Parry's Nolina

When my friends from Colorado were here visiting about a week ago, we had a chance to go to Joshua Tree National Park and hike around. You would think that since we live 5 minutes from the entrance of the Park, we would go there all the time. Funny how that is not the case at all. We seem to only go there when we have visitors. Even though the wind was cold that day, we still had fun.



One of the most exciting parts of our day for me was when we saw that the Parry's Nolina were beginning to bloom. This member of the Lily Family is another thing that I had never seen before we moved to the high desert of Southern California. Some of the specimens we encountered in the park were the largest I have seen yet. This one made me think of an old man, hunched over by age.



I am sad to tell you that I don't think the Joshua Trees will bloom this year. I am now feeling thankful that I took so many photographs of them in bloom last year!!! Here is one, just for nostalgia's sake. This photo was taken near Darwin, California last year.



I must get back into the studio now. I have been experimenting with some new techniques. It is often difficult to break oneself of old ways of approaching a painting. Having said that, I also recognize that when you do things the same way, you will get the same results. To attain NEW results, you must get brave and do things differently. I want new results, so I am willing to stretch myself. It is not without frustration, but I know it will pay off. At least, I hope it will. At the moment, I am feeling a little discouraged. Good thing I am stubborn, or I would already be reverting to my old techniques!

Thanks for stopping by!