Detail from "Rain Dance," an original quilt by Sherrie Spangler

Friday, April 29, 2022

My sister and neighborhood color


My sister Terry and her husband, Dennis, visited this week from Louisville. Their stay was too short! It was too hot to hike in the desert (temps in the 90s), but we did have a nice early morning stroll through Tohono Chul gardens.

Parts of the garden were lush with wildflowers, while others were more desert-like,


After the heat of the day, we enjoyed sitting outside in the balmy evenings gazing at the stars and planets. Tucson is a "dark sky" city with reduced light pollution. That combined with clear skies makes for some great star gazing. Just one more thing I love about my new hometown.

Dennis fixed my poor leaning bottlebrush tree, and they pampered me with lattes that they made with their traveling espresso machine.

They also love their dark beer!


Here we all are in my backyard as they were getting ready to leave yesterday. It was a really nice visit.


And here is some color from my neighborhood walks recently. Everything is in bloom!




Have a colorful day


Sunday, April 24, 2022

The Grand Canyon and Sedona


I went back to the Grand Canyon last week for the first time in 37 years. It was just as mind boggling, although this time I was only there a day and only hiked a few miles along the South Rim. 


In April 1985 I backpacked in the canyon for about two weeks, zigzagging down to the Colorado River a mile below the rim where I hung out along the sandy shores and enjoyed fern gardens, cool springs and canyon wren calls that can't be experienced from the rim. This is me at the edge of the Colorado in the bottom of the canyon.



The Grand Canyon is sacred to Native Peoples. For that reason, I was bothered by the commercial hustle and crowds on the rim. On the other hand, my friend and I were contributing to the crowds. 


The Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff has an exhibit about the Grand Canyon and its native people. Here is some of the text:

Our Land

Our teacher is the land. We watch it carefully, and we learn from the water, rocks, winged ones, tree people, and the four-legged ones. We have a deep connection to this place. -- James Uqualla, Jr.

Along with the vast areas of the Coconino Plateau, our territory included lands within the Grand Canyon. In the winter we lived in camps on the plateau. Here we gathered piƱon nuts, blazing star seed, yucca fruit, and other wild plants. We hunted rabbits, deer, and antelope. Pinon and juniper wood warmed our homes. We thrived. In the early spring, we left the plateau to grow summer crops in Havasu Canyon.

In 1882 the U.S. Government confined us, year-round, to a 512-acre (2 km) reservation in Havasu Canyon. This halted our migrations and access to game, firewood, and plant foods. The canyon is cold and damp in winter, receiving little sun. It was a hard time for us.

Over several generations, we protested our great loss of land. In 1975 the U.S. Congress heard our voices and returned to us 185,000 acres (749 km) of the Coconino Plateau, the largest amount of land Congress ever returned to any tribe. Additionally, Public Law 93-620 made available, for our traditional use, 93,000 acres (376 km) of Grand Canyon National Park Land.


When we got back to Flagstaff, about an hour and a half south, we had a delicious Mexican dinner at Salsa Brava, below.


The day before, we stopped in Sedona on our way up to Flagstaff. The magnificent red rocks (actually, orange) punctuated a cloudless blue sky and temperatures were in the low 70s, delightful.


We had Sonoran breakfast burritos at Creekside at a table outside overlooking the canyon. The Buddha statue greeted those heading back for the view.




On our way out of town, we stopped at Slide Rock State Park where people were swimming and cooling off in Oak Creek where it cut through the canyon.


In Sedona with Tom, who I've been dating since November!

We hadn't planned to stop in Sedona, but the Tunnel Fire burning northeast of Flagstaff closed the places we had planned to visit that day. The fire swept through Sunset Crater and made Wupatki National Monument inaccessible. My friend Judy had to evacuate for five days but was finally allowed to return home today. Our hotel housed out-of-state firefighters and evacuated families. 



Look at this cool truck that we passed on the way home! Its curved back reflects the sky and road behind it.


Have a colorful day

Sunday, April 17, 2022

More spirit dolls



I got an unexpected package in the mail last week from a blogger friend, Lynda. It was a box of sticks from her yard in Indiana to use to make my spirit dolls! I had mentioned to her that one of the biggest problems in making the dolls was finding sticks in the desert, so she shared some of hers! I told her I would make any type of spirit doll she wanted as thanks, and she said anything Southwest. So I made the little doll shown above. Check out her blog for some great fabric ideas and lovely views of her garden.

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Now this next story is really amazing. In the early 1980s I worked at The El Paso Times and was good friends with a reporter named Pat. We kept in touch for years after we both moved on to other states, but at some point about 30 years ago we lost touch. I tried to find her online, but she has a very common name.

Then she found my blog recently, we reconnected and got caught up on each other's lives, and she ordered seven spirit dolls made with African fabric! (I just happened to have a large stash from when I used to go to the Houston quilt convention and buy fabric from international vendors.)

Since we lost touch, we have raised six kids between us, changed careers, got a divorce, and moved many times. I'm looking forward to staying connected the rest of our lives!


Pat's African dolls

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I added these next two dolls to my blog shop, which you can get to by clicking on My little art for under $100 at the top of the blog. They're $30, which includes shipping.


"Dawn Spirit" evokes a beautiful new day's dawn and wears a protective hand charm. Hang her or prop her up where she can greet you in the morning and bring a smile to you.



"Night Guardian" brings the soft purple of a beautiful evening turning into a velvety night. Put her where you can see her as you turn out the lights for the night and have sweet dreams.


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Then I made some more dolls for
Absolutely Art Gallery & Gifts. These are a little larger than the ones in my blog shop and sell for $38 at the gallery. Of course, the gallery owner gets a nice percentage for her costs and she does a great job with display and publicity.


"Spring Spirit"

"Night Energy"


"Earth Mother"


"Sand Tracks II"

Detail from "Sand Tracks II"



Detail from "Night Energy"

Speaking of night energy, we had a spectacular sunset the other night. This is the view looking across the street from my front courtyard.


Have a colorful day


Monday, April 11, 2022

Mexican art on display


There's a wonderful store here in Oro Valley called the Western National Parks Assn. store that has an exhibit and sale of colorful Mexican indigenous art through Wednesday, April 13. It features Zapotec weavings, Oaxacan carvings, and Mata Ortiz pottery.

The colors of the Zapotec weavings are luscious. I wish I could have afforded a few, although it would've been hard to choose. The weaving has been part of the Zapotec culture since at least 500 BC.

 

Next up are the Oaxacan carvings of fanciful animals called "alebrijes." They are carved by hand from copal wood then painted with natural pigments. The details are incredible! One legend has it that alebrijes were created by a Pedro Linares after he became ill. Delirious in Mexico City at age 30, he dreamt of a strange place resembling a forest in which strange, composite animals were all shouting, "Alebrijes!" When he awoke, he crafted the first alebrijes from papier-mache and a new genre of art was born.





Finally, the earthier colors of Mata Ortiz pottery contain beautiful, detailed designs. 


If you get a chance and are in the Tucson area, head on over to the store by Wednesday. It also carries native Indian jewelry, books on the Southwest, and the usual array of tourist gift shop items like t-shirts, mugs, maps and puzzles.

Address: 12880 N. Vistosa Village Drive, Tucson (but actually in Oro Valley)
Phone: 520-622-1999
Have a colorful day

Saturday, April 9, 2022

This doesn't look like a desert!


My Gig Harbor friend Nancy and I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens today and she could hardly believe this lush retreat is in the middle of the desert town of Tucson. She and her husband have decided to move here from rainy Washington, where she's a Master Gardener. I'm sure she'll master our desert plants in no time.

Here, in no particular order, 
are pictures from the urban garden.



Coral Fountain


Poppies


Kalanchoe


Succulent wreath


Barrel cactus flowers


Yellow aloe blooms (foreground)



Bird of Paradise






Natal Lily


Fan palms




Amaryllis


Salvia



Mexican honeysuckle


Angel Face Floribunda


Three of the many irises:





Detail from a colorful tile bench


Red cluster berry


Mexican yellow bird of paradise tree

You can read about the history of the botanical gardens here: history

Have a colorful day