Monday, July 21, 2008

"A Desert Update..."

...From Me To YOU! :)

Season of the Year: Summer Monsoon...
Days: Blindingly blue clear skies-
occasionally punctured with billowing thunderheads or maybe dusted
by a couple of haboobs (no joke...they're real...a cool pic here)
towards late afternoon...
Temperature Ranges: 100+ and horribly Humid to 115+ and Scorching...
PLANTS & ANIMALS:
Prickly Pear Cacti: Some are beginning to fruit...
Saguaro: Tall, flowerless and thirsty...
Argentine Giants: Displaying second round of seasonal blooms...
Night Blooming Cereus: Flowering only in my memory...
Lizards: Hotfooting it across the yard and walls...
Quail: Under cover of the shade during the day
Cooing and scurrying about only during early morning hours
and before sundown...
Rabbits: Annoying
Me: Luxuriating in the coolness of the A/C
but still
wilted...and hot...and "dewy". LOL!
And then...there are the
Sunsets
and...
Nights: Brilliant crimson painted skies
Temperature: Lows mid 80's and still heavily humid
Vegetation: Sleepily awaiting automatic irrigation
before sun up the next day...
Rabbits: Out and About...Still Annoying...
Everything man made: Radiating the heat of the day.
Me: Still luxuriating in the coolness of the AC,
Tuned into late night HGTV,
Still awake, artistically burning the midnight oil...

Have really Cool and Happy Cactus Monday All !

14 comments:

Stephanie said...

brilliant composition! Love the Desert update and your color changed image is amazing!

kazumiwannabe said...

Awesome! (My exact very articulate "thoughts" at first were oh la laa... and oohh!!) They are gorgeous. Love the informations too. Didn't know you had haboobs in America. And your temperatures make me feel like I live in a cool place, finally... (I won't be saying that later in my car with no AC...)

Anonymous said...

These are gorgeous and amazing. They would make spectacular applique quilt patterns!

MaryO said...

Both light and dark versions are incredibly beautiful. And I hope that I shall never see one of your "haboobs"! They look pretty scary.

BARBARA WEEKS said...

Love the view! Both color ways are beautiful.

Margaret McCarthy Hunt said...

oh my this is lovely....i thought you had posted this at 4 am or something...and now i see it was just late sunday nite! lol

Brenda Yarborough said...

Absolutely STUNNING! Both of these are just amazing. My first thought was they need to be on tiles - maybe decorative trivets or something along those lines!

soulbrush said...

fantastic entry.
sequero tall, flowerless and thristy, that sums up senita! happy cactus monday fellow cactuteer!

Deborah said...

Great, wonderful, fantastic! Both the art and the words. You made me smile.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Wow is all I can say. That heat has really fired up your cactus monday. Happy day and I hope you are able to sleep better.

Timaree said...

Oh boy, I didn't know they were called haboobs! All I know is they are DIRTY! We had one the other day but it wasn't like the first one I saw when we first moved here - that one caused our sensor lights to turn on! We've had several good rains up here in Kingman. Last year we were so jealous of the Phoenix area as they got 'em and we didn't. And the rabbits- well, we learned to put chicken wire around anything we don't want eaten, even young trees. But, that doesn't say anything about your new wonderful drawings (paintings?). And they are wonderful. I love your sense of color. It's like getting a 2lb. box of See's chocolates coming to see what's here.

Margaret Ann said...

Whew! Goodness...Thank you each so very much for your generous and upbeat comments...they make me chuckle on the outside and on the inside they make my heart smile. You are all so lovely! :)

What a festive Cactus Monday this has been...Didn't want to scare anyone off with the haboob reference...they are really amazing acts of nature...maybe I should sketch one!!! LOL

Oh, I am still grinning at the See's Chocolates reference Freebird...I can sooo relate! :)

lyn said...

Love the Desert update too! We get 100'+ temps. in Ramona Ca. but this humidity sucks! I'd rather have 100' dry than 75' + humidity. Last 2 days have been in the 80's not so bad. Always enjoy seeing your work. Couldn't get Cactus Monday done on Monday but did post 4 of them. Prickly pears are blooming here.

Serena Lewis said...

Great post and awesome drawing, Margaret!

I have a friend who lives inland on a sheep station and they get similar looking 'dust storms'. She has to block off under doors etc., but, somehow, the dust always gets in. An amazing thing to see despite the big clean up afterwards.