Plantas Y Maderas - Garden Benches

The lightning show last night was outragous, without a drop of rain.  The sound of the surf pounding inland was intimidating, folks headed out as fast as possible early this morning, by car, by plane...while the intensity of the hurricane diminishes, still preparing for the worst, hoping for the best...enjoying the moment.   Our children are now singing "rain rain go away come again another day"  hmmm, where did that come from, we live in the desert.  It's beautiful

Another one of life's great mysteries upon us.

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

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.