Oro Valley Real Estate

The Artwork is Wonderful the Presentation Leaves Much to be Desired

This past weekend I’ve continued my efforts to document and photograph Oro Valley Public Art.  One thing has come to my attention which in some cases can be rectified.  As I photograph the various pieces of art around town I often have to search very hard to find an angle to shot from which both enhances the artwork and limits the distracting elements surrounding the art itself.

It feels like being served a great gourmet meal on a paper plate.  The food is wonderful but the presentation leaves much to be desired.

Most of what I observed could be avoided and cleaned up to present the artwork without distraction.  Here are a couple of examples.

The Singing Coyote

There isn’t anything that can be done about the water spigot, the AC evap pipe or the light on the side of the building.  However, there is no need for the small sapling to be place where it is and the supports for the tree don’t have to be tall wooden sticks with wire going to the tree.  I was able to place one of the tree supports behind the coyote to almost make it invisible, but the other post and wire are the “paper plate” effect mentioned above.  For the photo I cropped the image and cloned out the tree and sapling.

The Lightening Bolt

This piece is new and right across Lambert from the Fry’s Shopping Center.  I really don’t know if it has a name or what it is.  It looks awesome and if a movie is ever made in Oro Valley I’m sure the bad guy will end up impaled upon the end of it.  It is hard to tell here but there are multi-colored cables coming off the main piece.

I know there is nothing that can be done (for now) about the utility poles running down Lambert.  But can you see the large ORANGE support for the tree or bush located to the left.

Back to the main point.  There is a lot of time, money and effort put into creating and displaying displaying each piece of public art.  How much harder is it to make sure the area around it as aesthetic as possible.  There are other ways to stake trees and plants beside big sticks of wood and orange poles.

I’m finding quite a few of the pieces would be greatly enhanced for display with a little forethought on what is located or placed near each piece of art.

The art is wonderful.  The more I find and photograph the more impressed I am with  what is presented and available to the public.  I can see a definite growth in the quality of pieces since the beginning of the 1% Public Art Program.

Now we need a policy of removing the “paper plate presentation” and presenting these wonderful pieces of art in a worthy manner.

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on Oro Valley Public Art. It just scratched the surface of this topic and the discovery (meaning I finally took time to look around myself) is leading me on a personal journey to find and photograph more of the public art in Oro Valley. Most of the time I’m either reading while riding in the car or driving somewhere myself with a point “A” to point “B” mentality.  I don’t look around, I’m busy and getting the job done.  This means I’ve missed out on a lot.

Finding those four pieces of art at Tangerine and First Ave. got my curiosity stirred about the public art in Oro Valley.  Up until writing that post I was unaware of the “1% for Public Art” program.  I went online and have been disappointed with the amount of information I could find about where the public art in Oro Valley is located.

A trip to the library lead to finding a brochure that is a couple of years old with a map showing 35 locations around Oro Valley where public art is displayed.  The map is good, but out of date.  While driving around following a section of this map yesterday we discovered many more pieces of public art at new locations.  Most of what I’ll focus on are the outdoor pieces which are readily available to the public anytime.  Gradually I’ll add images of indoor pieces which can only be accessed during business hours for the particular establishment.

I also know the Oro Valley Marketplace will spend $650,000 on public art to be displayed within the marketplace.  The Oro Valley Marketplace and other new construction around town will continue to expand the public art in Oro Valley.

The Oro Valley Public Art Map

I intend to create an online map on this site which will show locations for Oro Valley Public Art.   As new art is added it will be added to the map.  If anyone becomes aware of new public art which isn’t on the map please let me know and I’ll be happy to add it.

The Oro Valley Public Art Category

I’ve just added a new category to this site in which I will be posting images and basic information about individual pieces of Public Art.  Each of these posts will have the comment section open for anyone to leave a comment or provide more in depth information about a particular piece of art.

 The Oro Valley Public Art Gallery

I will be adding a gallery on this site with a collection of images of Oro Valley Public Art.  I’ve already started a set of images on Flickr called: tada “Oro Valley Public Art“.  This link will take you to the slide show which will continue to grow as new images are added to the set.

If you have a photo of Oro Valley Public Art which shows a piece in a particular light or setting (amazing sunset, etc.)  submit it for the inclusion in the gallery of images here.  I’ll be very glad to provide full photo credits for any images added to the set and you maintain full copyrights to any image included in the gallery.

Some of the images I’ll include might not be “Official” pieces of public art.  If I see something that looks like art, is available for public viewing and has artistic value I’ll be adding it as well.  The entrance to Honeybee Park is one that comes to mind.  I don’t know if it is public art or not but when I walked up to it I knew I had to photograph the mountain through the arch.

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Last week we were in Phoenix for a continuing education class.  While there we were looking for new places to eat and ran across Islands Restaurant.  What a find.  The Burgers were “The best burger I’ve ever had”.  The Island Fries were fantastic.  The atmosphere was fun and relaxing.

We kept talking about the place everyday.  We looked at each other on the way home later that week and said “Islands Restaurant would be perfect for the Oro Valley Marketplace.

When we got home Barbara sent Islands and email telling them how much we enjoyed our visit and that an Islands Restaurant would be a perfect fit for the Oro Valley Marketplace.  Islands responded to her email and stated they are always looking for new locations.

I went to their website (pictured above) and found it to be a great site and fun to navigate, it was easy to find the things I wanted such as menu and locations.  I joined their Tiki Links to get updates on menu and new locations.  I also got a coupon for free Island Fries.

Visit their website.  Better yet if you are in Phoenix stop by an Islands Restaurant for lunch or dinner.

If you are familiar with Islands log onto their website and tell them yourself you would like to see them locate in the Oro Valley Marketplace.

Islands Restaurant would be a great fit and a welcome addition to Oro Valley and the Oro Valley Marketplace.

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The Forth of July is always a big deal here in Oro Valley.

Rather than spend a lot of time republishing the information I’m going to provide you a link to the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council 4th of July Celebration page where all the information about this years festivities is located.

Lots to do for the entire family Friday July 4, 2008 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM  Riverfront Park.

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Oro Valley, in 1977 put into place the “1% for Public Art” program. This program has provided our community with more than 35 locations around town where interesting, beautiful and sometimes comical pieces of art are displayed. The new Oro Valley Marketplace will provide a place for our ever expanding collection of public art. It is always interesting to be driving around Oro Valley and discover a part of the collection. At the corner of Tangerine and First Avenue are 4 bronze statues which make me smile every time I see them.

Like characters from a play or novel these statues provide a glimpse into our past and present. A depiction of joy and happiness of innocence and love. This intersection where our busy daily lives meet what appears to be a moment frozen in time.

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Time again for an Oro Valley Marketplace update. In the mail this week was my copy of the Oro Valley | Marana Magazine. If you didn’t get a copy in the mail I have seen them at the Oro Valley Library and probably at any of the grocery stores in Oro Valley.

It wasn’t until turning to page 50 I found the “Construction Zone” and here was the latest list of stores to be included in the Oro Valley Marketplace. It was last year I wrote about the new In-N-Out Burger in Tucson. At that time I said it would be a great addition to have an In-N-Out Burger in the Oro Valley Marketplace. I still think so.  I even wrote a post here pleading the case of In-N-Out Burger in Oro Valley.

When I read through the latest list my eyes fell on In-N-Out Burger which immediately brought about a high five on my part even though I was alone at the time.

Here is the current list of stores to be opening in the future at the Oro Valley Marketplace.

• ALLTEL
• BEST BUY
• BJ’S
• CHASE BANK
• CENTURY THEATRES
• COLD STONE CREAMRY
• COST PLUS WOLD MARKET
• DANNY’S GOURMET MARKET
• DICK’S SPORTING GOODS
• DRESSBARN
• DSW
• FAMOUS FOOTWEAR
• GAMESTOP
• IN-N-OUT BURGER
• THE KEG
• LINENS ‘N THINGS
• MICHAEL’S
• OLD NAVY
• OLIVE GARDEN
• PACIFIC DENTAL
• PETCO
• RED LOBSTER
• STAPLES
• TILLY’S
• TJ MAXX
• ULTA
• WAL-MART SUPERCENTER

It looks like there are going to be some really great new places to shop and eat here in Oro Valley, at the Oro Valley Marketplace.

Water Harvesting at the Oro Valley Marketplace

I’m really glad to see the efforts being put forward to reclaim more than 4 million gallons of water a year and the restoration of 77 acres including a riparian waterway. This is the kind of example we need to show what can be done when water harvesting is implemented.

I’m really looking forward to the completion of the Oro Valley Marketplace. I expect to spend many hours and dollars enjoying the new part of Oro Valley.

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(This is where my picture
with me wearing headphones
was going to go, bad idea.)

Skype for the Budget Minded

I recently wrote a post over at Tucson AZ Real Estate about Skype. It is an internet based phone service which I’ve been using for the past three weeks. Once you set up an account you can make PC to PC voice calls through your computer. But, if you are willing to part with $24 a year you can make calls to home phones and cell phones. There are no long distance charges and you can call any phone in the United States.

Skype for the hearing impaired

The quality of the calls is exceptional, the best I’ve ever heard using a voice over ip system (VOIP). But the affordability isn’t the big thing that attracts me to Skype. It is the fact I can put on a headset with a mic and volume control and make my calls.

I’ve been hearing impaired for over 30 years. It has gotten worse in the past few years and I now wear hearing aids. Yep, one in each ear. Talking on a phone or cell phone is a nightmare. Either I get feedback, or I can’t hear. The cell phone is in a constant state of motion trying to find just the spot where voices come through loud enough for me to hear.

Now I sit at my desk, bring up my Skype account and start dialing. I don’t have to take out my hearing aids and I have volume control to die for. For the first time in years, I’m actually enjoying talking to others using a phone, headphone that is.

There is one more really great use for Skype video calling. I’ll go into that in more detail in the near future. We have a college student leaving this fall for the first year away at college. Skype gives us the ability to video call to keep in touch.

The only thing that is a little nuisance, there is no caller id for those you are calling, sometimes it is unknown, some times a number will appear on the caller id but it won’t be any number you are associated with.

You can read more about Skype at our post on: Tucson AZ Real Estate about Skype.

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The dog shown to the right attended an open house in Oro Valley this past weekend. Yes, it was his house. The significant thing is that during this open house the dog engaged in a game of scrabble and a discussion of the Tucson Real Estate Market. He starred on a short video about scrabble later that day and today served as the talking point for an article on Tucson Real Estate in the News.

Until left out of his cage he showed remarkable ability to howl at a pitch designed to drive anyone hearing it to the brink of insanity and beyond (as Buzz Lightyear would say).

Oh, you are skeptical? Here are links to the two blogs in which he is featured and participated.

How I win at scrabble

A Tale of Two Real Estate Articles

Just an open house dog, now a celebrity on the Real Estate Blogging circuit. What a weekend.

If you click on the dogs picture above you will see how he feels about the whole thing.

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Even the rabbits in those fur suits know summer is coming. I ran into a few of them down at the wash the other morning discussing how they were planning on coping with the impending summer heat.

I could see the sun shining right through their ears when I heard one of them say they were actually his new solar collectors which were powering an air conditioning suit under his fur. Now that’s energy efficient and solar powered.

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It is a rare occasion when I post about the same subject twice in such a short period of time. When I wrote the first piece of mistletoe it was because I had just found out about a home owners association in Tucson requiring it to be removed from a property we have listed.

Mistletoe like boiling the frog

I’ve seen these apparent bird nests in trees for some time. Now I see them everywhere. It is one of those things you drive by over and over again and don’t even notice. Mistletoe as a parasite is deceptively slow in how it works and spreads. The berries are sticky and the birds eat those berries then fly to another tree and scrape their beaks on the branch to remove the sticky residue. In the process they deposit seeds onto the branch of a new tree (host).

In the past week my eyes have been opened to the growing number of dead trees that line paved and dirt roads in Oro Valley. Almost all of them have evidence of mistletoe. Before I saw it, but didn’t realize what it was or what it was doing to our trees. The clincher for me after counting dozens of trees with mistletoe was when I started seeing the Ironwood in bloom and mistletoe hanging from their branches.

I’ve seen Palo Verde, Mesquite, and Ironwood infected with Mistletoe. As the leaves fill out they will be less obvious but the destructive nature of this plant is still at work even when less visible.

I know many are concerned with Buffelgrass and the potential for long term damage to the desert especially in case of wildfire. It is a threat and possible threat to the Sonoran Desert.

Mistletoe is not just a threat, it is killing native trees. It is killing our Ironwoods and Palo Verde especially. A drive down Lambert past La Cholla to Thornydale will provide anyone looking plenty of evidence of what mistletoe is doing to these trees. In Marana drive down Linda Vista between Thornydale and Hartman you will see plenty of mistletoe and sick trees.

It is getting worse.

Mistletoe needs to be removed from trees, at least cut back so it can’t produce berries and spread to other trees.

I did a search on mistletoe in Tucson, Oro Valley and Marana. The only information I found on mistletoe and the devastation it is causing was on a local blog “By George a Blog” George wrote about mistletoe on Feb. 15, 2008, “Mistletoe is Certainly a Pest”

Ironwood are a limited resource around here and Oro Valley is privilege to be home to many of them found in the Tucson area. We can’t just continue to turn a blind eye to the effect of this parasite on our trees. If you own property or know someone that does and you see mistletoe in their trees please inform them of the effects of leaving this parasite continue to kill their trees.

If anyone from the city of Oro Valley or Marana for that matter read this post bring this information to a person who can help preserve our trees.

Mistletoe is more than a pest and a nuisance it is slowly changing the desert landscape by killing some of our most precious resources, our trees; not just any trees either, it is killing our Ironwoods.

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