Mojave Light Musing

Merry Christmas (I'm on traditional time...) and Happy New Year! Feeling nostalgic on this last eve of 2014. It's been an eventful yet good year for me, all in all. The nest is empty for the most part. I've had to adjust to not having to be "on" for someone else besides me on the home front. I had imagined all this free time filled with experiences I've been saving up to do once my family fledged the nest. Funny, but it seems I've never been busier with little free time, even on weekends, to do all the hiking, photographing, creating art, traveling, socializing I thought I was going to do. Looking back, I think I purposefully filled those spaces left open with mindless stuff to not feel the potential emptiness.... Empty, yes. Lonely, no. I am relishing the solitude. My reserves needed refueling. I had thought about doing an article on the best bits of 2014 or something like that. But, nah. I know what those are and that is enough. My energies thes

Oh my. Such interesting weather we've had this past week. 4 straight days of drizzle, soft rains, and dense fog. Today, day 5, sees a dawn of blue skies only to become shrouded in clouds again. My pellet stove is cleaned out and ready. Camera cards reformatted. Batteries charged. Toby is harnessed up and anxious to head out and see what this weather has unearthed on his favorite trails for him to nose around in. I love the feel of wet earth beneath my boots and damp, sage-scented air on my skin. Precipitation in the desert makes us desert dwellers all giddy. I wish I could attach the smells with this post. Wet earth mixed with sage, cedars, and pinion pine with a touch of creosote. Even the granite boulders have their own odor. You can't help but take deep, gulping breaths when you step outside. The cloudy skies redefine the horizons, giving great depth and contrast to the valleys and surrounding hills and mountains. Last Wednesday was the first of the dense fog days. Of co

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of taking some San Diegan photographer acquaintances out for a photo shoot in 29 Palms - Wonder Valley to be specific. It's always fun to show guests my desert world. Makes me pay closer attention to my own surrounds and appreciate what's here - the expanse, the history, the quirkiness. These shots are from playing with a new art lens I recently purchased. A Petzval, retro-designed from an original model that first came out in the mid 1800's from Austria. It's basically more of a fine art portrait lens, which I haven't had a chance to try out on people yet. Just the same, it was fun to use on the landscape and decay as you don't really know what you'll get until you take the images into 'the darkroom'.  It is a fully manual, prime lens - interacting with a digital camera much like analog (film for you newbies to photography jargon...) It has a very narrow focal point, making the background fall away in interesti

Time flies. When you are having fun. When you are busy. When you are standing still. Doesn't matter - it just flies.... I thought I'd have all this time once my last kiddo left the nest for college last August. No such thing. I'm busier than I've ever been even though I had cleared my plate of the many committees and obligations that consumed me; only to fill that time with something else for someone else. I think my problem is there's just too many interesting things to be part of. And I can't say no.  "As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being."  ~Carl Jung Today is another blustery, cold day. My favorite kind because it means I get to hunker down inside and dream and think and sort and sift through stuff in a mindless kind of way. Toby gets extra treats. And I can drink as much tea as I want because I don't have to wait for the bell to ring signaling a much nee

Yes, I am alive! Thank you for the nudges. What have I been up to these past few months? Graduated the last little chicken from high school Welcomed home a daughter-sailor from an 8 month deployment Taught a 2 week image printing class at the local college for our gifted and talented students Helped newly graduated son settle on a college for the fall and attended an orientation in another state Quelled through and prepped photos from over 130 artists for our catalog for the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours (happening in Oct/Nov) Hung out with the 2 older kiddos in their habitat of San Diego (Thank you for moving there!) Took on a consultant role with the California Desert Protection Act's 20th Anniversary (back to my conservationist roots!) Planned a week long trip through the mountains of Colorado with 2 of my 3 kiddos for early August (Can. Not. Wait to go.) Cleaned out closets (Step 1 of becoming an empty nester) Hung out with friends Was awarded the opportunity for on

Just a short post for now. The desert is far from bland and boring. Spent a few hours recently wandering among a rather vibrant spring from a mild winter. (More images in another post.)  I see potential for some new transfers. Perhaps patterns for sun printed scarves. Maybe a collage of quintessential bits of my mojave. I'm excited about the upcoming Hwy. 62 Open Studio Tours this fall. November 1 - 2 to be exact. Querencia. Finding strength from the open spaces. A quiet walk provides a lot of inspiration.

Yesterday, these blooms weren't there. Today, the little shocks of color captured Toby's and my attention on our late morning walk. The wildflowers make us desert dwellers giddy with excitement. Hoards of visitors from all over the world plan their vacations with hopes of finding these tiny beauties in abundance. Some years we are disappointed. This isn't a "banner year" but the fields, trails, rocks, crannies, and roadsides are offering some lovely spots of color - some soft, some shockingly bright. There are some species rarely seen. These 3 (blurry from winds and the limits of an older smartphone camera) are common and expected signs of spring, and they were simply displaying their delicate splendor off the side of our road. Flowers. Tiny, perfect miracles of life. Later on, I will go deeper into the park and surrounds in search of more....with a better lens to capture the intricate details...the higher elevations are starting to show. I do believe I need to

I am having trouble picking up my camera lately. The spark of creativity is buried underneath a pallor of human unkindnesses. Can't watch the news or read the internet or walk through the staffroom without feeling personally assaulted in some way. The world outside is coming alive with wonderful spring light and peeps of color. The air is warm and alive with happy chirps and the whir of wings as life gets busy making more life. But I stare at it from inside. Unable to move. Tears spill over without warning. There's a sharpness to my speech. Breathing is shallow as it burns in my chest. I feel like a thousand elephants sit on top of me. The only solace is my walking buddy, Toby, who insists on his daily walk - which we do. Most of the time. And I always feel, a little, better. I turn off the tv. I limit the internet to communicating with friends and family on "good things",  researching fun lessons, or playing a mindless game (or 2) of (dare I say it), CandyCrush. Bu

Happy 'almost' St. Paddy's Day! I am going to slightly veer from my quest to present my photographic findings of what Querencia is to do a bit of plugging for a friend of mine. Bear with me. I hope what I share is enlightening to you - and if not, pass it on to someone who would appreciate these bits of Americana.... I'm all for independent projects - people who have a passion to preserve and educate as they also entertain us. Candacy Taylor. Creator of Taylor Made Culture. An amazing, energetic, inspiring and gifted woman with a passion for preserving our Americana roots. From the waitresses of coffee shops and diners to Bingo Halls to inner workings of beauty shops to female bull fighters. Candacy unearths and brings to light the fine details of what many of us have taken for granted in our daily lives. If you are a baby boomer, you'll remember those vinyl padded turn stools on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning after church - sharing a meal with family or

Happy New Year! Happy Valentine's Day! Yes, a little more than fashionably late but I was just not feeling compelled to write the usual things as the calendar changed over to a new set of digits. No resolutions. No over-the-shoulder reflections. No sappy promises for plans of a fabulous whatever. I'm trying a new approach. Just do it. Dream it. Live it. Stop talking. Just do..... 2014 saw me turn 55 and will see me become an empty nester as my last 'baby' steps out into the world and makes his way. There is a lot of restructuring energy going on these days with not a lot of time to sit and wonder about it all. Time is fleeting and feels even more so these days.  I'm trying to develop the fine art of slowing down and savoring the richness of the moments presented to me every day as I also take advantage of a multitude of opportunities crossing my path. Dream it. Live it. Just do it. Nothing is wrong. Everything is right. I've just resurfaced from a particular