Joshua Trees in Bloom

More from our camping trip:  Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) in various stages of bloom. They are quite beautiful up close; so dense and fleshy compared to the dry, spiky nature of the tree itself.

the well-protected bud

(photo by Chris Ervin)

the full bloom

"One time I saw a tiny Joshua tree sapling growing not too far from the old tree. I wanted to dig it up and replant it near our house. I told Mom that I would protect it from the wind and water it every day so that it could grow nice and tall and straight. Mom frowned at me. 'You'd be destroying what makes it special,' she said. 'It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty.'"

~ Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle)

A Different Kind of Easter Lily

One of our "missions" on our camping trip in the East Mojave during the weekend of March 20-21 was to see if we could find desert lilies (Hesperocallis undulata) in bloom. Someone had reported them blooming in Anza-Borrego, so we hoped the conditions might be right in the East Mojave as well. We found many with buds, but no blooms—until we happened upon a south-facing sandy slope. There we found a few with full blossoms open and many more coming soon. It really is a treat to run across such a lush "garden" in an otherwise arid land.

Lined up, waiting to bloom...

A closeup of the bud (photo by my husband)...

When you have only two pennies left in the world,

buy a loaf of bread with one,

and a lily with the other.

~ Chinese Proverb

Serendipity

During the holidays we spent time with family in Mammoth Lakes. We enjoyed crisp blue-sky days with chilly but reasonable temperatures, and one partial day of snow flurries. On our day of departure, we headed out just before sunrise. As we dropped down into Round Valley outside Bishop, the view before us was even more breathtaking than usual. The snow-covered mountains were washed with the blue light of morning. We didn't have time to stop for photos, so I started shooting from the car. Snapping away at 70+ mph through a not-so-clean window, I never know what kind of blurry images I'm going to end up with, but this day proved to contain some magic. These are two I ended up with. Photos never quite fully capture your experience of a moment in time, but these certainly come close considering the circumstances. We ended our trip with one of those hush-inducing scenes that you happen upon only when you are least expecting it.

Mount Tom and Round Valley

Sierra crest outside Bishop

Sometimes I do get to places
just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter.
~ Ansel Adams

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

dried ocotillo blooms

As promised, here are photos from our weekend camping trip in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (in Coyote Canyon, for those who might know the area).  I'm including a handful of my favorites and you can see more in the slideshow below.  I enjoyed the cacti and other plants, as they differ from what we are used to in the east Mojave desert.  I have always loved ocotillo, but this is the first time I've ever seen them up close.

ocotillo

As you can see, we had amazing weather; absolutely clear, mid-80s during the day and mid-50s at night, and an occasional,just-right light breeze.  The sky was an unbelievably deep blue.  We were serenaded by an owl as we lay in our cozy tent to go to sleep, and the desert was aglow all night from the light of the nearly-full moon.  I serendipitously awoke at 4:30am to witness it slip silently behind the hills.  Simply magical.

buckwheat

(not sure what this is?)

And more...



(I apologize if there are any issues with this slideshow - experimenting with Flickr)

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Cactus Monday

We went camping in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park over the weekend, so I'm sharing this cholla with its appropriate bit of spider web decoration for Halloween. As the deep blue sky (not Photoshopped) indicates, we had absolutely gorgeous weather, and the almost-full moon was spectacular. I'm hoping to find the time to share more photos later in the week. In the meantime, Happy Cactus Monday, everyone! Visit Teri's Painted Daisies for more cactus beauty.

A wisp of gossamer, about the size and substance of a spider's web.

~ Monica Baldwin

Vacation in the Sierra Nevada

I've been astonishingly busy with mundane things since coming home from my mini-vacation. I have finally managed to pull a few photos to share. This trip was mostly about my dog Rusty. Since he has cancer and only a limited amount of time left on this planet, I decided he needed some time in the mountains. Even though I haven't lived there for years, the Sierras are still the place I feel most at home and at peace. And what better place for a dog to enjoy hiking, canoeing, wading, rock climbing? It had been too long since we'd had the opportunity for such things. All of us benefitted from the fresh air, cool, crisp water, brief rainstorms, and lazy afternoons with the sound of aspens in the breeze...

Lake Mary, Mammoth Lakes, California

Stump & Roots, Lake Mary

Twin Lakes, Mammoth Lakes, California

Serene Lake, Rock Creek Canyon

Serene Lake, Rock Creek Canyon

"I want that piece of bark, but I don't want to get wet..."

"I can almost taste it!"

"Mommy, this is rather nice..."

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
~ John Muir

The Land of Enchantment

My husband and I had the extreme pleasure of traveling to New Mexico to spend the Christmas holiday in Taos. I had wanted to go somewhere "wintery" and I certainly got my wish. We had snowy days and bright, sunny, below-freezing days - and all of it was perfect. Naturally, we packed as much into our time there as possible, visitng art galleries and seeing the sights in both Taos and the surrounding areas. Because I faced a crisis with an ailing dog for a couple weeks in January, I'm still working on getting some of my photos ready to put on my Zazzle site, but in the meantime I thought I could post the slideshow we created to share our journey with family and friends.

The Stunning Sierra Nevada

My husband and I backpacked up to Mt. Whitney last week. We've done it before (4 times for him, 2 times for me), but it never ceases to be an awe-inspiring trip. We take four days to do it so that we can truly enjoy ourselves.

Two of my favorite photos are the sunset and sunrise we experienced at Trail Camp. The trail to the summit of Whitney winds along the back side of the ridgeline in these shots - Whitney itself is the right-most peak in the first one.