Plantas Y Maderas - Garden Benches

Here we are...es mucho calor verdad!  Ya bastante...waiting for some rain.  The ants are marching profusely, looking for food. the plants have produced seeds and have dropped awaiting the arrival of rain....There comes a point when the humidity agrees with your system and I am actually cooled off  wearing jeans when I go riding or cleaning up the manure, watering and feeding the horses...that' sounds crazy but the sweat from my body actually cools me off. I always wondered when I first moved here how the Mexicans wore jeans or long sleeved shirts when working outside in the heat...hmmm, ..what a concept. There has been little to no breeze until yesterday evening...awe.  Thank you... phew. ..now today back to nil.  We have been sitting on the edge of lands end waiting for the arrival of rain, preferably life giving rains,...but at this point, I hate to say it...so I won't.  Any rain won't do...still holding out for the life giving rains.

The munchkins are back to school, so we are back to the daily coast rides, always a beautiful view.  They both have great teachers and we are so pleased with the community of La Playita/ La Playa.  It is obviously getting darker earlier and light comes later.  Fall for some folks up north must be near.  Down here we are waiting for our hurricane season.  You are celebrating labor day weekend and we are preparing for the big Aniversario de la Independencia on the 16th of September....200 years, should be a big fiesta.

Lastly I would like to share with you our yellow corn maiden we brought home from the Taos Pueblos made by a Hopi relative of one a beautiful woman in the Pueblos.  Her presence is a prayer for corns, she also honors Mother Earth and her continuing ability to feed her children.  She reminds us always to be thankful for the gifts we receive daily from Mother Earth.  On that note, bout time for a rain dance........anyone up for it?  May your lives all be blessed with good seeds, life giving rains and a bountiful crop.  May we always have respect in our hearts and give thanks.

An unexpected treat came our way 4:30 this morning....rain!  What a concept, rain in the desert.  The weather from the mainland crossed over and made it to our little piece of paridise.  The smell is unbelievable after months without a drop of liquid gold from the sky the plants put out their distinct fresh healthy scent, clearing off the dust....awe, nothing like it.  "I've been waiting for her for so long...here comes the rain"  This song from Cult has had another diminsion to it once living here.

Cherokee and Warrior are often seen running up and down the road, but today Cherokee was pouring it on lovin it....run it off babe.  Tomorrow she will be going to summer camp with Vicinte our friend the horse whisperer...she is so beautiful, but so wild...with the right training she will make an incredible horse...but gotta say after getting kicked twice and bit in the back busting some ribs..I am open for a real cowboy to step in and take over...Unfortunately the previous owners kicked, whipped her...and my being there while loading her onto the trailer put me in her eyes as one of the bad guys...  So, I named her Cherokee after seeing her trail of tears, my heart sinks....but like the life giving rains her spirit has the potential to become awakened with a shift in perspective fresh and anew...ojala, vaya con Dios joven.  God she is beautiful..what's that saying this ol cowgirl told me in Jackson "Just cuz they look good don't mean they ride good"  yep, such is life.

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.

"We are a part of Earth and it is part of us.  All things are connected this we know.  The Earth does not belong to man; man belongs to Earth"
"Man did not weave the web of life, he's merely a strand in it.  Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself"
Cheif Joseph's Testimony 1854

Get involved...see Protecting our Waters at the bottom of the more category on this website...it doesn't take much, information is knowledge..pass it on.

In seven generations we are the ancestors, what we do or don't do is an instrument to help create our future....doing nothing is also a choice.   Inspired by Voices of our Ancestors...a book of native american teachings.... 

The photos above are of water trucks coming and going to Los Zacatitos and further communities out the coast daily.  Each load costs 800 pesos equivalent of $62 usd. for us here, and the cost can double if you live further away.


 Water conservation is important, but living out here off the grid makes us realize perhaps more than most. 

I remember my Mother coming to stay with us for the first time, she said something like....." I didn't realize where the water went until now".  That may be because when we do the dishes we have a bucket outside to collect the water, when it fills up we toss it onto the plants w...along with the bowl in the sink gets dumped after doing dishes a few times.

When we do our laundry we save the last cycle water in a seperate barrel, as well as bath water for the first cycle of the next load of laundry.  Hmm sounds crazy...but it works.  After the laundry is done we spray our plants with the grey water from a little home rigged system utilizing a small water pump to get the presssure.

These past 6 weeks we  were able to do 31 loads of laundry, take our showers, flush our toilets, wash our dishes etc on one load of water from a truck delivery stored in our systerns.

Once the garden gets going it's a whole other story...perhaps one load a week.  Hmmm.  Sometimes it's hard to justify it.  But then again we have folks nearby that go through a load a week just to water their palm trees and they aren't even here. 

The Lakota have a beautiful word for this Wichoni mimi meaning life-giving rains

This video was shot from the front entrance of our home

 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.