he has been growing like wildfire.  his presence is consuming and our love burns for him.  the ornery toot that he is! 

one grey and drizzly morning, i flung wide our doors and windows, to let the creosote drenched air waft and wander through our house.  while puttering around the rooms, i heard a harmonica sigh.  it continued breathing its song, until i found the master of the music, look up at me and smile. 

oh boy ender, you must always pack a pocket knife and harmonica with you whenever we go camping.  it will help our souls survive out there in the wilderness.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

The desert is an ocean who asked God to roll back the heavy lid so she could stare straight into the heavens.  Its still teeming with life, fish who swim on two legs and two feet, chasms where creatures see only with their tongues, reefs of rosa woodsii, ruellia, and rosemary.

It was a gloriously golden day to drag sleeping beauty, ahem, arica, out of bed to do a bit of exploration of the Sonora.  It is such an inspiring place to visit.  Ender did alright.  He is lucky Aunt Arica was still doped up on sleep and that I was too lazy to man handle is rascally behavior.  I think the sun finally beat that boy into submission, though.  After refusing to sit in his luxury wagon, the blazing trail finally "convinced" him that a free ride wasn't so bad after all.  I personally believe it was the splinter he got in his heel the first 10 mins of our hike that caused cantankerousness.  Note to the airhead mama: close toed shoes.  I also found splinters in my bottom for the next week.  How in the world?!!!   All in all, Ender and Arica make for breezy and quirky companions.  I highly recommend them both.

 

A week of weeks

One cockroach is innocent enough, i suppose.  but two, three, four,......50 and don't forget the thousands that lurk in the shadow of just that single one you see skittering past your feet.  They invade, they are Satans legions.  And this week, we, well.....really, just zander waged war.  After a lot of foot stoppin, sprayin, trap settin, and prayin, zander claims PTSD.  I laugh this off of course, but the man is traumatized.  He thinks about them all day, he dreams about them by night.   Its time to move.


I didn't want to move initially, but this event in our lives is making it that much more sweeter.  Its getting hot here in the desert, neighbors are falling off the grid, our vegetable garden is withering, its the little things that God is using to help push me out the door. 

Zander. He was showering and meanwhile SHE was stalking him. He is standing on our bathroom sink   in the picture.  Below the crop is the obvious and a plunger. Above the crop is cockroach insides splattering the wall. Aye aye aye.  He is dejected, tired of all the killing, but he must continue until none remain. 

Ender.  He is such a voracious reader.  We are clearing our book shelves, prepping for the big haul.    We are not moving because of the vermin.... oh no, this move has been in the making.