I live where weather extremes prevail. Yesterday it was nearly 70, today 60, and in a few days it will drop to 9, yes, 9, with a windchill way below zero. In the meantime, I dream of spring flowers, renewal, transformation. I scrolled through old flower photos and decided to share a few. Drink a glass of wine, dream spring dreams, dance.
For several weeks I noticed big bright white blossoms on tall stalks as I looked across the canyon in the evenings just before dusk. While it was still hot even at 8 during this latest heat wave, I hiked across the canyon for a look, taking various photos as I strolled along.
When it rains, water drains into this arroyo and crashes over the cliff near my bedroom.
Never bulldozed or cleared, this land allows ancient junipers to continue to thrive.
No water dropping off the cliff on these hot, dry days.
The flowers I could see from my house across the canyon. My wildflower book tells me these are a type of Stickleaf. To take a photo of the other flower, I had to climb up an incline covered with gypsum.
My dog, Athena, and I continued our hike along the canyon edge.
It was beginning to get dark as we headed back to the house.
I can also see this bush from across the canyon. I see no others like it and do not know what it is.
Headed back home along the canyon’s rocky edge.
Nature ignores the stresses humans suffer these days, renews, brings beauty, joy. Luckily, I live in the country, can work online, and take walks to escape and renew. Recently, after feeding the horses in the morning, I took a walk and captured photos of all the wild flowers in bloom and some photos of the canyon where I live. Relax, observe, breathe deep, enjoy.
See if you can find the bee.
Chocolate flowers.
In the midst of being home for about a month now, it is spring most of the time. Saturday was 80 something. Now it is snowing. When it was 80 plus, I walked around outside and took photos of some of the wild flowers and the orchids blooming in the window above my kitchen sink.
I had planned to post several days ago, but I am so busy teaching English and Spanish online, I hardly have time to do much else. I did mow for several hours Saturday morning, did some gardening, cleaned horse runs, let them out to run. My students are studying the works of John Steinbeck, reading Animal Farm, The Odyssey, and Oedipus Rex–I teach four different levels of English. Designing lessons they can do online with little assistance takes forethought and planning. I thought I would hate it, but there are some things I really like and when we go back to class, I probably will continue. In the meantime, I will read, think, garden, care for my horses, hike my canyon, teach, write, and dream. Take care. Be safe.
Internet and modern technology make quarantining easier. Today is my birthday and for the first time in my life I am alone on this day. It could have been a lonely, sad day I suppose but it has been good; modern technology has enabled me to FaceTime with my college roommate and her husband in California, to exchange messages with three of my former exchange students scattered across the world, France, Italy, Thailand, receive birthday wishes on Facebook from around 80 people I know from everywhere, and message family and friends. Some of them and I have exchanged little conversations, catching up on who is doing what where.
This morning I almost finished all the work I need for Google Classroom this week. This afternoon I have spent a sizable chunk of time outside watering, fertilizing bushes, chopping down some weeds. After I finish writing this, I will go back out and complete the watering. Mostly I have plants for our dry climate and water only what is necessary.
Yesterday was the perfect sunny weather for taking some wild flower photos. Everywhere yellow flowers carpet the land. Here and there white ones appear as well.
Inside an orchid that resisted blooming for two years has changed its mind and several other plants are in full flower. All this beauty makes hanging out at home so much easier.
Stay home. Be safe.
Caprock Canyons State Park, at the southern end of Palo Duro Canyon, requires about 1 1/2 hours to drive from my house. Yesterday, we met the Panhandle Native Plant Society there to investigate flowers and grasses.
When we first arrived, it seemed blue might break through the cloud cover, but it did not.
The park ranger took us to several different sites to identify different flower and grass species. The above is an area which in the early 90s was a cotton field and has been restored with native vegetation.
We drove to another area which remained “wild”–never cultivated.
Then we drove to a picnic area overlooking the lake. Close to there we found the poppy below.
After lunch, we parted with the rest of the group and drove to the end of the road. Martina had hoped to see bison–the state bison herd roams there. At this point we had seen none. As I drove along, a bison bull was strolling down the road. Martina took this photo from the side window. He was only a couple of meters from the car.
We stopped and took a few more photos where the road ends. I have hiked from this point in the past, but not yesterday.
After leaving the park, we headed to Silverton, Texas, to visit a coffee shop there which was recently featured in a Texas magazine as the place to go.
I loved the murals and sculptures. The owner is a sculptor and also a raptor trainer. The shop features coffee, desserts, unique clothing, and art.
On the way back we stopped at the Palo Duro Canyon overlook/picnic area on highway 207.
If you are in the Amarillo or Canyon, Texas, area, I highly recommend this day trip.
All these spring showers result in lots of flowers–wild flowers and iris.
Spring comes several weeks later in the country compared to town. The recent rains caused a sudden rush of beauty for wild flowers and iris which grow here almost as readily as the wild, native plants. They seem to appreciate this high, semi-arid country.
These iris thrive in spite of native, caliche soil, no extra water, nothing. About 1 1/2 years ago, I simply planted them without soil amendment or fertilizer. These are rebloomers. They will bloom again in autumn.
These I planted along side the barn. Once again no soil amendment, nothing extra. However, they receive extra water from rain running off the barn roof.
Notice, the tallest one. I did not even know I had one that color until it bloomed.
Here it is up close. Now for the wild flowers I found just strolling around after letting my horse out to graze.
After looking through a couple of native plant books, I gave up on identifying this one. If someone who reads this knows, please tell me what it is. I have also heard there is an app for my iPAD that identifies plants. I have yet to find it.
This grows by the retaining wall near the barn. Although the flowers look like guara, the rest of the plant does not. What is it?
Chocolate flowers were in full bloom a few days ago. Here is one still blooming with a few scrambled eggs (yes, the common name for the smaller flowers) here and there.
These carpet large portions of the pasture. Guessing they are some type of wild onion but not certain.
The blackfoot daisies are just beginning to bloom. They will cheer up the landscape all summer and into the fall.
As more flowers bloom, I will add photos of flowers living here on the rim of wonder.
Toward evening after it had cooled down from the mid 90s, I decided it would be a good time to practice with the camera on this iPAD mini. Because of all the rain, everything looks like desert plants in Ireland. I am still learning to type and blog on this tiny keyboard and trying how to space the photos on the iPAD. I must figure it out if I want to post from Dubai and Ethiopia next week. I will not be able to do what I did a couple of days ago when I went to the iMAC and fixed it.
The following photos were taken on my stroll. I know most of the wildflowers: blackfoot daisies, winecups, chocolate flowers, sundrops, plains zinnia, several kinds of native grasses, milkweed, at least two kinds of prickly pear cactus. If I can get the photos to space as I want, I will identify what I know as I go.
The flowers near my front door. The flowers below are blackfoot daisies and I think winecups. You will see a lot of blackfoot daisies in these photos..
The flowers in the photo below are desert (sometimes called Mexican) birds of paradise, catmint, and lavender, none of which are native, but grow well here.
More Mexican birds of paradise, butterfly bushes and red yucca.
Plains daisies and they usually grow in clumps over a wider area as in the photo below, but this little one decided to grow in the middle of the drive and I do not have the heart to destroy it.
Blackfoot daisies and sundrops growing next to a yucca plant.
Rosie getting fatter and fatter on all the grass.
One of my favorite wild flowers, globe mallow. They are tiny but such a glorious, bright color.
A field of globe mallow and plains zinnia.
Star’s gravesite. I planted the desert willow, but all the wild flowers are filling in by themselves. I actually tried planting some flowers here, but the bunnies ate them.
Two weeks ago, I had almost decided to cut this tree down because it appeared totally dead. I tried to break off a twig, but it only bent, indicating it was still alive. I thought to my self it might recover if it rained soon enough. And it did–not quite up to its form a year ago, but vastly improved.
More photos from walking in the wild tomorrow. Because I live where I do, I cannot get the speediest Internet and it is very, very slow going tonight.
July 27 – Summer.This was published yesterday by the Story Circle Network on One Woman’s Day.
Travel the World 4 Less
A Glimpse into My Life & Passions
Magoism, the Way of WE in S/HE
Exploring the F-word in religion at the intersection of scholarship, activism, and community.
ANCESTRAL FOOD. HERBAL WISDOM. MAGICAL COOKERY. SEASONAL CELEBRATION.
inesemjphotography
politics, engineering, parenting, relevant things over coffee.
Food is the best expression of every emotion. Explore through my reviews, recipes, events and more.
STIR explores the gray areas of controversy. Join us.
Smile! A Site for Friends Wherever You Are!
inspiring personal growth through poetry and writing
Combining atheism with whimsy. This is a Fair and Balanced blog based on opinion unencumbered by fact.
Odds and ends ~ My Life
Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.
bripike@gmail.com
A wildlife filmmaker in Africa
A Geeky Feminist's Musings On Pop Culture
"5 minute walks"
writingontherim 