Desert Flowers

Despite the recent bouts of cold, windy weather, the flowers are in full swing.  Come walking with us.

A variety of delphinium, which has been more abundant this year than I recall in past years.  Delphinium is poisonous to livestock.

 

Some people don't like the desert dandelion, but the way it carpets the desert floor makes it a favorite of mine.  It also smells good.

Mohave Asters.

Esteve's pincushion.

Fall in the desert

We had a cool spell over the weekend. We experienced the coldest temperatures since last spring, where the highs were only in the 50's, and a cold wind was blowing. It still gets much cooler at night now, but the temperatures during the day have gone back up to the 70's. I am much happier with the warmer temperatures, since I am a cold blooded lizard who needs a warm rock in the sun to sit upon!!! However, this is a sign that winter comes, even to the desert.

I don't have much to tell you. The mornings have been beautiful, as you can see in the above photo. The dirt road is one I run with the dog quite often in the morning. What a wonderful time to be out! Enjoy your day, everyone. Hopefully, tomorrow will have some more interesting thoughts.

I am putting final touches on the house and art for this weekend! It's approaching quickly - Art Tours 2008! Stop in if you live nearby - I'd love to see you and feed you some munchies. I'm number 44 on the tour.

More desert delights

Another hot and sweaty day in the beautiful spring desert sunshine. We went for a long hike this morning with Marti and her two dogs. After a bit of lunch, I went out to plant some more perennials in the front yard. The courtyard is becoming a rock garden, but I am enjoying the process. The flowers add a lot for me. Pictures, soon, I swear! I got too hot to finish today, plus I think I was a bit worn out from the hike. Matthias had some errands to run, and I nearly went with him. I am glad I stayed home.

After I got overheated outside, I came in and did a bit of watercolor painting. These are all quite small, and I am not pushing myself too hard. I want them to be playful and airy. It will be another couple of days before I post more of them. (I know, all of this teasing. I'm sorry!)

Instead of other things, you are getting even MORE flower shots, today. I am also including photos of some of the other denizens of the desert. A lizard, who was feeling particularly brave, and a king snake (not harmful - to humans, anyway).
I promise if you stick with me, you will see other photos soon. PROMISE!!!

The trashed desert

It was another warm, beautiful day in the high desert. Pono and I went for a long walk this morning. Our walk prompted me to write some more about illegal dumping in the desert. It is so prevalent here, and it amazes me. There are many things in life that cause me to feel perplexed, it is true. However, this dumping of trash in the desert gets me more and more each day I am out walking and I run into it. (which is pretty much every day.) I mean, help me out here, what causes someone to wake up one morning and think "I am going to take my old clothes, a pile of dirty baby diapers, and a refrigerator and dump them on someone else's property today." I mean, REALLY!!!

I do understand that it costs money to take things to the dump. I do. Maybe the solution is to set up a fund, where people like me, who hate to see trash out on raw land, can contribute money for those people who can't afford to pay for the dump to take their discards. Do you think that would work? Would any of you contribute money to something like that?

The things I have seen in these piles of trash. I examine them with a combination of fascination and disgust. I often wonder if I will find some "treasure" - something only an artist could find useful. Occassionally, I do find treasures. I found a bucket the other day. It doesn't have any holes or anything. I also find a lot of cool rusty things, which are fun to collage onto things, and sometimes just to look at. I also found this collection of broken glass, and took a photo of myself looking into it. Things like that. But then I run across the occassional dirty diaper or something equally icky, and I have to walk away.

Sometimes I make a point to look up, and focus my gaze on something beautiful, and trash free. Just don't move your gaze down, because there is the reminder of the piles once more. Darnnit.

In other news, spell check doesn't seem to be working in blogger tonight for some reason. I know I have some errors here, but I have to pick Matthias up at the airport at 1 am, and I want to try to sleep a little before hand. So please excuse the spelling! It is not my style, usually. I am happy that soon my husband will be home once more. It has been 2 1/2 weeks! Too long!

One last little gem on today's trash post:

Yes, I do see the little puddle there, but ummmm....this boat isn't going to float here, folks.

Super Wind

It surprises me that I haven't posted anything in almost a week. Perhaps it is because I write so many posts in my head, and I mistake those posts for actual posts. You may find this hard to believe, but I am so addicted to my blog, that as my day progresses, I narrate the events, as though I were writing this blog. Is this a sign that I have been sniffing too many paint fumes?

Yesterday, we experienced what my husband calls "super wind". It was incredible wind! Going outside was like walking in front of a sand blaster. My trash can (which is quite big and heavy, even empty) ended up on the other side of the house with the trash scattered all over. I didn't enjoy going out into the sand blaster to pick up trash, but I did it. Pono, the dog who hates disturbances, hid in the laundry room and when I went in there to hug him, pet him and tell him it was okay, he shivered. Poor doggie. Even the water in my toilets was moving around!!! I'm not kidding about that, either! We were supposed to get rain, but there was so much wind, I think it blew the rain away. We only got a smattering, which was hard to discern from the blowing sand. I did get this photo of what a weed does, when blown hard all day.

We adopted Mr. Pono when he was about 4 or 5 months old, and we don't really know exactly when his birthday is. So we decided just to assign him a birthdate, and I chose Valentines Day. You know his birthday must be getting close, because the water board is putting in new pipes all along our street, and last week they put in a brand new, for Pono's birthday FIRE HYDRANT. RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE!!! How exciting is that!?!? It is still wrapped in black plastic, but Pono is anxiously awaiting the unveiling. Wasn't it nice of Joshua Tree to give Pono such a special birthday gift??


I did paint pretty much all weekend, but I don't have any photos for you. I guess nothing was exciting enough to take a photo of. I promise I will take some photos soon.

Sewing and the storm

I have been busy with my new sewing machine. I am sure this is going to take me some time to figure out. I have been working on a creative project with it. I needed a break from hemming pants. I am not done with the creative thing, so you have to wait a bit! I will share some photos of the crooked project, but not until my vision has been realized. Sorry to make you wait. All good things take time. (is that how the saying goes?)

In the meantime, I have a photo of a venus flytrap for you. My mother-in-law generously bestowed it upon me, when she saw how intrigued I was with it. Now it sits on the windowsill in my oh-so-organized studio. If anyone can give me advice on how to keep it alive, I would greatly appreciate it. I mean, do I have to feed it flies or anything??? It's cool, anyway.

We did get a bit of rain, about two nights ago. Since then, there has been only wind, and lots of it. Not my favorite. Oh well. The color of the sky, and the quality of the light has made up for it. Here it is.

Curiosity and the Coyotes

There are quite a few coyotes here in the high desert. Yesterday, Pono and I seemed to be surrounded by them. While I was brushing my teeth in the morning, before our walk, there were two coyotes running across our property. I know this, because Pono was barking like crazy. He rarely barks, so when I hear him bark, I always have to go and check it out. He was standing on his hind feet, with a front paw on the window sill, looking avidly out the window. There they were, casually galloping along. I could see why Pono seemed so bent out of shape, since those two coyotes acted like it was their yard, and not his. (Which I am sure, not long ago, it probably was!)

We then got in the car and drove to one of our favorite hiking spots. A white car had turned onto the dirt road ahead of us. After about a minute or two on the dirt road, I saw a coyote enter the road behind the white car. The coyote ran after the car, just like I have seen dogs do when they chase cars. It was a strange sight, seeing this coyote chasing a car. While this coyote was still following the white car, another coyote crossed in front of us, but this one did not follow its friend down the road behind the car. After a time, the white car turned off, and the coyote went on its way.

Pono and I proceeded to our usual parking spot. It seemed coyote-free, so we went ahead on our walk. When we were finished with our walk, driving back on the dirt road, there were the two coyotes once again. Lingering along the edge of the road, they slowly and leisurely got out of our way. I was able to stop the car, roll down the window, and snap a couple of photos. That is, until Pono couldn't stand it anymore, crawled into my lap and tried to jump out the window to chase the two renegades. That was pretty much the end of the photo shoot. The two coyotes seemed just as curious about us as we were about them. They showed no fear, even though I know they could smell Pono.

I suppose the photos would be much better with a regular camera, but all I had with me was my tiny little digital camera, which I take with me everywhere. At least you get an idea.

I'm no expert, but this second coyote looked like it might be pregnant - compared to the other one, it did have a pretty poufy tummy.

Steamed vegetables and a workout buddy

Sometimes, you just want something healthy. Tonight was one of those nights. I just had a plate of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. YUM. I feel so healthy. I wonder, does this cancel out the 3 cookies I ate earlier today? hmmm....

I am still wanting to get into the studio, but when you look into the refrigerator, and see there is no food, you realize that the paintings must wait. How inconvenient to have to shop for food when you want to apply paint to canvas!!! sheesh. Now I know why Picasso had so many women. They had to take care of the every day errands. I could really use a housewife.

I think it takes a while to catch up with life when you have been away for too long. There were so many errands to run today, and I am still not finished with them. Plus, I have all my Christmas shopping to do. I actually did get a bit done today, which is helpful. Maybe I will simply skip over the Christmas present idea, and try for New Year's presents and cards, instead.

I did manage to be outside with the dog. Having a dog will certainly help if you are looking for a workout buddy. Pono is accustomed to getting a walk first thing in the morning. So if I am trying to sleep in, or just be lazy in bed, I have this really hard to ignore whining and pawing that gets me up every time. It's like having a snooze alarm that won't turn off. The paw whomps me in the face - I whomp back - and then the paw comes again, followed by a whining and extremely wet tongue. A gym membership will never come with this kind of motivation. Again, this afternoon, while I was trying to work on the computer, a wet, cold nose poked me in the arm, and a whine told me that I needed to get up and throw a ball!

What I am enjoying lately about the high desert are the rocks. Don't you love them? I took these photos yesterday, when Matthias and I hiked nearby. It has been clear and beautiful here, although I will admit, I didn't expect it to be as cold as it is. It freezes (or close to it) at night, and it is usually about 50 degrees or so during the day. Not bad, but I was hoping for 60 or 70!!! I know, I know, I'm a wimp.

New watercolor listed on etsy, today! Take a peek.

After Thanks and eating

I enjoy having one entire day to be thankful. I am almost getting to the point where the eating part is something I could skip entirely. I like to eat as much as the next girl, but that whole turkey dinner thing is WAY OVERKILL. Maybe I am the only one who feels this way.

Anyway, my in-laws are here, and so we have been having fun. Yesterday, we climbed onto the roof to get our swamp cooler ready for cold weather. It was fun up there, since you can see really far. I also got some nice shadow shots. Here is one with me, and I have long legs. That is probably the main thing I love about my shadow: I look tall with long legs!!! As a short person, that is something new and exciting. The sun was setting, so I also took some photos of the desert landscape with the shadows of dusk. Isn't it beautiful? I find that I am still adjusting to our new environs, but I do love the colors here.


Here is a shot of the four of us, plus dog, in front of our beautiful desert home.
I think this is my new favorite kind of family portrait.

This morning, on the walk with Pono, the dog had another close encounter with the dreaded cholla. This time, he got a few on his lips, a few in his foot, and one in the roof of his mouth. We now know it takes FOUR people to get ONE thorn out of the inside of Pono's mouth. He is an amazingly strong dog. My friend's dog had cholla thorns in his mouth - even in his tongue - and she and I were able to get nearly all of them out with just the two of us. Her dog also outweighs Pono by about ten pounds. I guess Pono is just not as well trained or something. I am trying to teach Pono that we can get those cactus thorns out better than he can, but he doesn't believe me. If only I could speak "dog"! I hope that he will learn to avoid them entirely soon. Even if I am becoming a pro with the tweezers.

Here is the shameless promotion part: I have listed some new art on my etsy site today, including this watercolor. For some easy Christmas shopping, please do stop by! This is shopping with no crowds, no parking, and no grumpy sales people!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all of you!

The hunt for a house

Sorry about the long silence, everyone. I was in the Coachella Valley and Yucca Valley (California) with Matthias all week, looking for a new home. It was an exhausting search, and after looking at way too many properties, we still have not found a new house. We have decided to rent! We didn't find a rental house, either, but we figured we could probably do that over the internet, sight unseen. As long as we can find a house that we can rent for a short time, that is. It's a long story.

I met Matthias in Phoenix, AZ last Tuesday. We had one of our cars there, and we needed to get it to Palm Springs. So after spending some time with some friends, we got in the car and drove the 4 hours. More accurately, I drove while Matthias slept. He had just gotten back from Hong Kong, had been up for way too many days/hours in row, and needed to rest. I enjoyed the sight of the saguaro cactus along the way.

We spent the next day in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree (which is only about 5 minutes from Yucca Valley), driving around, getting a feeling for that area. What I like about that area, versus Palm Springs, is that it is about 3,000 feet higher, and therefore, about 9 or 10 degrees cooler. I think that might be a good thing. It is also more affordable than Palm Springs. The disadvantage is that it is further away from the primary shopping and action of Palm Springs. So it is somewhat isolated. That wouldn't be a new thing for us, so I don't necessarily see too much of a disadvantage there. I love the area, in terms of its ruggedness and beauty. I also found out from the realtor there that Bev Doolittle has a house in the area. How interesting is that?!? For some reason, I always pictured Bev Doolittle living in Wyoming or Montana or someplace like that. Don't ask me why.

Anyway, we spent a couple of days looking in the Palm Springs area for houses, and did look at properties in Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree, as well. Despite our best efforts, and the help of the two Realtors we had working with us there, the perfect house just didn't show itself to us. I must say, coming from Colorado, the housing market in California is a shock to the pocketbook. !!! The one house that seems to have left a mark in my brain was the one with the most beautiful backyard. I loved that backyard, but the house was less than noteworthy. We aren't going to buy a house for just the backyard!!! Pools are so inviting when it's 100 degrees F outside...

Our Salida house closes on June 15th, so I will be focusing on packing and saying good bye to little Salida. Hopefully, some art will be squeezed in soon. When I do have some new art to show, you will be the first ones to see it, as always!