AKA Jojoba, Simmondsia chinesis is my favorite desert shrub. The fruit produced by the female plant is a nut that’s pretty tasty! This photo shows the flower of the male and female.
Cleo and me
Not exactly the shot I had in mind but it’s tough to photograph Cleo while I’m trying to walk him!
Luckhoffia buchmann
Succulents were on the agenda in landscaping class yesterday. Our teacher, Scott, brought in many samples from a private collection and each was as unique and interesting as this one.
http://www.dbg.org/index.php/education/landscapeschool/schedule
(Desert Landscaping Certification program)
Frost cloth
Heavy frost covers the sheets I used to cover some of the more sensitive plants. There is also ice in areas. According to the weather service, there’s only one more night to worry about.
Magenta sky
For just a couple of minutes last night, this was the actual color of the sky. There is a little frost this morning and we have a frost warning for the next couple of mornings. An end to the cold is in sight, though, with low 70s predicted for later in the week. Come on Wildflowers!
New growth
Ocotillo (Fouguieria splendens) is sold bare-rooted and literally looks dead when you plant it so it’s exciting to see new growth. Red is a sign of stress, though, so the leaves will probably die from the cold. There’ll be more later.
Coyote Buttes Wave
My video clips from our hike to the Wave are on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaq6JtT7Wg4
It’s about 9 minutes of riveting adventure 🙂
Canyon X
One of the highlights on our N. Arizona photography adventure was a visit to Canyon X led by the infamous guide, Jackson Bridges. Without him, we probably would not have spotted this face! Jackson and his partner Charly Moore are both photographers as well as expert guides. We highly recommend spending a day with them. http://www.overlandcanyontours.com/
White Pockets at South Coyote Buttes
Charly Moore led us to the amazing area of South Coyote Buttes and White Pockets last week.
Where flux goes, solder flows
Pipe fitting was our lesson at desert landscaping school yesterday. Besides copper, we also worked with PVC and poly pipe putting together sections of an irrigation system.
Next Wednesday, we have to draw a complete drip irrigation system!
I missed that class last week so I’m stressing already 🙂