The desert keeps blooming!

 

Linda Vista Trail, half a mile from my house.

I can't get enough of our desert wildflowers this spring! Every time I go out to hike I think surely they must be fading by now, but they're not. They've painted the land with swathes of yellow, gold, blue and purple and splashes of pink and red.

I've taken all of these pictures within the last few weeks on hikes in Catalina State Park, Saguaro National Park East, and the Linda Vista Trail by my house. They're all in the Sonoran Desert, which encompasses Tucson.

The purple flowers are on a cactus.

The feathery flower below is a pink fairy duster.

The bright red flower above grows high on the tips of the ocotillo. That's an ocotillo on the left in the picture below. It looks like green leafy sticks and the flowers grow on the tips (although this one isn't blooming yet). They can grow over 15 feet high and wide and their fiery flowers look magnificent against a brilliant blue Southwest sky.

These cute yellow blooms that look like pineapples grow in a circle on the top of the barrel cactus, below. The barrel always leans to the south.

It's a real treat to find a running stream in the desert. This one is at Catalina State Park, and I spent a long time sitting on a rock listening to the water and enjoying the shade on my last hike there. Most of Tucson's winter residents have left and spring break is over, so the crowds are gone and I had this beautiful spot to myself.

I saw the horses at Saguaro National Park and love how the clouds are piled above them. I think it could be a scene from a Western.

Have a colorful day

Colors of Louisville

Here's more color from my trip to visit my sister in Louisville, Kentucky. She lives in the Crescent Hill neighborhood with a delightful street lined with independent shops and restaurants within walking distance. I loved the basket room at a fair trade shop there.

This basketmaker caught snippets of fabric in the stitching, which might inspire me to do the same in my coiled fabric baskets.

The consignment shop down the street featured very colorful Derby dresses with outrageous hats in its window.

The stroll to the stores was full of spring blooms.

One day we walked around a lake in a nearby park, above. The trees were dusted with delicate new green leaves.

Another day we walked around Old Louisville, with its grand old mansions and gardens.

The "Pink Mansion" used to be a men's club built in 1891 as the Gentlemen's Club and Casino and was a bastion of male debauchery. But that ended in 1910 when the Women's Christian Temperance Union bought it and painted it pink! Now it's a private residence surrounded by pink tulips.

Its neighborhood was full of pink and purple flowers.

We went to several galleries and museums, including this one filled with contemporary art. This piece is by Jeremy Vessels and is called "O'Keeffe." It's made of recycled skateboards and maple. I forget to get the name of the one below, but it sure is energetic.

Terry and Dennis live in this beautiful old Victorian. Their backyard is full of song birds like the robin and cardinal in the trees below. I had forgotten what it was like to hear songbirds!

 

But let's not forget food! We had lunch at the Wiltshire Pantry, which has amazing artistic pastries. (This was only one of the bakery cases I ogled on the trip.)

And food leads me to the "Eclipse Cookies" offered at Terry's neighborhood bookstore:

We watched the eclipse from Terry's backyard. It didn't get totally dark but it dimmed enough that the streetlights went on and the air felt cooler. Their dog, Ella, took it all in stride.

My son and his wife drove to Indianapolis for the full experience, where they said it got pitch black. They watched from a park full of other eclipse fanatics. I approve of their colorful blanket!

Have a colorful day

My art opening in Louisville

My sister Terry is an artist in Louisville where she's a member of PYRO Gallery. This month, each gallery artist was allowed to invite another artist for their annual invitational, and she invited me! So I entered two of my quilts and flew out to Louisville for the opening last Friday. (I finally got to wear the artsy vest that I bought earlier this year in Tubac.)

You can see Terry's two water lily paintings and my sea star quilt behind us, and below is Terry and her husband, Dennis, with her gorgeous painting.

With 36 artists exhibiting there was a big turnout for the opening, including one artist who entertained on a keyboard with some lively boogie woogie. 

Terry was on the refreshments committee so we stayed the entire three hours, which led to some chair and phone time toward the end. It was a lot of fun, and the art was very diverse.

Here are more of her water lilies in her cheerful kitchen. She also has a thing for chickens, so I took pictures of chicken art throughout the house.

The first two are by Terry and the last two are by other artists.

I'll do another post on Louisville, which was bursting with spring flowers and tree blossoms as well as being on the path of the eclipse. It was my first time there, and I was impressed with the grand old homes and fun shops and restaurants.

Have a colorful day