Creative Gardening in the Land of Little Water

My wife has all the creative and artistic talent in the family.  You might think that 'gardening' and 'desert' are oxymoron-type words that just don't go together, especially for weekenders who can't water very often.  After all, what can you do with prickly pear, creosote, cholla, barrel cactus, and yucca?  Well, you may have to broaden your definition of what a 'garden' is, but with a dash of creativity and a pinch of humor, the sky's the limit!

The 'Painted Desert' with old paint cans, brushes, and even blobs of old paint.

'No Hunting' garden, complete with shotgun shells

Newly planted Saguaro cactus, with old rakes and hoes pointed outward for protection from the critters!

Baby yellow barrels (above); Old Bottle Garden (below)
 

 Desert Springs garden

'Love Garden' - only heart-shaped rocks allowed!

So, how many times do I have to get poked before I stop walking around the desert wearing flip-flops??!

Antelope Squirrel

According to the internet, the name of this little guy is quite a bit bigger than the animal himself... Ammospermophilus leucurus.  We've developed a love / hate relationship with them.  They're very animated and fun to watch, but they eat up all our cactus (including those heavily covered with spines!).  Last weekend, we were surprised to see one run up on our patio and effectively flatten out like a pancake!  They look like plump little things, but they can flatten themselves out so they are incredibly thin... very interesting!

Orange County Fair

A buddy of mine and I went to see Steve Miller at the OC Fair this week (great show, by the way!). While I couldn't take my camera into the concert, I did manage to get some fun pics of the fair before the concert.  Glad I took my camera (thanks to my wife for the suggestion)... just a ton of stuff to take pictures of!!

Pig Snout

Waiting to show off his pig

Ready to go to work!

Goats at the feed trough

Prizes for all!

So this is what turkeys look like??!

Crazy ride... looks like you lay stomach-down and it flings you around!

Everything you can imagine to eat!

Fried Oreos, anyone??

Collections on display

Remember Pez dispensers?  Who knew they would be collectible??

Glass blower in action

Glass "blob" coming out of the kiln

End result... hand-blown glass!

First horsey ride... looks like she has the steering figured out! 

'The Girls' Have a Play Date!

Our chihuahua, Miley, is about 3 months old now.  My sister's chihuahua, Annie, is closer to middle age.  We got them together for a play date on Sunday.  Miley's a bundle of energy... running and jumping non-stop, and making a total pest of herself!  But Annie is very patient and gentle, and the two dogs really seem to enjoy each others company.  Here they are in their matching dresses!

Dog-a-licious!

Here's Miley basking in the sun on the back porch, chewing on a treat.

A kiss among friends!

 

Jackass Trail's photostream

Jackass Trail's photostream on Flickr.