Spring in the Basin

You know, I whine a lot about life here in Hell. Everyone says the weather is "perfect," but it rarely is. It's either too hot, from about May through early November, or oddly cold. What I mean by that is that in December and January, when the temperature is very nice and I get to wear jeans, the sun is still out and when I drive in my car it beats down on my legs and makes me hot. Yes, I'm being petulant, but it's still weird. However, for about two months, in February and March, it's spring here in the desert, and it's quite nice (although it hit 90 last week a couple of times). In January we get some rain, which the desert soaks up, and the desert blooms! It blooms! There's green on the hills, there are birds everywhere, and all around my neighborhood, flowers show up and relieve me of my depression of living in this pit.

Every day I like to take the kids for a walk around the block. Mia loves strolling around, and it's always good for Norah to get out and about. She loves walking through the yards of our neighbors, jumping off short walls, smelling the flowers, feeling the spongy grass (yes, many people have grass in the neighborhood, despite the fact that we live in a freakin' desert), and having a grand old time. It's also, I suppose, quite healthy for us all! I'm trying very hard to keep Norah active, and this is one way. We rarely go too far from our house, but it's still fun. As we cruise along, Mia checks things out, Norah tells us where the moon is (when we can see it), and for the past two months at least, we've been looking at the flowers. Krys said the nice yellow ones are Mexican poppies, but other than that, I have no idea what these flowers are called. I'm no botanist! I suppose one day I'll have to sit down with Norah and figure out what these are called. Until then, I'll just enjoy looking at them.

Of course, very soon the sun will blast these fragile blossoms into oblivion, and that's too bad. Soon, whatever precipitation we received this winter will have been soaked into the harsh ground or evaporated, the mercury will hit triple digits, and the plants and humans alike will be affected by that wonderful lassitude that makes living in Hell so horrific. But at least we have a few months to enjoy the nice weather while the Northeast digs itself out of the snow that dumps on it quite often. But who doesn't love snow?

Anyway, here are some more pictures of flowers. Don't they just put you in a nice, calm mood?








That last one, of course, is Norah, who likes to get up close and personal with the flowers.

Enjoy the pictures - it's the last time this year the Basin will be attractive!