Shake Your Pom Poms!

Shake Your Pom Poms, the next blog hop starts this week, Wednesday 24 April.  My day is the 30th. I can`t wait to see the other participants pom pom creations. I`m just about finished with my projects. When I was young  pom poms were a big part of home decor.

Madame Samm is again the creator of our blog hop and Thearica from Pigtales and Quilts is our fabulous cheerleader. Can`t go wrong with these ladies.

I have a few wildflower pictures I took in our front yard to show you.

Desert Poppies

My View While Having My Morning Tea

Desert Poppies and Desert Mallow Along Our Rock Wall

My Prayers go out to those in the Mississippi flood zones and other areas suffering natural disasters here and in China.

Blessings,
Cathy

The Prickly Poppy

This wildflower is appropriately named. Prickly Poppy / Argemone Corymbosa. They grow by the roadside at an elevation of about 3500 feet. The petals are a beautiful white with thorns and look like crepe. The thorny stems are 16 inches to 32 inches tall. Native Americans made salve from the leaves for burns, open wounds and head lice. My information is from Mojave Desert. I took the pictures below on a roadside near us.

Prickly Poppy

 

Prickly Poppy

The brush and grasses are so dry now they are brittle. This is going to be a busy fire season. We had a nice showing of the desert marigold in our yard. With the weather changes in this area there is an abundance of grass crowding out some of the wildflowers. The Joshua trees are doing great. They are filled with cactus wren nests. The cactus wren is our state bird. The doves prefer our out buildings. A Gila Monster was spotted nearby. Some fool picked it up and was showing it around. They are extremely poisonous. And I believe they are protected. When they bite they don`t let go, chewing to release the poison in their aggressor. The Gila Monster is not aggressive. Not the ones I`ve encountered anyway.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have splendid weekend!
Cathy

A Thrifted Quilt

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting!

My topic today is a thrifted quilt. The first place I go in a thrift store is the quilt and blanket racks. I almost always find a nice little homemade, used quilt. I hang them for display but most often toss them across a table or a chair. These little quilts are my favorite chair cover. The one in the picture below is 40 inches wide and 60 inches long. Easy to wash 100 percent cotton. It is not a "perfect" quilt. Not every stitch is precise and there is one small stain. What matters to me is the heart that designed and sewed this cutie. No matter. I shop this way for aprons too. Homemade with a history.

Thrifted Quilt 3/2012

The last picture is our home and the wildflowers growing against the rock wall that lines our driveway. My son built the wall when he was a teenager. There`s at least 1,000 rocks in that project. The bright green bush is Creosote, the yellow flowers are desert marigolds. Not much of a variety of flowers this year. Our hard to see house is surrounded by Joshua trees. They make nice shade. I`d like to add a room but that would mean cutting a tree or two. Not going to do it.

Home Sweet Home. Creosote Bush and Desert Marigolds.

Rain and wind today. I am happy with the cooler temperatures. I hope the snow is finished on the east coast so you folks can warm up. Take care.
Cathy

Flowers and Dust

It`s very warm with high winds which means high fire danger due to low humidity. The usual spring weather.  Glad I closed the windows at home before we left to go shopping. Notice the dust. If you can`t handle dust this is not the place for you.

dust stirred by  wind on the dry lake bed

 I walked around my yard and took pictures of new flowers getting their start. The yellow desert marigold is native, hardy, used to the harsh conditions. They are perennials, my no work instant garden flowers.  My rosemary is beautiful with blue flowers. Smells so good. The lilacs are this years blooms. Their beauty and fragrance make the frequent watering worthwhile.

Desert Marigold

My 20 Year Old  Rosemary

Lilacs

Behind the lilac is some of  the husband`s gold prospecting equipment. It`s  what we call a recirculator. Water is pumped through the sluice box, recycled through the machine, washing out the lighter gravels and leaving the gold behind. The neighbor thinks we are nuts playing in muddy water and we are happy to keep them amused. We use metal detectors too. Some days you make a little money. Other days you just get exercise and that`s why they call it prospecting. Thanks for visiting. Till later,
Cathy

Mohave Desert Wild Flowers

Barrel Cactus with red blooms. My neighbors cactus garden.

Desert Asters. I love the soft lavender color.

Spanish Bayonet or Yucca Aloifolia. Notice the huge flower in the center.

Rain, snow and sleet yesterday. The sun is out and we are supposed to be 64 today.DH is working in the desert and I am going to sew tea towels with a slightly shabby tablecloth.


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Have a great day everyone!
Cathy