July has begun & monsoon season has been officially declared. Although thick white clouds have been scudding by overhead, afternoon winds have whipped & gusted, & the horizon at times turns a bruised indigo tinged lavender, we’ve yet to receive measurable rain here in our spot of the desert. In order for monsoon weather to be “official”, the dew point must be recorded above a certain percent for three consecutive days. June was quite un-June-like & incredibly kind to us with highs only in the 90s and cool 60s & 70s for our lows for most of the month, until last week when the humidity soared & the heat hit us like a hammer. I know for some places humidity in the 30% range would be quite laughable, but we desert dwellers are used to percentages well below 20. Combine that humidity with temps above 100, and, well, it is now also officially HOT! So goodbye to our evaporative cooler for this year, since it no longer cools effectively when the humidity rises. We love using it because it is quiet, the windows must be open while it runs (which allows us to continue enjoying the sounds of the desert), & it costs much less to operate than our “regular” A/C. Now our windows are closed & the regular A/C will keep us company during the next few months as we hope for rain while watching the thermometer climb as summer bakes the Old Pueblo.
My little postcard tapestry, soul garden, was completed last week, I think, & I popped it naked & unprotected into our old, beat up & sun worn mailbox today for its short journey to Tohono Chul Park to be included in the fiber art post card exhibit, “Wish You Were Here”. A bittersweet feeling accompanied its finishing… several days after we had seen this year’s new bobcat kitten, we saw mama with two kittens, & so realized she had twins. Sadly, that same night we heard a horrible & indescribable noise through our then still open windows coming from the same area where we had seen our little bobcat family earlier. A day or two later, we again saw mama, this time with only one kitten in tow. We believe one of the great horned owls from the family that had been hanging out here snagged the unfortunate kitten. Living here in the real desert, outside the city, we are reminded constantly that the desert remains a wild place. Not good or evil, but just as it should be, even if it makes makes me feel sad by human standards.
And, I said “I think” when I wrote soul garden was finished last week because my mind has been jumbled by the plannings & preparations to attend the Silvia Heyden workshop next week in Mendocino! Just this morning I visited the FedEx center to ship an 18+ pound box containing my Mirrix loom & all of the weaving paraphernalia I hope I will need while I am there-- we must also bring our own warp & weft. I am almost finished with the second reading of her book, The Making of Modern Tapestry, having serendipitously acquired it just prior to learning about the workshop. When I actually registered, I was half way through reading it; when I finished it, I began to reread it in anticipation of the workshop & I’m now almost done. It is amazing & belongs on the shelf of every serious tapestry weaver. I also learned that there will be an exhibit of some of Heyden’s works hanging in a nearby gallery while the workshop is on & the artist’s reception is also scheduled at that time. Five whole days of listening, looking, learning, weaving, & talk of tapestry in a land where the cold, blue Pacific scents the air with its salty splashing, redwoods shade the wet earth while towering in the sky, & air conditioning is considered unnecessary. Sounds pretty much like paradise to me!
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