peaceful ladiness in the courtyard, penpal chemistry, desert plantpics, rocks inside rocks

I got this beautiful small rock.  It's some kind of opal.  I'm keeping it here with me--it reminds me of a shell--that delicate gorgeousness.  It has these parts that are something else, maybe.  I like when rocks are imbedded in rocks.

We were at Cactus Joe's.  I want a particular kind of hummingbird sage, "forest fire," which is supposed to grow well in Las Vegas.  I hoped I could find some, but I knew it would be fun just to walk around looking at rocks.

We ended up buying a new Quan Yin statue because the old one broke and was glued many times.  Maybe this one will last better.

It's a bunch of dudes living here, then me and Ming, so it seems good to have Quan Yin and a Mary statue in the courtyard, blessing the peaceful space with their compassionate ladiness.

One day I saw two Catholics praying at the Mary statue.  They were Secular Franciscans here for a monthly meeting in the back house.  They left a glass of roses there for her.

And once when tree trimmers were here, they relocated the Mary statue so she wouldn't get clobbered by a falling branch.  Maybe they didn't see the Quan Yin, smaller, by the trunk of a mesquite tree, or recognize her as a goddess also.

Yesterday I walked on Latenight trail by myself.  It was beautiful to be with the joshua trees, other yucca, creosote, glowing cholla, gorgeous rocks, huge sky.  The temperature was good.  I went slow and stopped whenever I felt like it.  Few people were around.  Mostly people use that lot to park and ride their bikes.

I was walking on that nice flat trail, and I had cellphone reception sometimes but not others.  I'd turned my ringer on in case Ming was looking for me.  I took some pictures.  Oh yeah, I forgot.

Pencil cholla is pretty cool, huh.  Maybe this is really branching pencil cholla.  But who ever heard of a branching pencil.  These cholla namers need a vacation or a raise or something.

Joshua trees are amazing.  What do you think?  Strange, seussian, sculpturey.  Dramatic, attractive, easy to stare at for a long time, pleasing the eye.  Just delightful.

I wish the golden glow was easier to photograph.  The gleam is so much more vibrant in real life.  Oh well, I tried.  I think this is teddy bear cholla?  I dunno.  Maybe they hybridize.

This one had such a bright color and beautiful yuccaness I photographed it three times.  It was a more complicated color than this.  Hahahaha!  I didn't know a color could be complicated.

If I had a branching pencil, maybe I could write multiple poems at the same time.  Or I could write multiple poems in multiple universes.  Hmm.  Sounds hard to publish.  Where do they send the royalties check.  Hahahaha!  The universe where poetry pays.

Really, pencils kinda drive me nuts.  I'm a pen person, all the way.  I used to like erasable pens, when I was a kid.  Now I cross shit out, all day, every day.  I think crossed out whatever is lovely.  One line, two lines.  Some penpals like whiteout--I never whiteout.

Penpal love is a special kind of love.  How we can get chemistry on paper, over the years, asynchronously, is pretty amazing.

A penpal's little handwriting, what she says about her breakfast, the article she includes ripped from an unknown magazine, how she signs off.  The x she puts by her name, or how many x-es.  How vulnerable someone will be.  A funniness, the details of her job, travel, pets, relationships, her frustrations.  It's an honor, to be told things.

The stamp she uses on the envelope--pretty stamps of other countries.  Christmas cards with printed words in languages I can't read.  Beach photographs they took on holiday.

It's so leisurely.  If you can keep it up.  If you can manage not to lose everything, or get overwhelmed by a long amazing letter, so long and amazing it never seems like the right time to write back.

A dashed off postcard or notecard can be easier, which doesn't seem fair.  Well, I gotta go back to bed.  Blessings to you and whatever you're doing.