The beating of a Smurf

I went to a Cinco De Mayo party hosted by my friends Jay and Tyson yesterday at their home in the Tucson foothills.

It was a nice party.  There was a dj and karaoke, a big Mexican food spread, the kids there got to take swings at a Smurf piñata (nothing says Cinco De Mayo like a Smurf), and a lovely view of Tucson from up on the hill.

They even had a chicKEN coop.  And no yolk, from what I understand they lay EGGcellent eggs.

This is Ike.
Jay used to be my next door neighbor years ago and he got Ike
when he was a puppy.  He's now 12 and still a sweetheart even
if he now has a giant head... and body.

Jay and Tyson's backyard

The chicKEN coop.
These birds lay about four dozen eggs a week.
I'll bet the chickens would be delicious as nuggets.

That's Kelly on the swing, Justin pushing, and Jay on the chair.
They're enjoying the jungle gym in Jay and Tyson's backyard.

A Smurf piñata.  I have a feeling he doesn't know he's about to get a beating.

Kids at the party taking swings at the Smurf piñata to get some candy.

One of the Smurf's legs detached after taking a beating

Ike has a quality conversation with Judy and Maria.
Actually, he's hoping for food.

View of Tucson looking south from Jay and Tyson's backyard.

Om nom nom.

Chris and Justin sing karaoke.
Kind of like Sonny and Cher... but not really.

Ike is exhausted. Enough partying for one old dog.

Urban art: Valencia and Camino de Oeste

I was at the QuikTrip at Valencia and Camino de Oeste on Tucson's southwest side yesterday and spotted some graffiti painted on cement tubes across the street from the convenience store.

It was obvious that whoever did the painting was undisturbed for a while because it was a pretty extensive graffiti job.  It looked kind of cool though.

I've never had the urge to paint graffiti.  In fact, I accidentally mark my hand with a pen and I immediately have to wash it off.



Graffiti at Valencia and Camino de Oeste
I didn't have one of my better zoom cameras with me so
you'll just have to squint to see it better.

Kenparazzi: Accident at Pima and Tanque Verde

I was alerted to an accident and car fire at Pima Street and Tanque Verde by a follower of @whatsuptucson tonight.  Since I only live three blocks from that intersection, I grabbed a camera and walked over to see it myself and take some pictures.

Best I could figure out, it appeared that two cars crashed into each other at the intersection (a red Toyota 4-Runner and a dark colored BMW) and the BMW caught on fire as a result.

Check out the Kenparazzi photos (shot with a Canon SX50 camera).

Accident and car fire scene at Pima Street and Tanque Verde Road

Red SUV vs black BMW

First responders working on the vehicles

The BMW that caught fire as a result of the accident.
The fire was out by the time I walked over there.

Another view of the accident scene from the northwest corner

Firefighters had to use air powered tools to pry open the BMW's hood

Firefighter spraying the BMW's engine with a fire retardant

Firefighters checking out the BMW's engine compartment

Another firefighter looking at the BMW's burned engine compartment

It's a mess!

People on the corner (who I'm guessing were in one of the vehicles)

Another group who I believe were involved in the accident
on the southwest corner of the intersection

A sticky situation

It was another windy day in southern Arizona.

Check out the storm "damage" at the Ken Carr World Headquarters:

A stick fell onto the apartment patio.
Definitely a 'sticky' situation.

There must be 30 leaves that fell onto this patch of grass.
Incredible damage and devastation.

Abandoned pickup at Ridgepointe

There is a black pickup truck that has been sitting for months in the parking lot at my apartment complex and seems to be abandoned.

I end up parking next to it fairly regularly because Anthony and I take turns using our reserved parking spot and the space next to the pickup is open pretty often.

I saw a ticket on it's windshield from the police department a few weeks ago (its gone now so I'm guessing it blew away at some point).  The truck's registration expired months ago so maybe that's what it was for.  Then, it got a red sticker threatening tow away.  Part of the sticker was torn off the next day, so maybe whomever does have it keeps trying to get it from being removed.

Then yesterday, I noticed that someone put a sticker over the torn off sticker that said "black people".  I thought it was unusual enough to take a picture.

The abandoned pickup truck at Ridgepointe

The sticker over the sticker.
I see black people.

Dusty spiderwebs in the bed of the truck with bug carcasses.
This truck has been here a while.