Where Have I Been?

I'm truly sorry for not getting back to each of you over the past week.  We traveled out to Nevada to visit our family and I didn't even look at the computer nor my blog the whole time I was gone. 

It was so lovely to visit with our family -- almost all of them at the same time.  Truly a magical, fun filled week.  

Each day I was surrounded by my beloved desert.  Beautiful deep blue skies above me. Mountains in the background (once even sprinkled with snow).

Sunshine that kept us warm, as only the sun can do - but never too warm.  

We looked for water everywhere we went because it is in such scarce quantity.  It was always a treat to see a stream running or ripples on a pond.

It was a lovely time-out-of-time trip. 

"The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands." - Sir Richard Burton 

Desert Beauties

Somehow, the simplest of plants always seems like a magical spectacle when walking in the desert.  Across the street from 'our' hotel in Carson City there is a small desert walk, set up on the hospital grounds.  Its a must for us each morning before our busy days begin.

This year I was fascinated by the 'fluffy' plants that we spotted as we walked. Unfortunately there are no plant names showing at their base, so we could only enjoy them in their nameless state.

The surprises of the desert landscape never ever cease to amaze me.

"I have always loved the desert.  One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing.  Yet through the silence something throbs and gleams." - Antoine De Saint-Exupery - The Little Prince

Flying Away

This is me (well an imaginary form) flying off once again to the desert - family - much joy - laughter - fun.

I'll be back soon, until then please feel free to carry on without me... *smile*.

"Flying dreams mean that you're doing the right thing with your life." - Douglas Coupland

Today I am thankful for...

Sunshine

While walking these days, I'm aware of the warmth of sunshine on my shoulders.  I feel it sinking into my body, warming my bones.  Thankful am I.

I have been blessed to see the sun rise in the desert...

...the sun set over the ocean...

...the sun filter through the sheltering trees of the woods and forests.

Oh yes, I am ever so thankful.

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow." - Helen Keller

"The Secret Knowledge of Water"

This has been my reading, these cold, wintry days.  A book by Craig Childs which takes in his two year quest for water in the desert.  I wanted to put some of his words into this posting because he is such an eloquent author.  Searching for pools, seeps, streams, ponds, rivers and even flash floods in our Southwest desert country - he took me on an adventure that I will never forget.

"The desert breathed and then went silent at the first mention of nightfall, a kind of quiet that comes only at the edge of the earth."

Reading his words I was determined to capture a small few of them in stitchery.  Thus came about this working of the threads in "Magical Water" - a piece that is still in progress. 

Don't you love it that we, with our hands, our minds and our hearts can capture moments, events and most of all our deepest feelings?

"It is always like this finding the source of water - a second of silence, the clandestine enchantment of encountering something small and sacred, then down on knees to see where it actually appears, how far inside I can reach." - Craig Childs

Desert Trees

If you've been a long-time visitor to my blog you know that I have a fascination with trees - or at least the trunks of trees.  I'm always looking for patterns in them and marveling at their shapes, forms and textures.

Our recent trip to the southwest desert allowed me many 'tree events'.  Desert trees are always very inspiring to me.  They are constantly subjected to the forces of nature.  Sun, rain, snow and especially wind can shape these beauties into 'twisty' forms that leave me in awe.

We found this lovely winter white tree in Nevada.  When we asked its name we were told it was the "Snowball" tree.  Its blooms, as they fall from the tree, leave the sidewalks and yards covered with white petals.  Doesn't the trunk look like its advertising winter all year long?  Although it might look like someone has carved into this tree to make the designs it has formed these markings in its bark all by itself.

This pine tree was found on the plains that surround the drop into the Rio Grande River.  Very blustery there and as you can see the wind has been playing games by twisting its trunk into lovely, intricate shapes.

"To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature." - Oglala Sioux

Bandelier National Monument

 

One of the most wonderful aspects of our trip to the New Mexico desert was its rich history and the fact that it is being carefully preserved.  Bandelier National Monument recognizes and honors the ancient people who lived in this area.  Evidence of human activity dates back 10,000 years.  I can't even begin to tell you how I feel when I am in the presence of a civilization that is so ancient. 

The rock formations here were originally formed by two violent volcano eruptions  more than one million years ago. The pink rock of the canyon wall looks like sandstone but is actually volcanic ash that compacted over time.  The Ancestral Pueblo people used tools to enlarge some of the natural openings in the cliff face.  Stone dwellings were constructed in front of these enlarged openings.

These ruins are the plaza of Tyuonyi.  The walls surrounding this plaza would have been smooth-plastered with mud.  I can only imagine the sights, sounds and smells of the daily activity within and around this village.

This painted design, or pictograph, was part of the back wall of a second story dwelling.

I thank those who have worked to preserve and pass along the teachings of thisoh so long ago period of time in our history.  Walking here on a lovely spring afternoon took me back into time in a wonderful way.

"Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, and robes the mountain in its azure hue." - Thomas Campbell

All Around Me

 

A beautiful week spent in the western desert.  Cottonwood trees in all their golden glory.

Mountains surrounding the Carson Valley with a blue sky background.

Trails to walk, streams to view, textured desert foliage.

Dunes around Washoe Lake...





...with painted faces to greet us.

 

My thoughts today - coming back to a safe, warm, dry home - are with those in the northeast.  Having been through a few Mother Nature temper tantrums I know that they change more than just the physical surroundings but our whole feelings of safety and security, of home and hearth.  Know that my heart is with any of you who can read this.

"A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand.  I think, I too have known autumn too long." - e.e. cummings

Flying Machine

                                                        "Design for Flying Machine" - Leonardo da Vinci

Going back to the desert - flying high in the sky.

I'll try to post along the way - just to let you know that I'm thinking about you as I breathe in the clear desert air, spread my arms in the openess and feel the sunshine warm my skin (even though it is supposed to be rather cool).  And of course loving our family!

"For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci
 

My Place

 

My soul comes alive in the presence of vastness.  When I was recently in Nevada my grandchildren and I would go outside, into the dark of night, and sit looking at the stars above.   We could see from horizon to horizon.  I was in awe while my soul was at peace.

When I am in the desert, where the view is never ending, I feel my heart fill with the miracle of it all.  I celebrate this earth and my teeny, tiny place in it.

 

When the ocean waves break -- one after another -- and I look out to the horizon seeing all that water in front of me my heart sings.

 

I am such a miniscule part of this universe -- and looking at the world around me makes me realize that the every day of my life is only one iota of the whole system (if even that).  These thoughts free me -- they allow me to put everything into perspective.  I will never learn all of the mysteries of the universe but I am so very glad that I am here to nurture it as I can and let it nurture me.

"Do not look at stars as bright spots only. Try to take in the vastness of the universe." - Maria Mitchell

Heading to the desert

This week takes us back to the Nevada desert to our family and friends - to the wide open spaces and high Sierra mountains.  I'll be back next week - hopefully bringing back pictures and tales of a week in the west.

"Wilderness is not  a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit." - Edward Abbey

"...if you trust in Nature..."

"If you trust in Nature, in the small things that hardly anyone sees and that can so suddenly become huge, immeasurable;

...if you have this love for what is humble and try very simply, as someone who serves, to win the confidence of what seems poor

...then everything will become easier for you, more coherent and somehow more reconciling, not in your conscious mind perhaps, which stays behind, astonished, but in your innermost awareness, awakeness, and knowledge." -

Rainer Maria Rilke - "Letters to a Poet"

"Desert Dreaming"

I began work on this bird after we got home from the desert.  The colors used, seem to reflect what I saw while out in that wild world.  Do you think this guy is waiting to fly off to the west, back to where he'll blend in well?

I experimented with his top-knot - by using loop levels of 10 and 11.  Now I know what those loops look like and they certainly made a good head dress!

"It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds". - Aesop

Flowers in the Desert

This is the time of year when the desert blooms.  I'm sure there are many people who think that a desert is an arid wasteland - and if you drive through only looking out the windows of the car that would seem to be the case.

Stopping along the road - walking down a trail in the early morning - looking very carefully, there are many flowering plants to see.  Truly, desert walking fulfills the phrase 'stop and smell the roses' - however in this case it would be 'stop and see the flowers'.

I loved hunting out these small, colorful spots along the trail.  It was almost like hunting for Easter eggs -- looking for a bit of color in amongst the green, brown, rust and other desert shades.

Don't you admire these hardy plants that survive on little water, bending with the wind, blooming in spite of what looks like a non-flower area? 

And then there are those stickery, prickery cacti that say 'stay away from me'!

"The desert has a beauty all its own,

A rustic scene of something to behold.

As you look into what the winds have blown,

Extend it further out, it does unfold".

Lady Kathleen



Arizona Dreaming - Sedona

How do I begin to describe this area?  I am awestruck by the grandeur of the huge, red stone fortresses which surround this valley.  Rocks the size of mountains loom up against a clear blue sky.  Rocks which are orange and rust and red with spots of green where tenacious high desert plants cling to the red soil.

These mammoth 'structures' have been carved by wind and water and weather.  Some of them look like huge sentinels guarding the valley below.  If I look closely I see features, shapes, castles, doorways - only my imagination limits what I see.

As I look out and up at these rock formations I am filled with gratitude that I can stand in the presence of such rough hewn beauty and natural grandness.

"The finest quality of this stone, these plants and animals, this desert landscape is the indifference to our presence, our absence, our coming, our staying or our going. Whether we live or die is a matter of absolutely no concern to the desert". –Desert Solitaire - Edwart Abbey

Absorbing the Light

Imagine the most wonderful light in the world.  Imagine that light surrounding you, lighting up all the corners and then creating shadows.

Imagine looking across a valley, as far as the eye can see with the golden light of fall filling your soul.

Imagine ancient rocks outlined before a sunlit sky.

Imagine a sky so blue it takes your breath away.

These are some of the desert sights I've had over the past week.  It was very hard to come home!

"Wander where there is no path". - Chuang Tzu