The Dunes

Under the cooler air of the pre-season, the gypsies went out again.  To the high desert and to the sand dunes and amazing fauna and flora they love so much.  A lovely breeze was running through the campsite making out of the art of camping a real true joy. 

The old gypsies stationed their gypsy trailer right under one of the biggest and broadest trees adorning the campsite, and right under its fronds they arranged their chairs and called the space their little living room… 

Refreshing breezes played in branches and among leaves as the songs of birds filled the heavens and serenated the early afternoon.  We read, we made lunch and then continued reading some more.  I watched at how puffy white clouds moved along the bluest emptied sky, resembling old ships navigating some ancient seas.  I listed for the voices of coyotes in the far distance and to the songs of birds, then we decided to walk down to the lake… 

Oh but this is still the desert my friends, and it is still the end of summer too, which means that all of a sudden the afternoon turned to fire on us.  A great heat came pulsing down on us, surrounding us like flames and heavy sweat and the entire campsite felt drowsy and heavy and the only thing we could do to cease the discomfort this heat brought on us was to run to the showers for a nice refreshing soak.  And how nice it felt and how refreshed our skin felt after that.

When we came to our campsite again after our shower, how different things looked and felt.   The Fisherman made pizza and we ate our dinner as we watched at other campers and new arrivers come in and worked on their spaces.  Soon, the sun was glowing gold in the west and the light was like a cascade of glimmers and jewels and pieces of gold being showered down on us from the heavens.  So beautiful, so very beautiful the entire sky had turned, that I decided we should go out again and walk the trails of the dunes under this magnificent light.  And thus, we did.

 

a blaze of color -- oranges, pearly pinks, the sky turned to a dusky purple...

Soon it got dusk, a grapy dusk, a purple dusk over tangerine desert vegetation, prairie, lake and marsh habitat; the sun the color of pressed grapes, slashed with burgandy red, the grasslands the color of love and Spanish mysteries.

Oh sunlight! The most precious gold to be found on Earth.”

 

On our way back we were welcomed by one of the most intriguing and beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen… dusty rose and smoky burnt orange sky illuminated by this kind of an obtuse grey light that reminded me of light streaming in through wavy paned glass windows, and I’m not sure why it took me to a memory of another place in time that I couldn’t place...  the shadow of the moon fell on the world in peace…

 

 And what a beautiful beautiful the next morning of that Sabbath was.  In the afternoon we left our gypsy trailer and went to a nearby lake to spend the hottest hours of the day by the water.  On our way we saw a mule deer and stopped at the center for ice cream.  At the lake, the Fisherman when to fish and the gypsy girl sat down to read under the shade of a plant growing by the water, and she remembered Jonah and the story and how the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant.  And so was I with my plant.  It was breeze and under its shade I stood for hours reading while the Fisherman talked to his fishes until he had enough. 

That night we decided not to go to bed as early as we usually do and instead went star gazing at the Observatory!  We watched a presentation inside the Education Center, saw the night sky and viewed the planets, nebulas, and galaxies.  People went in their Pjs, and it was dark and cozy and you felt as if flying the night sky to other galaxies far away.  Then, it was the real viewing of the heavens through the Observatory’s collection of telescopes outside.  People made lines and the Fisherman and I headed over to our cozy gypsy trailer for the night… there was a bright full moon illuminating shadowed trails and the desert seem to glow. 

I love this place so much... in every season and every weather.

A change in the air

We’re under a magical spell.  In a heartbeat; in a twinkling of an eye, we have changed from summer to fall.  Cooler than average temperatures have moved in mellowing things down quite a bit.  Thus, from what it’s been a sizzling hot summer till just a week ago, it is now a taste of pre-fall in the air, with some chilly mornings and evenings and temperatures in the 50s.  

And rain too.  A downpour that lasted a day and half this weekend has kept the garden saturated and lush.  Plants and flowerpots have been gulping up their nutrients directly from the open heavens, and all around is like a little green jungle with lush emerald grasses and a last outpouring of roses.  

I love to mow the lawn and then sit here and just look around and drink in every sound, scent and glory surrounding me. Soon, it will be the changing of colors and the mending of the garden and every leaf and every frond will morph and desiccate and wait for the northern frigid air to whip them around and bring them all here, to this very spot where I’m sitting right now. Mountains and mountains of dry leaves will remain here all winter waiting for me to sweep and dispose of them comes next spring.

It is always like that.  It has always been like that.  The really sad part about all this is, it has already started to get dark by 8:00 pm and even now at 5:38 pm as I write this, the sun has begun to lose its luster and birds have quieted down.  By 9:00 pm is total darkness.

End of summer

How beautiful.  How very beautiful the garden looks on these last days of summer.  It lingers, its glories linger under the golden sun the end of early September, and roses seem to be saying “one more change! 

So, some of them are in bloom again. And what a lovely spectacle they are in the heat of the day in their beautiful pink crowns.  I have pulled out a lot of the phlox that was overcrowding a certain space in the garden and I’m thinking that next spring I want to see here more black-eyed Susan instead...

 

Birds seem to love this corner.  I can’t tell exactly what they have going on there, but I like to think that perhaps that’s their shopping center, or their dance club where they all come together for dance, music and socializing. It knows no borders. 

Their complex houses, where single-and-married birds and their families live, however, must be on far west of the opposite side of the garden.  There’s a tree there where dozens of birds hide, and you can hear the upheaval of their merriment and chirpings as they come and go.  But now that I’m thinking about it, perhaps this place is not really their home, but rather their worship place, or church where they surely must play an array of instruments and sing songs without stopping, for the ruckus is prodigious and the merriment great.

Two of the Quaking Aspens I had added to the garden since we moved back to our house in the roses have not grown much, and this is the second year since planted for one of them.  By now, I have lost almost all hope of seeing them making it, and I am thinking that perhaps they might have to be replaced next spring.  Quaking Aspens are such a graceful addition to any backyard with their pale bark and ‘quaking’ leaves that sounds like tiny bells on a breezy afternoon.  They are inexpensive trees, and tend to grow fast.

The Tartarian Maple hasn’t improved, or grown as fast as I had hoped for in a year… what a disappointment it had proved to be thus far, for I was hoping for a fast coverup of the two-story house right behind our fence…. As it is, we continued on being exposed and subjected to unwanted vigilance.  One day… one day I’ll have my little jungle all lush and luxuriant and I won’t have to see this anymore…

The grapevines are heavy with grapes that are ripping more and more each day and I have seen a foreign bird picking from them already.  

I don’t want these last days of summer to ever end.  I want to continue sitting here and let my soul drink in the view and glories I see and hear and feel, but I must obey the reasoning of the seasons and I must start thinking of sweaters and cozy banquets, and the fire pit in the back porch is ready for cooler mornings and chilly evenings. I’d let my heart dream, and I’d let my wings take flight.  In the meantime, I’ll remain right here where I am, enjoying my little life away.

Pink

Oh hi there my friend! Have I ever mentioned how I love to add a pop of color in my otherwise black/white living room each season?

Ah yes I like to transform the atmosphere of our living room according to the shades and colors of the seasons. And if you ask me, I believe that pink is the true color of summer.

Summer is pink cake frosting, flushed petals, bubblegum bright coral, rose-pink lollipops, ballet slippers, tulle tutus, pink-breasted birds, grapefruit and watermelon. Pink is the color of my summer garden, it is the color of girl-happiness and the pop of color I chose form my summer living room.

I have pops of every shade of pink throughout my living room, and it’s no longer a dull place!  Pink totally gets me in the mood for spring and summer.

I’m thinking mustard yellow for the fall, but summer still lingers around here, and with so many pink roses in bloom in the garden again, is only normal I want to add more pink more roses more bouquets to my decoration.

I hope you like my pops of pink. Pink add a feminine touch to any room. Pink is in bloom. This subtle tone has just enough presence to be impactful without distracting from the room's casual vibe. And I so love it!