March 18 – Overcast skies and rain off and on keep the temperature in a holding pattern of 50’s all last night and all day today at LaPosa South (south of Quartzsite, Arizona) where Clifford and I are camped.
Desert walk at sunrise
Desert marigolds near sunrise
In the afternoon, a very strong wind comes up and I am sure glad that the awning is in. Other folks, including Rollie’s lady friend, suffer damage from the rain and especially from the strong wind.
In spite of the tempestuous weather today, I go out walking a couple of times and enjoy taking photos.
In addition to the desert walking, today was also a day to run errands. Back at camp, I did some editing and blog writing, while Clifford worked with his ham radios and dulcimer. … All the news is about Covid 19 as more schools, rest areas, campgrounds, and restaurants close.
March 13-17: Desert walks in the morning at LaPosa South (south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are camped) are such a great way to start the day. Flowers and flowering shrubs blossom more abundantly. The bush with the red trumpet-shaped blossoms is especially striking, as are the huge clusters of desert marigold (which are probably not marigolds at all). A mockingbird chirps, tweets, trills, and calls over a dozen bird songs, sounding like a whole chorus all by himself.
Sunrise at LaPosa South
Globe mallow
Hummingbirds love this bush
Desert walks
Sunset at the campsite
One day we go to Albertson’s in Blythe, California, for groceries, about 20 miles to the west, the nearest grocery store of a decent size. There is plenty of food except for rice, but no toilet paper or paper towels, which fortunately we don’t need anyway. We find out from the cashier that people are coming all the way from Los Angeles, 200 miles away, to buy stuff as shelves in all the cities between here and there are empty.
Self-isolation, the new buzz-word, is just the way we live
Clifford is quite sick for a couple of days – an infection that he has been dealing with for some time. Because of his being sick, as well as the increasing issues with the spread of the virus, some of our plans are changed. Calls are made to friends and family to see how everyone is doing. Once Clifford is feeling better, we get together with my brother Rollie and his lady friend Tata for music, but other friends we will not be seeing.
For a couple of days, March 11 and 12, there is rain in the desert here in LaPosa South (South of Quartzsite, Arizona) where Clifford and I are camped. It is off ‘n on, sometimes heavy, but sometimes with enough of a break that Clifford is able to go outside to play his dulcimer.
Low hanging clouds to the east
Morning walks
My morning walks, rain or no rain, are special times of quiet for me. So many flowers and shrubs are blooming, it is a delight to wander about from one bright spot to another. By afternoon, the wind picks up considerably, causing damage to some folks, and there are flash flood warnings, but we have no problems.
Bright colors even on rainy days
Raindrops on roses, or is it raindrops on globe mallow
Desert marigold in the rain
Turkey vulture snag
Raindrops on lupine
Our activities continue as usual with Clifford on the ham radio or playing dulcimer much of the day, while I edit books and write blogs.
My brother Rollie has decided to move down the road a couple of miles to be nearer to his lady friend. They come to pick up the last of his stuff and we all go for a walk in the desert between rain showers. We will miss having him as a camping buddy, but he has a good reason for making the move.
The red bush that hummers like with Shale Mountain in the background
More desert walks
Covid 19, the coronavirus, is declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Italy is shut down and schools in the larger US cities are shut down. What next?
March 8-10, 2020: Clifford and I continue to enjoy our camping spot here at LaPosa South (south of Quartzsite, Arizona) and our days are full with our projects and activities.
Camp tree
One day I don’t go for my morning walk because jet trails mar the sky and the wind is a bit much, neither of which work for me as photographer. I spend extra time editing photos instead, sending greetings to family and friends as well as posting on Facebook. Other mornings, the desert walks are especially rewarding as I find more and more flowers blooming.
A rainy morning adds a special ambiance to the walk.
When the sun breaks through the clouds….
One day my brother Rollie, who has been at a bluegrass festival north of Quartzsite, comes back to camp but only to pick up his stuff, as he is moving down the road a couple miles. It has been great having him as a camping buddy here, but he is forming important friendships with others.
Rollie moves down the road, so we have the place to ourselves
Another day we make
a trip to town to the laundromat and run a few errands. We hear of
more and more businesses, parks, and schools closing around the
country, and that has even begun to affect Quartzsite, but the
essential errands are still able to be taken care of.
Past life and new life
There is growing awareness and concern due to the virus Covid19, and talk runs the gamut of lethal bio-weapon to mere inconvenience that kids can’t go to school…. and everything in between. For Clifford and me, our natural state here in the desert is one of self-isolation, so we are not impacted as far as our day-to-day activities are concerned. However, there is no doubt that what is going on will have a lasting global ramifications, at least some of which will affect us. In the meantime, we continue doing what we feel called to do, whether that be playing music or walking in the desert, working to improve ham radio contacts, editing books or sending photos to friends & family.
March 4-7, 2020 –
Even on these windy mornings, I walk in the desert here at LaPosa
South (south of Quartzsite, Arizona), drawn to the colorful desert
marigolds and Apache plume. In the cool of the mornings, globe
mallows looking like tiny rose buds are quite irresistible. I saunter
about, taking photos here and there, catching the first rays of
sunlight when I can, soaking up the serenity along with the fresh air
and ambiance of the desert.
Apache plume and desert marigold make splash of color at dawn
Flowers
Desert marigold & globe mallow
Playing with PhotoImpactPro
Playing with Snapseed, but I didn’t change the tree color. It just looks like that at sunrise.
Our activities are
much as they have been: ham radio and dulcimer for Clifford. We have
a great spot with a natural windbreak nearby where he goes to play
music protected from the wind. After my morning walks, I edit photos
and prepare some for posting on FB or for blogs. Afternoons are spent
editing and blog writing. Music for me is usually with my brother
Rollie, although he is gone now to a bluegrass festival.
Trees and shrubs in a natural windbreak
Most days I am in contact with at least one of my kids, often by text, but sometimes a phone call. This is the way it is most of the year, so that is not something new, but now the topic of conversation tends to be about the virus and how it is impacting lives. Although Clifford and I live in a bit of secluded normalcy here in the desert, there is definitely an awareness that things are shifting, and in a way that one might not expect.
Flowers are often sheltered at the feet of great old trees
March comes marching in with high winds, but in spite of that, I go for morning walks in the desert here at LaPosa South (south of Quartzsite, Arizona) where Clifford and I are camped.
Red bush and palo verde
In the washes protected from the wind, I take photos of the wonderfully blooming vegetation – desert marigold, globe mallow, and the red flowering bush that the hummingbirds like. As I’m out walking, I feel like the flowers and trees are inviting me to sit a spell and just be with them, so that is what I do.
Desert marigold in the wash
Grandmother Saguaro and her companions
We
continue with our projects – ham radio and dulcimer for Clifford,
while I edit books, write blogs, play viola with my brother Rollie
and Clifford, edit photos for my Higher Vibration Series (learning
new editing techniques along the way), and the usual domestic chores.
Playing with editing – Snapseed
Playing with editing – PhotoImpactPro
Playing with editing – PhotoImpactPro
One
of these first days of March, we run errands in Quartzsite and invite
Rollie and his friend Tata to join us for pizza after the errands are
done. What fun it is to play pool and share a big pizza with family
and friends.
Kites for sale in Quartzsite
More and more news is coming out about the coronavirus. Fear and hoarding of supplies is on the rise, while in China, my son takes his 2-year-old daughter out to play at the beach, having fun and letting her experience that life is good.
February 27 to 29:
Morning walks in the desert here at LaPosa South, south of
Quartzsite, Arizona, are a wonderful way to start the mornings for
me. The desert marigold bushes are blooming like crazy and a little
sunflower type flower is starting to bloom. Another shrub is loaded
with red trumpet-shaped blossoms, and the hummingbirds love it. Tiny
tiny flowers in pink, purple, and white hug the ground.
Sunrise at LaPosa South
Palo Verde and red bush
Painterly
The bush that the hummingbirds love
Desert flowers
Composite
One day I stay at
camp and have a campfire instead of walking. Since the campfire ring
is on a sandbar in the wash, it still feels like I have left
civilization. It is a good place to sit and write in the journal.
Journal writing at a campfire
Along with our usual
projects, we make a trip to Quartzsite one day and have a big
overhaul of my laptop another day after it froze up while working on
a blog. Sure is a good thing that Clifford was a computer consultant
and gets along well with these devices.
Iconic desert view – painterly
It is a time of peace and relative ease for us, in spite of the increasing bad news about the virus, which is now being called Covid-19. I am happy to hear from my son Fin, who lives China with his wife and daughter, that he and his family are well and making the effort to have the greatest sense of normalcy that is possible under the circumstances.
As we near the end
of February, more and more blossoms appear in the desert here at
LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are
camped in this BLM long-term area. I find great pleasure in walking
in the desert in the morning, taking photos, just being present to
the ambiance of the area, the colors, the sounds, the feel of it. I
have found a few spots where I can sit on old dead and downed tree
trunks, soaking up the morning sun with my eyes closed. I have named
the desert Serenity, for that’s what she is to me.
Along with the
desert experience, life goes on with trips to Quartzsite for errands,
Clifford is recovering from a bout of bladder infection, blogs are
written, photos are edited, books are edited, music is played with my
brother Rollie who is camped next to us, meals are prepared and
eaten, domestic chores are taken care of. No two days are exactly
alike, depending on the weather and the needs of the day.
FB posts, Clifford’s
ham nets, and the Canadian Broadcast news that we listen to draw more
and more attention to the corona virus, some of it factual
information, but sensational alarmist headlines take center-stage.
Our life changes very little, but we have concern for those who will
be facing hardships.
February 20 to 24: Every morning I walk in the desert at LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, where Clifford and I are camped.
Sunrise reflected off Shale Mountain
It is the time to center myself and I always find flowers or trees to take photos of, often posting one for my Higher Vibration Series. It is important to find that calm peaceful joyful center of my being, as the externals may not always be so calm and peaceful.
Great gnarly old trees live here
Desert shrubs in bloom
One day, clouds move in and there is a bit of a rainstorm followed by a rainbow. Rain in the desert is such a treat, so life-giving. Everything looks fresh and bright after a rain.
Rain-bearing clouds move in
A rainbow after the rain
Clouds begin to dissipate
We
make a couple of trips to Quartzsite for errands and music, but other
than that, we are quite content with our spot in the desert with its
huge wild “front yard.”
Trees and blooming shrubs in our wild front yard
Rugged mountains to the south
We continue with our usual projects, ham radio and dulcimer for Clifford; photography, blogs, editing, and viola for me. Almost every day we get together with my brother Rollie and play bluegrass tunes. It is a good life here.
February 16 to 19: Our life here in the desert camping at LaPosa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, is somewhat like it would be if we were at homebase in Utah in that we would still have errands, still need to do laundry, still buy groceries. We would still work on our projects: ham radio and dulcimer and CI for Clifford; taking photos, editing, blog writing, and playing viola for me.
Rugged mountains to the south
What is different is that my brother Rollie is camped next to us, so we share meals, hike together, play music together, and Rollie and I play cribbage almost daily.
Rollie cooks up some burgers for us and friends
And the desert itself – that marvelous bit of land that stretches for miles is the greatest difference. I find peace and joy daily in meandering about, catching the rising of the sun as often as I can and finding the inspiration for my daily Higher Vibration Series. (Daily posts on FB and on my website.)
Shale Mountain at sunrise
I have named the desert Serenity, for that is what she is to me.
