Desert Magnolia

We had a humdinger of a hail storm a few weeks ago. Hubby and I were sitting out on the patio enjoying a glass of wine and some oysters one Saturday evening. The sky was dark and rumbly, but it was still warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the weather. After about 20 minutes or so, the rumbling got louder, then we thought we heard a freight train headed for us. But we don't have any tracks nearby, so that was odd, to say the least. The sound got louder and louder, and then the sky opened up and hail fell. Lots of it. Big ones, the size of quarters.  We fled inside and hoped our windows and roof and truck (in the driveway) were safe. After what seemed like forever the storm blew itself out, leaving a 3" thick coating of white everywhere, making it look like it had snowed, and lots of damage. In the weeks since, we've had our roof inspected, and the insurance company totaled it. We'll be getting a new roof in the coming weeks. I took our truck in to be lo...

Sometimes Fall sneaks up on you, and then one morning there you are surrounded by golden leaves and you notice a chill in the air. Sometimes Fall skirts the edges of Summer, teasing with its cooler nights and crisper mornings. This is a skirting year. Our days, due to some unexpected high pressure systems, have been unseasonably warm, still in the 90's when they should be dropping into the low 80's by now. Even so, Fall is close. The leaves in the Sandias have begun to turn glorious shades of yellow and gold and red. The morning air really is cooler and cleaner and has a bit of an edge. I noticed last week, when greeting the early morning in Santa Fe on my friend's patio, that it was much cooler in the City Different. Much. I needed a sweatshirt...and the colors, evident on the nearby Sangre De Cristos, are stunning. So, it'll be really cool, for real, pretty soon, we're told. For today, though, it's sunscreen and a hat for the walk/jog. It's goin...

The desert Southwest is named that for a reason. Our rainfall is way below other parts of the US, and when people fly in for the first time, they are struck by how brown everything seems to be... But let it rain a few times and magic happens. The little plants and flowers that wait patiently for the tiniest bit of moisture dance with joy and sprinkle the desert with sage greens and various gorgeous flowers of incredible intensity. And if the rain continues for more than a shower or two, as we're told it will this year, the entire desert gets a fluffy bluish green fuzz not unlike that of an adolescent boy sprouting his first beard. The Pacific is warmer than it has been in awhile, which bodes well for us. The last few days have been stormy, and lovely rainfalls have occurred during the night, making the morning air clear and fresh and moist and rinsed of some of the typical pollens found floating abundantly this time of year. People look better too. We kind of glisten up, moi...

Two weeks ago I was wearing sweats around the house, which averaged 62 degrees, because my husband had turned on the air conditioner (which means no more heat for the summer, which usually works out just fine) so I would be comfortable while he was away on his annual backpacking trip. It had been in the 80s and edging its way up, so I completely supported his efforts to provide coolness in our casa. But then it did what it can do in this odd place, and a cold front blew in, dropping tons of snow on the Colorado mountains and dustings in our city as well. No kidding. But, as fronts do, it passed, wending its way across the midwest and wreaking havoc in the form of thunderstorms with hail, which is always ridiculous. And now we're in the high 90s and edging up. No, we don't have humidity to speak of, which is a plus. I think we were at 6% yesterday. But hot is hot, and we are now in that place where frying an egg on the top of a car (though why anyone would DO that is ...

When it gets around to precipitating in the high desert, it can go a little overboard. We don't often get the gentle, soaking rains that last for hours and replenish the earth with fresh, clean, nourishing water. Instead we get the gully washers that prompt streams to overflow, streets to become rivers, and plants to hang on for dear life on any sloping ground-the ensuing runoff will threaten even the heartiest of root systems following one of these deluges. Yesterday afternoon marked one such event, and from what I can tell our roses were pummeled by hail, the ground is very wet, and GG's decision to wait one more week to plant the seedlings was a solid one. In the southern part of the state big flooding happened. The morning news showed main street in a small town completely flooded..and vehicles sitting up to their axles in water. Nothing gentle about these climes, yes? It's all or nothing, most days.

This bitch is on her way to my girl Since Daughter moved to the East coast for college, she's been in the path of two hurricanes. Irene was the first, and she and her team were held over two days in North Carolina  as that storm blew itself out over the Northeast. This time, this time she's in RI, and Sandy is headed directly for them. They're not allowed to leave their dorm rooms after 1 p.m. Eastern, today, due to high winds. They've stocked up on non-perishables and water, and are expecting widespread power outages. The first of the worst is supposed to hit later this evening and continue into tomorrow. Duration is hard to predict given the Canadian cold front that is joining up with this tropical beast and feeding the frenzy. It's a hybrid storm, kind of a hurricane weds a n'oreaster. Nobody knows for sure just how bad it's going to be, but everyone is sure it's a doozie. I can certainly attest to that. Being here, so far away, an...

Last night after work, after working and then running errands and then picking up a rotisserie chicken since I was absolutely lazy and it was hot and I did not want to cook , and then dropping off a thank you card for our niece, who took care of the house while we were away, I got home, changed into cool non-work clothes, and made my way out back. WHERE I FOUND OUR POND EMPTY! Ok, nearly..there was maybe an inch of water in the bottom, where the poor, stressed out goldfish were huddled hoping things didn't get any worse than they already were. Which they didn't, because I immediately filled it back up, tried to figure out what had happened, and came to the conclusion that the fountain piece, which is a glorified tube that sticks up and burbles out water via a pump in the bottom of the pond, had been knocked over by a big bird who'd landed for a drink and maybe a bath. And that knocked over tube had reached over the edge of the pond and just pumped away until there was o...

Rain Love the rain until the arroyos fill up and Volkswagen beetles are spotted floating downstream. Sun Love the sun while it's delivering much needed Vitamin D, warming the skin and generally imparting a sense of well being to body and garden. Begin to not love it when first signs of sun damage appear in mid-thirties, and the fight is on to correct and prevent further evidence of sunworship in early twenties while wearing little string bikinis and olive oil. Sometimes just olive oil. Snow Love the snow as it's replenishing the snowpack and ensuring a healthy water table and river flow for the spring and summer to follow. Hate the snow when it accompanies an electrical outage that spans over a million people...a million...and downs trees and generally wreaks havoc once more on the Northeast. Son is fine, warm, safe, but damn, it's cold and every.one is sick and tired of the white stuff. And the stuff that follows the white stuff..the squishy, icky, brownish subst...