The first poppy has appeared in my back yard.
Spring Walk and Story
March 27, 2019
Uncategorized native plants, purple mat, spring, story 2 Comments
In the arroyo behind the dam people have walked, ridden and run their dogs for years. The city has recently been improving this area, making fixed trails.
The coursing water does not always agree. Neither do I. I want to say, “If you want me to stay on the trail, don’t pave it.”
There’s a section still only graveled along a fence which keeps people from wandering into a conservation area. Except when it doesn’t.
There’s a story here:
Something was built.
Something was broken.
That’s the essence of story, but I have no idea of the particulars. Make them up for yourself; the possibilities are numerous.
On my recent walk I found the first bit of purple mat “in the wild.” It is already flourishing in the sheltered space of my back yard, where I have been encouraging it for years.
First Spring Blooms
March 5, 2019
Uncategorized flowers, photos, poppies, spring 1 Comment
It’s March and the wind is blowing. That’s how you know it is spring in Las Cruces. And yes, things are beginning to bloom.
The first flowers to appear in my yard are volunteers. My neighbor across the cul-de-sac is a very diligent and experienced gardener. Last summer he planted these bright orange flowers in the section between sidewalk and road. He pulled them out when they began to get shaggy, but they had sent out seed.
This spring I have one between sidewalk and wall, and two tiny ones between sidewalk and road. My next-door neighbor has a few in what used to be his lawn. The neighbor across the way has several. I’m waiting to see if he pulls them out. As I’ve noted before, I like volunteers and won’t pull these. But they won’t last long.
Two days later I find the first poppies in my back yard. Spring has definitely arrived.
Happy Equinox
March 20, 2017
Uncategorized equinox, iris, photos, plants, poppies, spring 2 Comments
A few photos to celebrate the arrival of spring.
I tried to plant something else for the winter in this pot. It didn’t make it. These violas don’t care whether it is winter or spring.
The iris came through very well this year:
They have a cozy corner which gives them a good head start on the season.
This volunteer jumped into bloom when I wasn’t looking. Another case of the comfort of a wall. 
And then the poppies. They turn up wherever they please.
It’s a new year, astrologically. A more sensible time for new beginnings, I think, than January 1. In this spring quarter of the year I hope to have more than photos to put on this blog. I also hope these photos make you smile.
The Year Keeps Turning
February 4, 2017
Uncategorized cross-quarter days, photos, poppies, snow, spring 2 Comments
Just two weeks ago we had a storm which left the mountains looking like an ice sculpture. I don’t think we’ll be seeing any more of that this year.
Now we are half way from the solstice to the spring equinox. For my favorite cross-quarter day I lit a new white candle in honor of Brigid, goddess of poetry and smithcraft (and all things fiery, I suppose).
The Pennsylvania groundhog may see six more weeks of winter, but here in southern New Mexico the trees are beginning to bud. We’re in a stretch of fine weather for walking and hiking, and I’ve just seen my first poppy. It was in a protected spot along a wall and only half open, but there it was.
What can be said about poppies?
Gluttons for sun,
they shine it back,
closing at night.
They pop up,
not in the same spot,
new every spring.
Poppies. Spring.
Nothing more
to be said.
Spring!
February 21, 2016
Uncategorized native plants, poppies, spring 2 Comments
The first poppies have appeared in our yard. Therefore, it is spring.
It’s plenty warm today. The temperature may go down again tomorrow or the next day, but the poppies have spoken.
Wildflowers
June 17, 2015
Uncategorized art, lupines, native plants, spring, wildflowers 2 Comments
These photos were all taken one sunny afternoon as I walked home from doing the tour of gallery openings in town. 
All colors of lupines are out. A few days ago I saw only blue ones. I had not noticed before that the blue ones come first.
Here’s a view of lupines on a bluff above a low tide. 
No, that is not a dark sky, its shore and water. The picture is a little dark, however. It turned out the battery was running low on my camera. But I got one more nice photo before it quit. 
With so much natural color in the world, why should anyone bother to make ugly art?
Another Spring
June 4, 2015
Uncategorized forsythia, lilacs, planting, spring 1 Comment
Through a combination of an early arrival and a late spring, we arrived in Maine to find the forsythia in bloom. 
I realized that I haven’t seen this in ten years, since we moved to the desert. But, probably because it was not part of my childhood, I wasn’t really missing it. It’s a wonderful announcement that winter is past.
Now the forsythia has all gone green and the lilacs have burst out all over.
I’ve been told that lilacs tell us when it is safe to plant tender crops. Today I went out to buy annuals, flowers and herbs for the bits of garden around our cottage. A lot of others had the same idea; the garden center was crowded. So I guess I’m not too far behind schedule on this.
Happy spring to those who have waited a long time for it this year.
More Spring Color
April 14, 2015
Uncategorized garden, photos, spring 1 Comment
About two weeks ago, the blue iris burst out.
These came with the house. That is, I found two very small clumps of leaves. I didn’t know what they were. When someone said they looked like iris leaves I transplanted them and they began to expand. Only this last year did I get a lesson in when to feed them. They appreciate being looked after.
Another plant which came with the house is Indian Hawthorn, now in bloom.
In the space vacated by a very overgrown sage plant (why would anyone plant something that wants to get six feet wide in a less than two foot wide strip?) I put this small cactus. Its blooms, photographed last week, are already spent.
The mesquite tree leaves are filling out. That pale green color is appearing all over the desert areas: there’s a lot of mesquite in the area.
One of the two little iris clumps turned out to be a white iris. It is now in full bloom – but only one – while the blue ones have faded. Obviously, this color is more finicky. I’m hoping more attention will increase the blooms. This one is planted outside my study window.
What’s There to Say About Poppies?
March 31, 2015
Uncategorized mesquite, native plants, photos, spring 1 Comment
The poppies started showing up last week, here there and everywhere, and this week, some in our yard.
When they arrive I want to celebrate. It’s spring. I thought about poetry in their honor. Could I do a riff or a twist on Wordsworth’s “Daffodils”? It didn’t work. The following is all I could come up with.
Gluttons for sun,
they shine it back,
closing at night.
They persist, pop up
every year, sometimes
fewer, sometimes more,
not in the same spot,
windblown annual
new every spring.
Poppies. Spring.
Nothing more
to be said.
While poppies are the most colorful sign of spring, it is the mesquite tree that has the honor of signaling when winter is really over and there is no more concern about frost.
You can see how close I had to get to one branch of the tree to show the leaves beginning. The apache plume, on the other hand, didn’t wait for any signal. It went ahead and bloomed.
If there are no poppies where you are, I hope the daffodils are coming up!
freethoughtandmetaphor 