the heat is on

Late spring or early summer, call it what you want, either spells h-o-t in the desert. After an unprecedented & quite lovely few days of cloudy skies, downright chilly weather, and rain (60s is chilly when it follows temps of 103, break out the parkas!), we are headed back into bake mode this week.

I’ve made just a bit of progress on soul garden, after first procrastinating while I fiddled about trying decide how to weave the bobcat kitten’s eye (ultimately deciding to weave the entire area as iris & embroider the pupil & highlights on later), & then taking time away from weaving to write an article for an upcoming ATA online project.

Meanwhile, the desert hurries to finish its business of Spring… ironwood trees are blushed with purple petals, chollas squeeze out just a few more waxy pink blooms,

 

fuzzy creosote fruits glow in the clear morning light,

 

saguaros hold their bouquets of creamy & luscious flowers in outstretched arms while bees are busy pollinating,

& a family of great horned owls-- 3 fledglings & their mama (you can recognize the mama by her long ear tufts & the fledglings by their gawky & slightly fuzzy appearance) has claimed one of our big mesquites for hunting & hooting lessons. Not sure how the hunting is going, since that happens mostly after dark, but judging from the not so melodious squawks the young ‘uns have been able to muster so far, the hooting is going to take a bit of polishing…

Comments

[lyn]

Oh, Jennifer, I used to live where there was that kind of humidity & it can be just as brutal! There's a joke in the desert about heat, people try to make light of it by saying "it's a dry heat", but so is the heat in an oven!

I feel very fortunate that we have so many wild creatures sharing our space here, they are so inspiring to me!

[Jennifer]

100F here won't come for a few months, but we also will deal with 90% humidity. I can't imagine hot and dry. I'm sure I would be tricked into thinking it's not that bad just before I faint from heat stroke!

Beautiful pictures and I'm especially excited about the owls. We have a number of babies around our backyard but little things like house finches and cardinals. They are amazing as they learn. The owls must be facinating!

I look forward to seeing how you finish the bobcat eye.

Thanks for sharing.