The Magic of the Desert:

It’s April again and still finding new stuff most every day but also delighting in the rhythm of life. I say that because I just found 3 pairs of cardinals in one of our orange trees as i sipped my coffee.

This year we decided to go to Carnaval in La Paz. Besides the fact it happened to fall right on Brant’s birthday, we needed to check out a float that the Rotary Club helped to sponsor. And a couple of adventurous friends joined us on the quest.

We came well prepared for the fact that our hotel room had a balcony that hung right over the street of the parade. We could see one of the 5 stages from our balcony as well a birdseye view of the parade. Unlike the Macy’s parade in New York we suspect our room was discounted (and available) because it was on this route! Regardless it was a beautiful place to celebrate. The hotel even provided multiple packages of ear plugs!

Just like in the US growth of plants seems to slow during February and March (especially the desert plants), but mid march without a drop of water stuff starts to grow. This year we are having lots of firsts: our first banana, coconut and pineapple (grown from a Chapito’s top).

Sadly stuff dies. We learned about a mold impacting trees in the area with the sad loss of 2 of our trees. It came here via an infected oak tree smuggled in from California. Unfortunately the trees here have no natural defense. So as tempting as it is…don’t do it!

For a year nearly every day I look in that pineapple for a bloom…so excited to see it at last.

And just as exciting to see the banana bloom.

Just noticed my chica sapote has a dozen fruit on it (mamey).

The 2 trees we lost were natives…each about 80 years old but planting a date palm is supposedly safe. Tune in next year.

So the “season” is winding down with folks leaving daily for the cooler climes. By the end of May there will be lots more time to float in the pool and read a good book.

So today we celebrate over 43 years of marriage…and close to 50 together. So easy it is to take this all for granted. So easy it is to forget to thank the guy who puts up with woman that paints 8 sample colors before choosing who then he puts up with my meltdown when the painter decides to just go rogue with color (yes the whole house and no I never forget these things). But more importantly, how lucky I am to be with a guy who still loves to explore and adventure together—yet he also so happy to spend the day doing health screenings at a local school today. (A nice way to allow kids to be less fearful of medical stuff while catching a few important diagnoses). So here’s to the guy who was really more obsessed with making this all happen than I was! So so many details….paperwork, planning, billing, building, repairing….and of course the repairing will always be there. So lucky to be with a guy who can fix just about anything. And here’s to hoping there will be even less to fix next year and even more time for being in the water and hiking in the hills. After a few years here we get better at laughing at stuff that used to make me “meltdown”, but during that time we never stopped loving this beautiful place we live….nor tire of finding new adventures. A quick walk out to the beach generally calms me down….so this blog is to thank that guy for sharing it with me and making it happen and not being afraid to take a chance.

They say everything changes but hoping we can hold onto this beautiful ocean sitting right next to the magical desert and the mountains for many lifetimes. And so very happy to be sharing this magical place with the guy who magically walked around the corner just when I needed directions… 48 years ago.