Backwoods Babble

A few days ago my mom and meandered through our favorite wildflower looking loop.  It took us past Badwater in Death Valley, but sadly there were not any flowers in the park yet, at least nothing to get excited about and actually stop the car for.  There were a few little beginnings, and LOADS of creosote is in bloom already, so I am hopeful that we should have a decent bloom this year.  We also have had alot of rain (for here anyway) and it seems to have arrived at the right time, so fingers crossed that we start to see more and more. On our loop home, we did find several lovely spots to pull over and take some shots and even saw some of the Desert Five Spots, which are one of my favorite flowers. The cactus are also on the very beginning of blooming and we saw evidence of alot of blooms just ready to burst.  THAT is going to be amazing and I hope I am able to get out and snap more of them over the new few weeks. I am also looking forward to more clusters along the roads like th

This last weekend I went to a free workshop about the medicinal and edible foods in the Mojave Desert.  It sounded great, but I was disappointed that some of the information was just wrong.  I think my recent Anthropology classes may have ruined these presentations for me for ever.  I just kept hearing my professor in my head saying, "WHAT!?!?!?"  Total bummer. Maybe I can figure out how to turn that voice off the next time around? The presenter was nice and enthusiastic (though she did mention several times that this was her first presentation which kind of turned me off as well).  So, I couldn't say that I would go again without finding out more about who will be giving the presentation the next time around.  And, it was so windy that I didn't really get any good pictures - uber bummer! I also discovered this weekend that I am definitely not a desert rat.  Sunburned in about a half hour, with ridiculous quantities of sunscreen AND not mostly in the shade, sigh.

Is there too much on my plate? One can never have enough olives right? I've been on this journey this year to try and simplify and de-clutter and focus on the things I love the most, but I wonder if perhaps I have tried to put too much on my plate and that it is contributing to my lack of motivation. I saw the title to this post   at the blog, Life as a Mom, and it asked me, "Are You Putting Too Much on Your Plate?" and it made me stop and ask myself, "Am I? I don't know.  Maybe I am." I do have a lot of activities.  I am a full-time student and part-time Math tutor.  I have a garden and alot of other interests.  I am going to be in my first art show soon.  And, I never seem to have enough time to pursue them all.  So, perhaps I need to think about a new plan, and focus on fewer things. But... But... Yeah, it's not going to be pretty. Some random thoughts before my weekend adventures.  This weekend, I'm off to a workshop on edible foods o

Today, as I started reading through a few posts of people I follow, I noticed a theme, it's beginning to look alot like spring!  And, those who are not yet lucky enough to see the little blossoms peeking out from leaves and sprouting out of gardens seem to be longing for their own signs. Spring time in the desert is my favorite time of year.  We turn off the heat, open the windows and I start sneezing, but I don't care.  There is nothing I love more than fresh air wafting through an open window.  Well, except fresh air wafting through an open window carrying the salty smell of the ocean, but that is a completely different dream.   I have been posting daily pictures for several days on my Instagram feed (it's over there on the right).  The daily changes in the garden and the backyard are so amazing.  I have been noticing the quail are starting to search for nest sites, and cannot wait to see the gazillions of quail babies and the chaos that comes with them in the backya

Remember this!? Well, I do... And, let me say, my space is a disaaaaaaaaaaaster.  I cannot wait for Spring Break! I ended up dropping a class this semester because I was completely unrealistic in how many semester credit hours I could handle while still managing to sleep, eat and oh yeah breathe.   Getting back on track since then has been crazier than I thought it would be.  I am not doing anything creative, and as a result, I'm kind of a mean and cranky beast.  Here's to remembering what the important things are and getting some sleep!  Hope you are all doing well!