And Speaking of Rocks...

I mentioned in the last post that we had collected rocks from here, there and everywhere, many of them finding an unusual home in the low desert. What a surprise if, four hundred years from now, a passing geologist should happen to notice one of our rocks and quickly ascertain that it originated far from Borrego Springs. He would never be able to uncover the whole truth about how it came to be in this vicinity!

Rocks do tell stories. Archaeologists can trace movements of early people by many methods...one of them being rock arrowheads and tools. Rock amulets have been found far from the source of origin, again, telling a story of trade between early people. Rock paintings tell the story in a different way. Our rocks, too, have many tales to spin...

Rose quartz chunks from South Dakota were taken from a defunct mine. Bright white quartzite was given to us from the manager of a quartzite mine near here. Lava rocks from Long Valley outline a garden bed. A small circle of white rocks of descending sizes represents a full day of collecting in the warm waters of Lake Mohave and stands out starkley against our granitic soil. Dark green rocks came from beaches near San Simeon, as did a group of banded gray rocks containing letters which spelled out our name. ( THOSE took a long time to collect! ) We have obsidian from Nevada and the Salton Sea. We have "lucky rocks". We have rocks from outer space. We have rocks from almost every state plus Canada and Mexico. Not what you would call a collection. What you would call a recollection. How we love them all!

Garden Pathways

Who doesn't like to lead someone down the garden path?

Many happy hours have been spent guiding friends, visitors, children, all kinds of people along our garden pathways. They were started some time ago. Rocks always held a fascination for us. We had collected them from far and near and had weighed down our boat and RV with them. Who knew they would finally settle down in Borrego Springs and become part of a desert path through a desert garden!

It started small and just grew, grew, GREW! Now, there is a well defined walkway leading around the back acre. It began with a short rock lined path leading to the palapa. It ended up as a meandering tenth of a mile walk around the garden. Recently, we filled it in with gravel, which has proven fairly easy to maintain and does inhibit weed growth, or, at least gives an outline for grooming.

Now, we hula hoe along the outer sides of the path, which keeps the yard looking fairly tidy and offers a cholla-free means of walking through the garden, while still enabling observation of all the natural plants and animals that call this place their own.

If your back is still healthy, you want some exercise and live in the desert...this might be the very project you were seeking!

The Heat's On!

WOW! These first few days of triple digit temperatures , as always, come as a surprise. How easy it is to forget all the beautiful mild weather during most of the year and start to complain about the heat! AND... we all know better...it happens every year, sometimes earlier, sometimes later.

If you watch the morning news on the San Diego channels, you will see that fog hovers over the coast, day after day...May gray, June gloom. We didn't appreciate that either, when we lived on the coast! We had weeks and weeks go by without a glimpse of sunlight. Life was viewed through a misty veil of moisture.

Here, in sunny Borrego, we view life through dark glasses, from under a wide brimmed hat with a bottle of water close at hand. Our daily life begins early and seeks refuge in shade or inside the house, usually before ten o'clock in the morning!

Such a contrast...and within such a short distance... but, we have certainly adapted to desert living. Unlike the early settlers, we find summer in Borrego not a challenge, but a blessing, thanks to the numerous items created to make life easier in "hot spots"... swamp coolers, central air conditioning, swimming pool sprinklers, UPS, Kindle, on-line shopping, air conditioned vehicles, drip irrigation and more.

The nights are still cool and will probably remain comfortable through June. The snow birds have left, stores are adopting new summer hours, blankets have been removed from the beds, water timers have been adjusted, the remaining vegetables are being harvested and we are settling in for a very restful summer!

Beets

Beets are one very maligned vegetable. I've never especially liked parsnips, turnips or okra but, to me, beets are a delicacy...the sweet new varieties definitely deserve a place in any vegetable garden. There is a person in our house who absolutely despises beets, but there IS a way of getting around that fact! Beet tops are a tasty substitute for spinach and don't seem to mind being called by another name. They look like spinach and taste even better, with a dash of butter and lemon. No one is the wiser. I plant Detroit reds and Golden globes every year.

It is a bit more difficult to disguise the rich maroon root color of Detroit reds. I prepare them by wrapping in foil with rosemary and shallots and roasting them at 350 degrees until tender. They may also be prepared by steaming or boiling - then peeled and sliced. OR, you can pickle them for use in salads. For the finicky eater who absolutely refuses to eat them, here's an old recipe for pickled eggs which will captivate any reluctant beet eater!

Red Pickled Eggs: ( A colorful gift for any occasion )

1 bottle hot peppers and juice
1 cup apple cider vinegar. Cook, peel and slice aout six medium cooked beets. Hard boil and peel a dozen eggs.( leave whole ) Chop an onion. 2 whole cloves garlic. Put all ingredients into a large jar to pickle and color. Refrigerate.

Watch That Bump!

Members of the WETS ( the Walking, Eating and Talking Society ) met for lunch yesterday at the Airport. As you might guess, myriad subjects arose and were thoroughly discussed, one of which arose from my question, " Have any of you noticed the last few miles of S-22, the Salton Seaway, are becoming worse...and how much do you slow down when approaching it? "

I'm sure every Borregan knows what I mean... the east most terminus of S-22 has a history of being bumpy. It is a good indicator of seismic ground movement and uplifting in this area of the desert. We have always slowed down for this section of the road, but have NEVER seen it as pitted, lumpy, bumpy, dippy as it is now...especially the dip just before the corner gas station!

Those of us " in the know " slow down and have to smile when others pass us at 45 or 50 MPH, only to quickly hit the brakes when encountering the first bump. It will eventually be repaired. In the meanwhile, BE ADVISED!

One Very Important Item

If there is one item every Borregan has and uses often, it is an ice chest. When Trader Joe's, Costo, Albertson's, Staters and other large stores are, at least, an hour's drive away, an ice chest is not only a convenience but a necessity!

What a different life we lead, here, in Borrego Springs! I used to jump into the car, drive a few miles to get vacuum bags, tennis balls, get a car wash, go to a movie, buy a Frostee Freeze or have a Big Mac. NOT HERE...and we like it that way!

There have probably been no scientific studies on the Borrego population at large, but I'll bet that any study would show, in general, that Borrego folk are much more organized and creative than those who live in cities. We schedule up to six or more critical stops each time we venture out of the valley...and keep a running list anticipating our next "out of Borrego" experience.

A typical list of ours would include stops at physicians or ophthalmologists, Trader Joe's, Bank ( ATM ), Home Depot or Lowe's, Petco, Costco, Albertson's, Wallgreens, Staples, William's Nursery, In and Out and, sometimes Westwood Mall. We leave home around 8 am and return around 5 PM. Quite a day...I'm sure glad we only schedule it about once a month!

Breaking Garden News

Guess what's happening in Borrego? You guessed it ...the heat has arrived! I've already started the "summer blahs" as far as the vegetable garden goes...time to put the tools away and let the garden rest and renew itself while I resort to a few cool laps in an 80 degree pool! ( Expected temperature, today...104 degrees! )

The second crop of peas was far from perfect...perhaps I asked too much of the soil, even though peas create their own nitrogen. The net kept the birds away as they matured...Burbee's super snap resulted in larger pods and peas, which seemed tougher than the earlier variety. Not worth planting. We pulled all tomatoes and have many frozen bags ready for use during the summer. Radishes, lettuce, chard and spinach bolted and have been removed. Currently pulling beets, drizzling them with oil and roasting prior to chilling and preparing for salads. Still pulling carrots and keeping them covered trying to thwart the carrot loving dog. Soon , I will remove all and freeze the surplus. Chandler strawberries still producing. Lots of them in freezer. We intend to cover the berries with shade cloth and keep them alive during the summer. Summer squash is in full bloom and production. Acorn squash is maturing. Anna apples have been thinned and are almost ready to harvest.

In all, our fruit trees and vegetable garden have blessed us, this season. We have a good supply stashed away for the summer. We will soon lay bags of fertilizer over all, water, cover with plastic and let the earth renew itself.

Volunteer Village

Guess what? If you are thinking of a desert home...a get-away or perhaps, a good place to retire, don't be fooled into thinking you are leaving your work-days behind you! I have never seen so many busy active people...we are truly a community of volunteers...and volunteers of a different ilk. If you are civic minded, there is a place for you. Want to keep your town tidy? Volunteers do that. I asked a person with a trash bag and a grabber why he volunteered to pick up trash. He replied, " It's my exercise program and I don't even have to pay for it! " Others volunteer for the Park, the Art Institute, ABDNHA, the Anza Borrego Foundation, the Chamber, Legion, Performing Arts, schools, and more.

We have a Ninety-Nines Club ( women pilots ) who have their very own airport, just minutes away from anywhere in Borrego, lots of churches actively thinking up ways to help ( They recently raised funds to pave the old road leading to the churches). It seems there is always an upcoming golf tournament to benefit this or that. It's not unusual to see our ex- mayor working on a back hoe planting trees to beautify the town.

There are Jeep clubs, hiking groups, bird watchers, mountain sheep counters, book groups, A.A. and many other organizations. Take your pick. Just understand that you never have to be bored if you live in Borrego Springs!

Plants with Legs ?

If a potted plant could walk, do you think it would move to another location? That question came to mind a few months ago when we refinished the pavers on the front patio and had to move all the potted plants. The same old plants and same old pots had " their spot " on the patio and seemed to be doing well...but on a whim, I decided to try them in a different area, just to see what happened. To my surprise, within a month, some plants showed major differences, as evidenced by an amazing bloom on a favorite cactus, which seemed to register a heartfelt thank-you for the relocation to a sunnier spot on the south facing patio.

This month is a good time to take another look at your potted plants, wherever they reside, indoors or outdoors. Have they outgrown their pots...any scale or pests...dusty leaves...do they need fertilizer or new soil...appreciate a new location with more ( or less ) sun...???

Repotting cactus in a commercial cactus mix ( Home Depot ) will do wonders for cacti or euphorbias. For other plants, use potting soil mix. Your plants will love you for it!

Borrego Tweet and Twitter

We have been getting lots of twitters and tweets. I suppose they mean the same thing as the newer tweets over cyberspace...but, who knows?

I think the Borrego twitters must have been going on long before the people came - maybe before the mammals came. I just know that most mornings they start early, the first tweet usually coming from a nearby Say's phoebe, before daylight. A single tweeeeeeeeeet that is sure to alert the avian group that the day has certainly begun...similar to the playing of the national anthem to start TV's daily programming.

From then on, the twittering and tweeting reaches gigantic proportions...all birds join in as they greet the day and move on to their busy tasks. We do seem to have an overabundance of the champion tweeters, the common house finches, who view our shady porches as their very own territories, making this time of year very messy...at least on our patio! NOW, I think I know why they twitter so much. They are using the network to advertise the perfect finch development...eaves for nests, wind protection, water lines already established, food close at hand...what more could they ask?

A Garden Wall

I always thought a garden wall's purpose was to offer seclusion, safety and a delineation of property...at least, that's what I thought when we lived in the suburbs.

Here, in the desert, the wall does offer some seclusion and safety, but few Borregan's would attempt to wall their entire property, where lots are measured in whole and half acres! Here is where the concept of the inner garden makes sense. A small area, created to give privacy, offer intimate living space, a place to grow flowers and vegetables, a place to swim and relax...exactly what we planned when deciding upon how much space we actually needed for those activities...but the most important feature the wall should provide, for us, was access to all the views offered by this unique desert place...huge never ending vistas of mountains and desert.

The County building code helped us achieve this goal by requiring an elevated "pad" for each new dwelling. That simple requirement enabled us to construct the wall at a lower level than the house, which takes full advantage of the views!

Voila! Problem solved.