Green Thermos – February 2021

Arizona Desert

C,amped in the desert at La Posa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona for the winter, Clifford and I have a busy lifestyle despite being retired. He works with his ham radio every day, plays music on his dulcimer, and enjoys flying with a simulator.

For me, daily walking continues, taking my fanny pack with a little thermos of tea and a small book of uplifting readings, and finding a place out of the wind to sit for quiet time. I have some favorite spots, but many days I look for a new place to sit.

Thermos, hiking sticks, and desert hat are my walking companions
New places
A favorite place

I’m always on the lookout for flowers, but this February the desert is devoid of blossoms and trees remain the focus. A type of barrel cactus and the ocotillo provide a little additional color.

Ocotillo at sunrise
Color in the dry desert
Ocotillo and a great blue-sky morning

Old trees and saguaro still capture my attention.

I call this one Bird Leaping
Ancient grace
Saguaro skeleton

Other than the daily desert walks and music, playing fiddle tunes on the viola and occasionally taking out the cello, my time is spent editing, writing blogs, and domestic tasks – and thus does February pass. 

February sunset glow

Desert Walks – February 2021

La Posa South

Camped at La Posa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, for the winter, I can’t help but notice the many differences between this year and February a year ago. For one thing, last winter’s rain brought blossoms to the desert, but the dry wind of this winter has left the land more barren with even the saguaros struggling for life. Despite this, I walk daily seeking the beauty of the land, whether it be the sunrise over Shale Mountain…

Sunrise from the campsite at La Posa South

ancient trees with their complex growth patterns…

Complex growth patterns
Ancient trees in the desert
Survivor

or a saguaro silhouetted at sunset.

Saguaro at sunset

I also walk because walking is an important part of re-establishing and maintaining health, and I keep my eyes open for heart-shaped rocks, almost always finding one on my saunterings.

Heart in the desert

The days flow one into another, usually having coffee with my brother Rollie and his finance Tata after the morning walk while Clifford is involved with his ham radio, then sitting outside to journal and read after breakfast. Most afternoons Clifford and I get together with Rollie and Tata to play music, choosing outdoors when the weather allows. Although the wind this winter has made playing outdoors more challenging, Clifford always finds himself a niche that will work. 

Playing music in the desert

While political, social, and health issues dominate the scene for most people, we are fortunate to be in a place where social distancing is the norm, and where, for the most part, we are unaffected on a day-to-day basis with the upheavals at hand.

 

Birthday in the Desert

Birthday Outing

One of the highlights of February in the desert at La Posa South is my birthday when Tata and Rollie make a special birthday dinner and give me a lovely bouquet.

The table is set for the guests
The guests

An outing to the Colorado River, taking a picnic and our instruments is another day of celebration. What fun to share this time with family as well as with Clifford.

Birthday outing
Picnic at the Colorado River
Music at the Colorado River
Rollie and Tata at the River
Birthday dress from Clifford
A new year begins for me

January Happenings – January 2021

Camping at La Posa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, I walk daily, usually in the cool of the morning. Since I almost always walk alone, Clifford and I stay in touch with handheld radios, but other than that, I treasure the silence and hold thoughts regarding the importance of silence in making positive shifts, both in personal life and health as well as in relationship to the shifting energy of the earth.

Morning walk in the desert
“Scraggly” and his straight arrow friend.

After my walk, I often have coffee with my brother Rollie and his fiance Tata who are camped next to us. The day’s activities, in addition to journal writing and reading books of interest, I also spend time editing my daughter Ang’s books, as we are reviewing all of the first series, an epic fantasy that keeps me engaged.

Cousin Bill and his wife Sally come for a visit and we share meals, outings, and music. It is fun to have desert time with family.

Rollie and Tata on a desert outing
Cousin Sally and Tata on a desert outing
Cousin Bill on a desert outing

One of the highlights of the day is getting together to play music.

Getting together to play music, mostly bluegrass.

Toward the end of the month, we are pleased to welcome clouds and a rainstorm.  I have hopes that this moisture will bring blossoms to the desert.

A rainy morning
A day of great clouds
Clouds over Shale Mountain

Most days I prepare a photo to post on social media as the Higher Vibration for the day. Some of these will eventually end up in a blog, but for now they are a visual record of my day-by-day saunterings and a way to share the beauty I see in the world.

Clouds at sunset

Things always work out for me. – Abraham-Hicks

A New Year Begins – January 2021

Desert Ambiance

Clifford and I are camped in the desert at La Posa South, south of Quartzsite, Arizona, having arrived in late November. This was not our intended destination this year, but this is where we are. Sometimes life demands rerouting.

I start my 2021 journal with the quote from Thich Nhat Hanh “The greatest miracle of all is to be alive.” I find this to be a powerful affirmative statement as I recover from the stroke of several weeks ago and as I see people suffering from the illness, quarantines, and isolation brought on by covid19.

A daily walk in the desert is part of my recovery regimen and my favorite time to go out is at sunrise. 

Winter sunrise
Sunrise seen from our campsite
The joy of a sunrise

Due to the extreme heat of last summer and the lack of rainfall, the early flowers are not blooming as they have in past years, but I am finding a different kind of beauty in the old trees, some struggling to show signs of life…

Unique and holding on
Like no other
Struggling but alive

some long-gone, creating unique desert sculptures.

Desert sculpture designed by Nature
Desert sculpture designed by Nature
Desert sculpture designed by Nature

I am always pleased to end the day with the sun setting behind nearby mesquite and saguaro, as I never tire of the many layers coming together as they do at sunset.

Sunset in the desert
Farewell to the day