Monday walk…in Joshua Tree

On the way back from California, I decided to detour through Joshua Tree National Park in hopes of seeing spring scenes. Coming in from the north or northwest, I could immediately see the Joshua Trees that give the park its name. These trees that could have sprung from the mind and pen of Dr. Seuss are part of the agave family, a rather large family encompassing a wide variety of plant appearances. Despite its funky look, the tree parts are useful. Native tribes made the tough leaves into baskets and sandals and ate the flower buds and raw or roasted seeds.

“The desert is so huge, and the horizon so distant, that the make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent.” ~Paulo Coelho

A wealthy California woman, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt’s vision and perseverance in conserving desert habitats lead to the setting aside of 795,156 acres or 3,218 square kilometers, first designated as a National Monument and then a National Park. I’d say it’s a national treasure.

“Water, water, water… There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount…unless you try to establish a city where no city should be.” ~Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

There are an unfathomable number of trees in the northern part of the park, reminding me of photos of the African savannas, albeit with Joshua “trees” instead of the trees found in Africa. Standing each in solitary splendor rather than close together as do the trees in a forest, they stretch as far as the eye can see.

“Noontime here is like a drug. The light is psychedelic, the dry electric air narcotic. To me the desert is stimulating, exciting, exacting” ~Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Reproduction of Joshua trees is anything but simple.

Spring rains may bring clusters of white-green flowers on long stalks at branch tips. Like all desert blooms, Joshua trees depend on just the perfect conditions: well-timed rains, and for the Joshua tree, a crisp winter freeze. Researchers believe that freezing temperatures may damage the growing end of a branch and stimulate flowering, followed by branching. You may notice some Joshua trees grow like straight stalks; these trees have never bloomed—which is why they are branchless! In addition to ideal weather, the pollination of flowers requires a visit from the yucca moth. The moth collects pollen while laying her eggs inside the flower ovary. As seeds develop and mature, the eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the seeds. The tree relies on the moth for pollination and the moth relies on the tree for a few seeds for her young—a happy symbiosis. The Joshua tree is also capable of sprouting from roots and branches. Being able to reproduce vegetatively allows a much quicker recovery after damaging floods or fires, which may kill the main tree.

Many birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects depend on the Joshua tree for food and shelter. Keep your eyes open for the yellow and black flash of a Scott’s oriole busy making a nest in a yucca’s branches. At the base of rocks you may find a wood rat nest built with spiny yucca leaves for protection. As evening falls, the desert night lizard begins poking around under the log of a fallen Joshua tree in search of tasty insects. ~from the park website

Tell me this doesn’t look like a giant artichoke!

However as the bloom progresses, it looks for all the world like some sort of alien creature best left well alone.

“If you spend enough time in the desert, you will hear it speak.” ~Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death

Eventually though, it looks much more attractive. Not all the trees were in bloom but there were enough to look good. My goal was to find one that was small enough that I could a) get a good photo of the bloom at its artichoke beginning and b) get a decent photo of the mature bloom. The problem for the former was not only finding a tree that was small enough but that was in a location where I could pull over enough to be off the road.

“But in the desert, in the pure clean atmosphere, in the silence – there you can find yourself. And unless you begin to know yourself, how can you even begin to search for God?” ~Father Dioscuros

I admit I did much more driving than walking because I wanted to get home that evening. I made stop after stop for photos (oh, did I wish I’d taken my Nikon for that short California weekend) and just to enjoy the amazing scenery. We’ll have to plan a trip where we stay near the park for a few days, taking time to hike and explore. But as you’ll see over the next days, the three hours were hours well spent in soul-refreshing beauty.

Jo’s Monday Walk 3.26.23

Lens Artists Challenge #236: East Meets West or North Meets South

East Meets West or North Meets South are the two choices Amy offers us this week for the Lens-Artists Challenge. I say “Game on!”

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In this first set of photos they meet, even though the sunrise is in Arizona, the sunset in France. Sunrise is my time of day, the filling of my heart to meet whatever might come. Sunset allows for thinking back on the day, planning for the next, slowing down for the upcoming night. Sunrise is an inhale; sunset an exhale…sunrise a drawing in; sunset a letting go.

Okonomiyaki is one of the most delicious ways East can meet West, the capital letter East and West! When our younger daughter studied Japanese, we were introduced to this easy to eat but-hard-to-spell-or-pronounce dish which I was thrilled to find in Chicago at Little Goat Diner. I went with a co-worker from the place I was working as well as the owner. We tried each other’s choices and it was 3 of 3 voting for my okonomiyake, which was absolutely fantastic. From the menu:

Okonomiyaki (Pronounced Yum)* Osaka street food with pork belly, scallions, poached egg, kewpie mayo, crunchy tempura & bonito flakes, sweet soy

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “how you like” or “what you like” or “favorite,” and yaki meaning “grill.”  ~ The Spruce Eats

North and south in my life are full of contrasts. My heart’s home lives in the mountains of Wyoming. I’ve described it as if my life were a puzzle missing just one piece. It looks just fine and presents a beautiful picture but when that one little piece is found and popped into place, it’s whole. I can live and live well without going to our Wyoming cabin, but it’s the little missing piece that fulfills me.

“We are now in the mountains and they are in us, kindling enthusiasm, making every nerve quiver, filling every pore and cell of us.”
― John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra

Yet our Arizona home, so different, is also filled with beauty, ready to embrace us, albeit with rather prickly arms. To feel at home in such opposite places is truly a blessing

“The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life forms. Love flowers best in openness and freedom.” ~Edward Abbey

And of course there’s the contrast everyone thinks of when thinking of north and south: cold and heat. “Aren’t you glad to be away from winter?” people say to which I reply, “I actually miss winter.” Snowbirds (of the human sort) fly north in the summer to escape the heat, then return to the south when winter arrives. The seasons in each place are opposite: summer in the south is like winter in the north, the season that people try to avoid. Although I can’t say I’m a fan of 115 degree Fahrenheit temperatures and I do miss the winter, the contrast makes me appreciate each more. What’s not to like about that?

Although all sorts of metaphors could be drawn from these meetings and contrasts, the thought I would like you to take away is that differences are often what make life (and people) interesting. Don’t just stay in your same place, your comfort zone. Find beauty and joy in other, contrasting places and your life will be much richer.

Monday walk…Chihuly-less

As I pointed out in an earlier post, there’s a lot more to the Desert Botanical Garden that the Chihuly installation, stunning as it is. Let’s walk a bit looking at what the desert has to offer. You did notice that it’s the Desert Botanical Garden, not the Chihuly Botanical Garden. I thought you did.

Cacti aren’t just thorns. Many of them have beautiful flowers in season as well. But you might want to avoid trying to pick them or do so with the utmost care. Of course here you shouldn’t pick at all!

Before you ask, no, I don’t know what this is. But if you do, feel free to let us all know. (Yes, I’m too lazy/too busy to try to look it up online.)

Humans aren’t the only ones enjoy the Garden, although this butterfly appears to be attempting to pass as a flower.

Another Seussian sighting? I’m pretty sure this might be Thing 1…or maybe Thing 2. Who can tell them apart??

We ❤ the Desert Botanical Garden and it must be “Mutual, I’m sure.” (Hint: “White Christmas.)

That’s our walk for today. Thanks for coming along to see just a tiny, tiny bit of what the desert has to offer. Sorry I don’t have any dessert for you, but I did have desert–so close! 🙂

That bloomin’ desert!

I promised you more of the Desert Botanical Gardens and I aim to keep that promise. If Jo’s walking today, this is my walk for her. Although the desert is mostly about cacti (the plural of cactus), and cacti have beautiful flowers, if there’s enough water and the temperature is right, you can get other flowers as well. Outback Steakhouse has their Bloomin’ Onion, but the bloomin’ desert is prettier and has way less calories!!

Although flowers can get up close and personal with cacti, I suggest you keep a respectful distance and always watch where you walk. Here you just have to stay on the path, but if you’re elsewhere, keep your eyes open. As it warms up, you always have to watch for rattlesnakes, not here probably but elsewhere. My husband’s seen several on the path along the canal where he rides his bike. I, fortunately, have yet to have that wonderful experience. I can wait.

We weren’t the only ones appreciating the flowers. The netting’s in place as protection from birds and critters of various kinds who might wish to express their appreciation for what they consider edible flowers and plants in a more destructive way.

It was wonderful to see all the color, but just all the green, whatever its source, was a joy as well. To have both was perfect.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #141: Geometry…at home with shapes

Patti has asked us to find shapes this week. I’m sticking close to home for mine, as all are taken in our house or yard. I always enjoyed geometry; in fact I enjoyed math, because everything was logical. Just call me Spock. 🙂 I enjoyed math until I got to trigonometry, at which time I realized that unless I went into math, I probably wouldn’t have any use for it, even for figuring out the width of a creek from the shadow of a tree.

We’ll start with an edible shape, one cherry tomato from my patio plant, sharing shapes with part of our patio table (not edible.)

A shapely part of an aloe plant.

Cacti are made for geometry!

Some early morning geometry, courtesy of the sun and blinds.

Although there aren’t innumerable leaves here as there were in the Midwest, we still get some.

Thus endeth today’s geometry lesson. There will be no quiz and it’s pass-fail, so happy weekend!

Spring green

This is what spring green looks like in Arizona, specifically at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Probably not what spring looks like where you live.

for Life in Colour: green

Monday walk: Desert Botanical Gardens…visitors

For my birthday, we visited the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, a marvelous slice of desert life, past and present. The last time I visited was in 2014 when Dale Chihuly set up a marvelous installation. My sister-in-law and I arrived in the late afternoon, walked all the paths, then revisit after dark when everything was illuminated. It was magical! (And I did blog about it if you want to search.)

This day was just an “ordinary” day if there is such a thing there: a scheduled appointment, masks, and a somewhat limited crowd (although there were more than enough visitors for me.) When you arrive this is the first thing you see, the only leftover from the Chihuly exhibit.

Before setting out, let’s take a look at some of the inhabitants. Pollinators are some of my favorites.

Camouflage is even more of an asset when there are less places to hide.

There weren’t any butterflies around but I look forward to seeing some during our next visit.

I’m always happy to see bees.

Hopefully I’ve whet your appetite to see more of the visit. But for now, happy Monday.

for Jo’s Monday Walk

Wordless Wednesday…desert camo

Water, trees, and a vermilion flycatcher

In the desert, it’s all about the sun, but two things can mitigate against it: trees and shade. Best of all is if the two are found together, the way we found them at Sweetwater Wetlands.

As we walked along the path, if we stepped down a few inches closer to the cattails, the temperature dropped dramatically. It was a fascinating phenomenon and a welcome one where it was already hot at 8:30 in the morning.

Just the appearance of water can make you feel cooler and more relaxed. For birds, insects, and other animals, it can be the difference between life and death. Of course, it’s the same for humans, although you wouldn’t want to drink the reclaimed water at the Wetlands.

Storm watching

Ever since we got married (36 years ago next month), we’ve been driving the same route to Wyoming, whether from Cleveland’s east side or Chicago’s southwest side. This year, except for the last 30 miles or so, it was new territory. I’d planned to get up at 4 am, but woke earlier, heading out in the dark to cover just under 700 miles, a trip that would take over 10 hours. I don’t stop much with a goal of gas/bathroom stops coinciding. I had food packed, tea in my Contigo thermal cups, plenty of snacks, and the wonderful BBC radio “Lord of the Rings” production for the CD player. Incidentally, that recording has made the trip with us for almost all those years, first on tape, now on CD.

I didn’t see much scenery the first several hours, the sky only lightening around 5:30 am. I saw where a wildfire had devastated acres and acres and then it was through the White Mountains, onto I-40 (paralleling or overlapping with historic Rt. 66 in many place, and to Albuquerque, where my route turned north towards Raton, New Mexico just south of the Colorado border where I’d stay overnight.

Rain in this part of the country and at this time of year is scarce. We’ve been in Arizona since the end of March and have experienced only a couple “showers”, in quotes because there often not enough to measure. But past Santa Fe near Wagon Mound, there was more than the promise of rain, although most of it was to the west of me. It looked wonderful!

I could see the rain coming down in the distance. All these shots were taken with my iPhone while driving BUT with one hand firmly on the wheel and eyes on the road. It gives point-and-shoot a whole new meaning and also means lots of deleted shots when I finally stop, but I often get some good ones, too.