Herbert and I wish all of you a happy and healthy 2014!

 

 

(Lyn's note: Please feel free to send us any pictures you'd like included.  If your photos are for sale, let us know and we will put them under that category.  We have a special section for that purpose, and have just added some art as well.  Check out Tom Baker's photos for sale.  He's the photographer who took that gorgeous photo in the Carefree Gardens Photo Contest that was both the judges' first pick and the public favorite.  It's now featured on the Town of Carefree website, and will be the cover of the 2014 Gardens calendar that will be for sale later this summer at Carefree Town Hall.  If anyone would like to buy a print of any of Herbert's photos, all profits will be donated to one of the local non-profit organizations.)  Here's the link to this week's Pictures of the Week. 

http://carefreetruth.com/Carefree_Truth/Photos_1-6-14.html  

 

 

Bernie and I wish you and Herb a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Carefree Truth continues to be a great source of information and we enjoy reading it. 

Anita and Bernie

 

 

Lovely!  ESP with clips of live video too.  The second one was my favorite. Loved the video clips. :-) Congrats Herbie. xxx.

Jo Gemmill

 

 

 

Fantastic.... Dr. Hitchon. Thanks for your pics! Excellent shots.

Bob Gemmill

 

 

 

Lyn & Herb, great job!!!!!  I, we the community can not thank you enough for what you do for Carefree.       

Glenn Miller

(Lyn's note: Glenn is one of our greatest assets.  Fountain Hills paid a company $70,000 to do decorations that weren't as plentiful and nice as Carefree's.  Glenn does it as a volunteer.  The only way he gets to see the parade is through Herbert's photos.  He and Manny are always busy troubleshooting during it.  Manny got to see it this year since he was with us in the crane, but he was there until 1 AM cleaning up.  What would we do without those guys, and our many other dedicated volunteers?  The spirit of volunteerism is what makes the Desert Foothills communities so wonderful.  We are all so lucky to live here.) 

 

 

 

WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!  Herbie just gets better and better!!!!  LOVED that Roberta's smiling face was in there!  Gives a GOOD VIEW and CAPTURES THE FEELING  of what happens as part of our Christmas Festival!  XOXOXOXO to Herbie!  (Ha, and you too, Lyn.)  :)  

Happy Holidays!

Melissa Price

 

 

DONE LIKE A PROFESSIONAL.

Joe Corpora

 

 

Beautiful! :-)

Kim Prince, Proven Media

(Lyn's note: Kim and Herbert are the 2 primary photographers for the event.  Kim's photos are also great, and her PR work provides the fabulous media coverage the Festival receives each year.) 

 

 

Great fireworks with music!! 

And Oz was the most beautiful dog, as always.

Sara

 

 

No wonder you broke the record.  What a great long list of sponsors, etc.  Congrats!

Kathy Riemer

 

I watched all of them. Great job, love the fireworks.

Susan Martin

 

Very nicely done series of videos and still-photo shots by Herbie.  Regarding the fireworks, were these still-photos or frames picked from a video? Thanks for sharing.

Fred Groszkruger

(Lyn's note: So everyone will have the answer to this, I am including Fred's question.  Herbert figured out how to set his camera so he could shoot at 13 frames per second, and then figured out how to do the slides of the stills at 1/10th of a second to give the effect of the fireworks as they progressed.  This was his favorite new trick for this year's Festival pics.  It was time consuming, and he is very proud of the fireworks videos.  He also did a combo of stills and videos of the Friday night events and of the Parade for the first time, but the fireworks videos are his pride an joy now.  He tries to do something a bit different each year.) 

 

Very cool.  Awesome. I picked you and your doggie out.

JR Crouse

 

Loved the fireworks!

Jill Anderson

 

Dear Rebecca & Patrick

On behalf of the Carefree Christmas Festival I wanted to extend a sincere "thank you" to you both, for believing in our event and graciously sponsoring the snow.

Hundreds of children came up to play in the snow and whizz down the snow slide, and the area was all the more festive with your beautiful red banner. :-)

I hope you both got a chance to enjoy some of the festivities and again, I am so grateful for your support and partnership.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Jo

Jo Gemmill

Director, Carefree Christmas Festival 2013

 

 

Dear Jo,

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your amazing Christmas Festival! We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful event and appreciate the partnership we have with both you and the Town of Carefree.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Rebecca

 

(Lyn's note: The snow slide was sponsored by Sanderson Lincoln.)

 

 

Hitch--Thanks for the Carefree Truth--You do great job with all your info to the neighborhood.

 

I must agree with Jim Reynolds, I don't think the "American Flag" or anything that resembles the flag should be used for ANYTHING but to respect those that serve to keep us the great country we are. 

 

Take care and Happy New Year to you Herb and the Carefree citizens.

 

Papa Ron Crouse

 

 

 

Winter savings from

Foothills Animal Rescue  Resale Boutique

 

Mens

ALL

Jackets

50% off

 

Womens

ALL

Jackets

 50% off

 

 

All BASKETS

 

50% off

 

THE FURNITURE & BOOK BARN

IS NOW OPEN!

New items daily...

 

 Thank you all for your generous donations and your loyal support.

 

Sincerely,

 

Krisie Quinn-Warner

Manager

Foothills Animal Rescue Resale Boutique

 

 

 

 

   

Make a gift to conserve land!

December 2013

Dear Lyn,

The Caroline Bartol Preserve at Saguaro Hill was a terrific vantage point for enjoying the brief desert snow in February 2013!

As we review our 2013 accomplishments, and turn our attention to exciting opportunities in the coming year, we invite you to make a tax deductible year-end gift to support our land protection mission.

Donors like you make it possible for us to work with landowners and community members to permanently conserve special natural areas, to hold tours and events for children and families to explore our remarkable desert, and to provide recreational opportunities for hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders.

Our work to protect land and to connect people to these special places is only possible because of the support of people like you. We will put your gift to work right away, right here in our local community. Thank you for protecting the landscape you love!

We wish you a wonderful New Year!

With sincere thanks,

Sonia Perillo, Executive Director

Desert Foothills Land Trust

2013 Conservation Highlights

We hope you will celebrate these accomplishments as your personal land protection achievements - this work is only possible because of donors, volunteers and ambassadors like you!

 

Protection of Cave Creek Wash Preserve

We're celebrating a new preserve just completed this fall! This 20-acre property protects a significant stretch along Cave Creek Wash, as well as archaeological and historical resources. An anonymous donor generously donated the land, and support from contributors allowed us to complete the details of the acquisition process. We'll have more information about this newest preserve in our next e-newsletter, and we'll lead guided tours there as soon as we have infrastructure in place, including a footpath. Thank you to the landowner and the generous supporters who made this preserve possible!  

 

Protection of Carefree Heritage Preserve

 

Our community of supporters also helped us to put together this important project with the Town of Carefree in early 2013.  The Land Trust worked with the Town to protect an important conservation and cultural resource site in northern Carefree.  The Town purchased 30 acres and the landowner donated 10 acres to the Land Trust.  An additional landowner donated a nearby 20-acre property to the Town, protecting a total of 60 acres in this rugged landscape.  The Land Trust has continued our conservation efforts, hoping to further expand this conservation area.

 

Merger with North Country Conservancy  

Photo by Michael Graham. 

The North Valley conservation community came together this year with the merger of the Land Trust and North Country Conservancy. North Country was focused on the conservation of Daisy Mountain and other open spaces in the New River, Desert Hills and Anthem areas, and the Land Trust is already working with volunteers and community leaders to continue this important conservation effort. 

 

Jerry Sieve Photo Exhibition

Professional photographer Jerry Sieve spent more than a year highlighting many of the Land Trust's preserves using traditional photography and processing techniques.  An exhibition of his works has traveled throughout the Foothills since March, raising awareness about the Land Trust's work.  Jerry also generously donated half of the photos to the Land Trust to further support our conservation work. 

 

Desert Discovery Day at the Jewel of the Creek 

Photo by Jon Klas. 

We hosted Desert Discovery Day on November 16, 2013 at the beautiful Jewel of the Creek Preserve. With a focus on children and families, this free event allowed nearly 500 people to explore the preserve, learn about local natural and cultural history, and visit discovery stations to learn about the incredible Sonoran Desert. Supported by partner organizations, dozens of volunteers, and generous donors like you, the event allows us to share land conservation with a broad audience.

 

18th Annual Sonoran Stars

Photo by Jon Klas.

For the first time in the history

of the event, we relocated Sonoran Stars to the beautiful equestrian facility of Los Cedros USA in Scottsdale. The event included a dinner, live and silent auction, horse show and live music, and raised more than $170,000 for our conservation mission!  Save the date for the next Sonoran Stars - April 26, 2014! 

 

Mountains of the Land Trust Photo Contest

1st place (professional photographers' choice) by Bob Hughes.

Following the North Country Conservancy merger, the Land Trust was pleased to incorporate both Daisy Mountain and Black Mountain as the focal points of our photo contest.The photo contest and the public Peoples' Choice Award voting allow us to share our conservation work with a new and diverse audience. See the story at right for the full list of winners! 

Please donate now to help us continue this

land protection work in 2014. Thank you!  

Upcoming events and preserve tours

Saturday, January 18, 9:00 am, New River Nature Reserve Tour.

Click for details and online registration.

Saturday, January 25, 9:00 am, Preserve at the Cave Tour.

Click for details and online registration.

Saturday, February 15, 9:00 am, Preserve at the Cave Tour.

Click for details and online registration.

Saturday, February 22, 9:00 am, H.B. Wallace Preserve at Lone Mountain Tour.

Click for details and online registration.

Saturday, March 1, Hike at Jewel of the Creek Preserve for the Spur Cross Archaeology Expo, time TBD.

Saturday March 29,

9 am - 5 pm and

Sunday March 30,

9 am - 4 pm, info booth at Arizona Game & Fish Outdoor Expo.

Saturday, April 19, 9:00 am, Preserve at the Cave Tour.

Click for details and online registration.

All Land Trust hikes are free, but space is limited and reservations are required. Many hikes fill up, so register soon!

The Land Trust is also scheduling natural and cultural history training sessions on Saturday mornings in the spring - look for details soon! 

Mountains of the Land Trust Photo Contest Winners

* 1st Place: Bob Hughes

* 2nd Place: Jay Chatzkel

* 3rd Place: Michelle Nicholas

* 1st Place (under 18 years old): Deanna Bailey (age 16)

The other finalists were: Thomas Baker, Mike Burns, Mark Carroll, Michael Graham, Herbert Hitchon, Americo Longo, Jeremy Manganelli (age 13) and Andreas Schmalz.

Thank you to all who entered and contributed to the success of the contest! You can find more information on our website.

We'll begin collecting entries for the 2014 contest in late summer, but you can take your photos all year long!

Quick Links

Desert Foothills Land Trust (www.dflt.org)

  

 Become a Land Trust VOLUNTEER!

  

Archived e-newsletters are  available here!   

 

Click here for Part 2