Plantas Y Maderas - Garden Benches

 The cardon cactus are beautiful desert giants surrounding us on our ranch.  According to the link below...the tiny seed of the cardon cactus has the potential to grow as tall as 70 feet, weigh up to 25 tons, and live for 300 years....wow, right here in the palm of my hand contained as many as 800 tiny black seeds, a potential future giant.  ..what a concept ...this source states "In best of conditions, thousands of seeds must germinate to produce one cactus"  unbelievable...See above right photo where we have our native cardon nursery after 1 year of utilizing an occasional spray with our laundry water increasing the speed of their growth.  Here all this time I believed the seed was surrounding the fruit and just that one in the palm of my hand was it...just goes to show, learning all the time.  Always open for outside expertise.

From the words of Barbara Bash author of the Desert Giant  "Gila woodpeckers and miniature elf owls make their homes inside the saguaro's trunk.  Long-nosed bats and fluttering doves drink the nectar from its showy white flowers."  The saguaro is a different species than the cardon...but closely resemble one another.   I am also thinking it may be an elf owl that was our visitor, makes sense.  Never a dull moment around here, the Internet is an amazing tool.

 http://www.loscabosrestaurantguide.com/cardon_cactus.htm

One thing I still remember as if yesterday when I first came to the Baja pennensula October 2002..... Steve Crow asked me if I realized that these cactus as well as others have a wood structure inside..since his son Saul, who introduced me to this area and I were log builders he knew that I was intrigued.."really?"  Yes inside the plant is wood, when they die you will see it.  Yes...wow who would of thought and so it is..I was so green to this region...I also didn't know what an arroyo was.....classic

Here we have a potentially 300 year old cardon on our property, just this past year she has gone down...the end of her life cycle.   She was magnificent.  The end of her life cycle and the beginning of another...the circle of life goes on. 
Like the Tohono O'odham Indians we leave our fruit facing up towards the sky as an offering for rain...... 

Just a few days ago I was sitting on the back of our Dodge tailgate under the shade watching the horses running in the road before taking them back to the corral.  There was a comotion.  I glanced quickly to see what it was, the chickens were runnin and clucking like wild thangs, then I was amazed to see a young bobcat just 10 feet away from me.  The chickens got away and without noticing me, he turned back from where he came.

This morning I come back from the Ranch and Gene tells me the news.  "Terri, come here....The bobcat got LuLu...over here, by the big cardon, do you see me?" I grabbed my camera and this is what we captured. 

Please click photo above to enlarge.....
Vaya con Dios LuLu.  You were one big crazy rooster,  you have been with our family for 19 plus months...we'll always remember you buddy... it was just your day to die...now your soul feeds another.  Another reminder that we live at the edge of a vast desert.  This Bobcat is just trying to survive and he found a motherload today.......
Wow, what a sighting

Yesterday I caught these photos above to share a portion of our daily views.  The morning starts before sunrise, Fort's up early to help feed the horses and clean the stalls. He especially enjoys his solo time our 2 month old colt he named Warrior.  I keep my distance listening to him talk to her...about thangs, life as a 6 1/2 year old boy sees it.  Warrior takes a nice big stretch, then Fort joins in.  The white pitaya opening in the morning bringing an exotic bloom in the midst of the grey landscape.  I notice the lomboys are putting out their green seed pods as well as tiny pink flowers.  The Cardons, oregon pipes, and various other natives are producing seeds, preparing to reproduce during the summer rains.  May we be so fortunate to receive life giving as we did last year....

After morning chores, readings and artwork with the munchkins, a little work in the shop, house, casita, caretaking homes etc... I venture into town for our supplies.  Caught a few photos of the new bridge passing over the arroyo connecting La Playita and San Jose del Cabo, then there's that classic Statue....
I sure do enjoy the simple life, less trips to town now that the munchkins are out of school, stalking up to see how many days can pass without needing anything that we don't have out at Milagro Ranch. On my way home, taking my sweet time.... I have to take a shot of the Osprey in the dead palm, Iguana on the rock, can only see his head.  Then the cardon looking over the Sea of Cortez with a little chipmunk talking to his buddy with his tail on the rock to the lower right.  Then there's the guard shack just around Punta Gorda selling cow skulls.....yep. 

A little more work then the evening chores come.....guess my trip to town was like a siesta, taking it in...instead of the go go go.  Awe summertime.  Back at the ranch there is plenty to be done, Gene always tells me there is not enough hours in the day....so true.  We got to see a king snake between the casita and the shop, they are beautiful and actually are known to eat rattle snakes.... :)  we call this one Harry.  Later while Fort Ellie and I are taking the alfalfa back to the corral we go the long way around and see rattle snake tracks.  "Mom, it's summer time gotta keep our eyes open for rattle snakes right?"  Yes Fort :)  The red cardinals, doves, cactus wren are flying around just before they quiet for the evening and then the sky puts out some amazing colors whenever we have clouds. 

It has been so incredibly quiet..most folks have gone back to where they are going, and less workers, less traffic other than the occasional water truck to come out to the coast to keep the folks plants alive while they are away.  Yes and to keep us that remain in constant supply of that liquid gold.  Just another day.......just another day filled with simple pleasures.

Yesterday while waiting for Ellie's school to start in La Playita, we heard the sounds of Guns and Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" load and clear from a neighbor starting out his day. It put a big smile on my face....thinking "Welcome to the desert"...... Classic to even hear tunes in english in these parts....pura espanol!  The previous day we even witnessed a group of mariachis walking down the La Playita roads in full costume.  At any rate...

Countless photo opportunities have passed me by...still working on the ol girl, the camera that is...I am finding that the words flow more freely with visual affects.  My words can't possibly begin to give this experience in the tropical desert justice. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the horses run free during the day then back into the corral at night...growing healthier daily..Milagro is now providing milk to her babe Warrior, what a transition occurring in just a few weeks.  Fort and Ellie will be out of school this coming week...phew..yeeehaw!  We continue to produce fine custom woodworks out of our off the grid shop and thankful for the continual flow of work in this tough economy. 

The wildlife continues to amaze me. Yesterday a red fox ran out in front of me, and in that same spot just days ago a small bobcat and I had a few moments where our eyes met.  The orioles, blue jays and cardinals bring brilliant colors  of yellow, blue and red upon this dry vast landscape.  Where you would think no life could survive you often see lizards, chipmunks, road runners and rabbits scurrying along finding shade and food...lord knows how they exist here.  This past week I looked up at a nearby cardon while sitting on a bench outside our place and saw a red cardinal, a dove and a chipmunk each eating the seedlings on 3 separate limbs of the same cardon cactus...classic.  During the full moon phase we could hear the coyotes at night near by, along with that the neighborhood dogs barking at burros, cows, coyotes...imagine that.... Desert solitude.

The cactus are in bloom always so hard to believe how these native plants can produce fruit and flowers when they are obviously lacking the life giving rains...yet they continue their cycle of life, regardless of these desert elements.  As Fort put it last night in a little song "Only the strong survive" while taking his evening outdoor shower.

God I love it here.

 Seems to me spring has arrived... although there is still little to no surf, you can find fields of purple lupin along the shoreline, just now our native christmas trees are ready to harvest (the agave flowering stock) perhaps mother natures timing is off kilter, but obviously I just understand what happens in this tropical desert on a small scale of the big picture.  One thing I am thankful to see is the shrimp boats have departed, perhaps the fishing will get good again.

No spring is definitely here.  The oriels and hummingbirds are sucking the sweet nectar of our aloes in bloom.  After the abundance of rains we have thankfully received since Christmas the flourishing yellow flowers have reached incredible heights, the stalks are providing a new beautiful fenceline for our property.  Here we have just one more example of our creative landscaping methods, utilizing what we have and making the most of it.

The cardinals are back, the combination of their brilliant red feathers against the clear desert blue sky is outlandish.  This year for the first time we have spotted a black cardinal nearby, no doubt once I retrieve my camera it flies away after sitting in one spot singing for minutes on end.  It just one of the countless photo opportunities I have let pass me by, words by no means compare.  "A picture is worth a thousand words"  so they say.

This past Sunday I took an unusual day off, went for an afternoon swim and a walk along the shoreline with a good friend.  We both confirmed that was the most amazing whale show either one of us had seen this year.  It was phenominal, a mother whale was teaching her young, splashing her tail numerous times in close to shore, the baby would attempt 1 to her 10...all I could say was "Thank you Great Spirit"  No doubt they are preparing for their journey back towards Alaska, like my good friend.  I will look forward to their return. 

Just days ago Ellie Fort and I went for a little venture thru the desert to the shoreline, no doubt Fort is barefoot...maybe one day he too will figure out that shoes aren't so bad.  We saw a school of dolphins just along the shore while we were playing in the field of Lupin...Truely, Simple Pleasures is Where It's At.

"To live only for some future goal is shallow.  It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.  Here's where things grow."  Robert Pirsig

I have missed several occasions to share, so this is a little attempt to fill in the gaps. 
 
El Dia de La Bandera was celebrated last Monday in La Playita, where all of the school children in the community show up...along with the municple police to raise and honor the Mexican flag.  The official celebration for Mexico is 24 Febrero.  It is a big to do and an admirable way to celebrate their Mexican pride.  Unfortunately, this year of all years we missed the ceremony.  The munchkins were getting their vaccinations at the Centro de Salud, because both of our children they are able to take advantage of being Mexican citizens, with free health care and vaccinations, and then some.

We have had numerous rains, it's been out of the ordinary to say the least, this is my 8th winter here, and my first to see some of the foilage flower so abundantly this early in our spring.  The Lupine are back as well as the San Diego Sunflower, and needless to say, several I cannot identify by name. Unbelievable to my eyes, I passed by a cotton plant  in La Playita with it's flower bloom open, producing cotton.  This I haven't seen since my childhood youth in Oklahoma...classic! 

Although the flowers are flourishing, it seems around here the birds are not, but I may be getting ahead of myself. Usually, we have so many birds, cardinals, blue jays, oriels, woodpeckers, cactus wren and hummingbirds...Perhaps there is so much to feed off of throughout the blooming desert they don't need to come by the Crain residence as in the dry years in the past. 

We celebrated a wedding with ou favorite family here in Los Zacatitos, the Lains...and just days ago Fort and Ellie were invited over to make valentines cookies and cupcakes. This community is where people come and go, the summers here can be like a ghost town in comparison to the winter season.  We are thankful to make great friends and it's always a nice feeling to have them as our neighbors.

 It's a diverse community for us between Los Zacatitos and La Playita, where the traditions vary from the United States and Mexico and find their unique ways into our lives...what's that word, eclectic?...taking a little of the best from everything.  What could be better than that.

Simple Pleasures is where it's at.. ..."Some of the best things in life are free"

Ellie took me on a little adventure the other morning, no school...so we decided to have a little field trip.  After the 2" of  unexpected rain we received the end of December, we are seeing once again the desert come to bloom.  It has an evolution of it's own...we want to share the colors with you..To be continued...

This has been an incredible 6 weeks of rains replinishing the desert.  It was 7 years ago this month that I first came to Baja to meet my destiny.  In these seven years I have never seen it so dry as it was before our September 1st rains.  The heavens have continued to bless us with water, the plants continue to bloom and are happy, green and healthy.  If you click on the category LIQUID GOLD you can see the contrast of what these life giving rains have done for us in just one month.

  Photos above:
Left.  View from our rooftops towards the zaca godess.
Middle.  Desert continues to bloom. 
Right.  Predicted hurricane headed our way. 

Hurricane Rick will most likely bring us more rain, but presently the winds are at 160mph...with days to come before it will hit land, anything can happen.  Keeping a close eye on the storm.

In the past, my first summer here, I remember hurricane Marty...pregnant with Fort 100mph winds waiting for our tin roof to blow off.  In the midst of the night outside holding a flashlight during the big winds and rain while Gene dug a trench to divert the sheet of water flowing thru our property away from our casita.  Unbelievable, it sounded like a freight train inside ...while we laid in bed holding hands, eyes wide open, ....

I remember a neighbor saying they clocked the winds at 100mph, then 5 minutes of calm, then 100mph the opposite direction.  Guess that would be the eye of the storm  :)  wow.  Hurricane Marty was classified as a strong class 2.  Hmmm

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.