then make the shot. That’s usually a good plan. But sometimes, you have to go for the long shot, the Hail Mary shot at the end of the buzzer. Once in awhile, it just feels right to take a long shot. Might not make it. But then again, you just might.

https://bettierose.co.uk/b45voeja M is for MINUTE RICE.

MINUTE RICE. Actually, I don’t eat the stuff–prefer brown rice or long grain white rice or wild rice. But I do have a sock filled with it. I use it for a makeshift tripod when my regular tripod is too heavy to carry while hiking for miles, or too clunky to get past museum guards. These are the kinds of projects I love – the whole DIY craze where you can give one object a completely new use. I use a string and a metal washer for a tripod when desperate. Wax paper or copy paper or aluminum foil achieves different lighting properties. I’ve been accused of using my camera bag as a lunch bag on more than one occasion. Not true. I never put my sandwich in my camera bag!

Next post – Nest through Treasure Map

Daydreaming in The Garden Room

Taliesin West - Garden Room

Taliesin West – Garden Room

I would like to be relaxing in this room – right this very moment! Maybe with a book in hand, or a notebook filled with words that flowed easily from mind to paper, and so now my writing project is neatly done.

Maybe I’m drinking an iced tea, or even better, indulging in a fudge brownie and a glass of cold milk. And while I’m daydreaming, I’ll go all out – the sunlight is streaming through the windows, and warming my face. Warming my soul.

A Nice Place to Relax

A Nice Place to Relax

Say, this is a daydream, right? Maybe Mr. Wright will walk through the door, in an amiable and expansive mood, and share a few of his theories on architecture, or better yet, tell stories of the happenings of his boyhood, about the land he lived on and loved, and where he built the other Taliesin, the home and studio where he spent his summers, Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Taliesin West, Scottsdale Arizona

Blue Seating in the Garden Room

This is in the Garden Room at Taliesin West, Mr. Wright’s winter home and studio on Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s a sprawling complex, now the winter home for the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The school moves east to summer in Wisconsin from May through October, just as Wright and his family did when they were alive.

Amusingly enough, on a recent tour through Taliesin West, our guide was an architect and an instructor at the architecture school. He had made the acquaintance of Wright several times. He mentioned that one of Wright’s express wishes was “Don’t ever attach my name to anything having to do with a school.” Though Wright appeared to get his way much of the time, seems no one paid attention to that request (or demand) once he was no longer around to speak up.

Taliesin West is a wonderful space to visit, the tour guide was knowledgeable and witty, and had a rather genius way of passing on Wright’s heritage and philosophy.