Plantas Y Maderas - Garden Benches

Video from the munchkins sent your way with love.
I can't begin to tell you how proud I am to be your daughter
What ever you're doing...keep it up!  Lookin' Good!  As you say, 72 is just a number, and You Wear It Well.   We ALL love you Poopa!  Happy Birthday

Where do I start?...
We got an unexpected rainfall friday ..it was beautiful!  Early morning walk saw the lightning in the clouds from a far, but didn't expect the 1/2 plus inch we received...epic.  The plants are happy, the desert is thriving after the last rains...it's beautiful.

My almost 6 year old son Fort and I had a heart to heart conversation several mornings ago....Mom?  yes Fort..?  Why do Cowboys always want gold?...HMMM

The only thing I could think of is this came from watching old western movies over and over again, since we hadn't had tv/satellite until 6 months ago...John Wayne's  Eldorad, or perhaps Clint Eastwoods's Pale Rider, or Gregory Peck's  Mckennas Gold..yep that must of been it.

Well, Fort.  It's a funny thing...people think that if they have gold it can and will buy them anything they have ever wanted...but it's not necessarily true... He looks at me inquisitively.  Well, just think of us out there fishing...no matter how big of a boat a person has, or what gear they have, you can't make that big fish jump onto your line, right?  He nodds.

Wow...so then he responds, and no matter what you can't make a beautiful sunrise right?

Now we are getting somewhere...life's lessons out here in the middle of no where, that's my boy...making me think.

No matter how much gold/money you have you:

Can't make a sunshine powder day ...if you are skier
Can't make overhead glassy and no one out...if you are a surfer
Can't make the sky rain...if you live in a desert

So onto other topics.  We got some more welcomed rain.  Our bobo's continue to be a nuisance.  The giant moths are still here.  The frogs came out for a day.  The native plants are happy and green and  the rattlesnake tracks keep crossing our path.

What a beautiful place to be, and we are thankful it isn't for everybody...you either like it here...or you don't.  That may be why...only a few live here year round.  :)  Gracias A Dios

Mother Nature doing her Thang.  If you get up with our rooster's crow, go for a  little hike up Punta Gorda, mixed with a few clouds in the sky...just never know what a specatular view you may find.  Every day is different, that's the beauty of it.  This morning was unbelievable.

If it were documented, perhaps a moving canvas...how would your garden look as time lapses?  It has an evolution all of it's own...from seedling to harvest, it's as if Mother Nature has her paint brush moving in ways we cannot comprehend...to create a beauty we couldn't possibly duplicate.

These unique red flowers above have come and gone. The low lying cactus remains, like us, awaiting for the next rains.  Weeks later, other native plants, see photos below, are beginning to show their blooms.... The humidity and bobos continue to make us realize why most people can't handle being here year round.  Pero para nosotros es muy tranquillo, gracias A Dios.  I'm not complaining...that's the best part of it.  The tough just get tougher.

Oh,...I almost forgot...we got another rattlesnake today.  Andale!

After the rains, we get little red velvet bugs, odd looking bugs with long antennas, taranchulas, bobo's/knats, dragonflys, butterflys, giant moths,  mosquitos and big scorpions just to name a few.  Soon the desert will be in bloom with reds, blues, purples and yellows and countless shades of green.  There's more to come.  Right now the native plants that once looked dead are starting to green up.  The desert is alive.  We are thankful for the rain and pray for more.

Here is an awesome photo of Hurricane Jimena passing over central baja, about 12 hours after the eye passed by us.  We consider ourselves very lucky....

see the destruction in Mulege  http://www.mulege-mls.com/Jimena.html

I understand the  Mexican Red Cross is also receiving relief efforts thru the American Red Cross www.cruzrojaamericana.org 
International donations 1800 257 7575
American Red Cross, PO BOX 37243, Washington DC 20013

 Living in the desert is never a dull moment.  It has been incredibly dry, we haven't had a good rain in three years.  If we were a tribe of Native Americans we would gather in at a pow wow and do a rain dance.  The lack of rain has been taking it's toll.

Because of the lack of water in the surrounding desert, the ants and snakes would come for a visit.

Two early mornings I saw an army of ants 1" wide crossing from one side of the dirt road to the other...from the deserted desert towards my garden, where our rooster MAMA LuLu presently resides.   After last year losing crops of lettuce seeds to the ants I am more than determined to end this path before the planting begins in the fall.  Even the trusted Diatect Fire Ant Killer couldn't take this one on...open for suggestions, although the rains have helped subside the little warriors.

Two weeks ago we had to kill 4 rattlesnakes, before children (BC ) my husband Gene and I would capture them and take them up to Punta Gorda and set them free.  With munchkins around we can no longer have them here, es muy peligroso.  One was near our outdoor shower where Fort and Ellie bathe, the other three were near the entrance to our casita where they play.  One year we killed 14, it's been a while since we have seen this many.  It is very dangerous, but somehow we have our system down and with a little luck and skill we hope to continue to protect our territory.  Because they are such beautiful creatures, it can be hard to kill them, just say a little prayer and thanks...but it's them or us.  Es la vida aqui para nosotros, la pura vida.

In the first days of September we were faced with a prediction of a strong class 4 hurricane heading our way, with gusts of winds up to 180mph.  The preparation can seem endless.  Plenty of  Water, Food, Fuel, Propane, Beer, TP all the essentials stocked whatever they may be.   If the arroyo floods as it has in the past, it's quite possible that we can't get to town for supplies for weeks.  Then it's batten down the hatches...prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  The big winds may take off our tin roof and the heavy rains may bring flooding.  This time we were fortunate and received rains we so desperately needed, others up the baja pennensula have another story to tell.

We are continually reminded that Mother Nature is Powerful and Beautiful, she deserves our respect wholeheartedly. 

Rattlesnakes are known to be extremely territorial,  unfortunately for them
....so are we.