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Tag Archives: Desert

The Gentle Autumn Sun…

30 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Blessings, Change, Contentment, Gardening, Gratitude, Happiness, Joy, Life, Nature, Opportunity, Outdoors, Seasons

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Autumn, Celebration, Desert, Garden, Heat

Finally, I’ve gotten to my favorite time of year, time for the gentle Autumn sun! The scorching Summer heat has finally abated and I can do all my outdoor chores without concern as to the temperature, how sunburnt I might get, or if I’ll get heat stroke doing it all! This is the first week we’ve cooled down into the 80’s F, which is idyllic here in the desert Southwest! Nights have been cooler for a month or so now, but the days were still creeping into the mid to high-90’s, even hitting 100, which meant it still felt pretty hot by midday! But, now it’s the ideal time of year here, in my opinion. With cool nights and pleasant days, it’s possible to open the windows, to shut off the air conditioner, and to enjoy outdoor hours without concern!  

This morning, I spent a few hours raking up leaves and assorted messes around the yard. I filled three big tubs of debris and watered some plants without even working up a sweat! It was a sweet reward for all the days during Summer, when faced with night-time lows in the high 90’s and days well over 115! On those kinds of days, the sun races to beat everyone in getting up, heating up all the surfaces and even the water in the taps and garden hoses to scalding temperatures! And all those tremendously heated surfaces usually retain that heat even well after the sun finally sets at night. The air conditioner runs almost constantly, frantically trying to keep my home at a livable temperature of 79 degrees, while fans assist in keeping us content. The pool water can even become more like a warm, unrefreshing bath after many consecutive days of truly dangerous heat!

Each year when Autumn finally sets in, usually well beyond the calendar’s mid-September date earmarked for it, is a reason to have a celebration as a gardener and outdoorsy person! The unrelenting heat of Summer keeps me indoors or in the pool if I’m outside. But when temperatures finally become not only tolerable but enjoyable, it’s time to go out and catch up on all the chores long waiting for my attention! I can busy myself each new day with watering, clean-up, pruning, and my favorite pursuit, planting! I adore working in my garden, honing my landscape into something of beauty, which is truly hard to do when I am limited by the intense Summer weather. Unlike places which endure the dormancy of cold and snowy Winters, here in the desert, we endure a long, hot, dry Summer season. That is our period of doing less or just the bare minimum, while our plants, gardens, and landscapes struggle to survive until a softer, gentler season ahead. And finally, Autumn arrives on some random day like today!   

This morning, I opened the windows and left them open until noon! The only reason I closed them at all, I was heading out for the afternoon. I wouldn’t dare think of going for a swim now, the pool is far too cold for comfort. But that is a trade-off I am willing to make for weather which is finally comfortable! I hate to feel as though I’m wishing for days to pass quickly, but each Summer here in the desert stretches on for usually four or five months. By the end of that period, I look so eagerly towards the sweet return of Autumn’s gentleness, just what we’re finally now having! I don’t resent Summer, but I do consider it a necessary part of what must happen here so that we might finally be rewarded with this! I’m so thankful for what is ahead in the next weeks and months, days spent doing so many of my favorite things under the warmth of a gentle Autumn sun! I’ll surely take my time enjoying all the moments ahead outdoors and in, savoring the sweetness of a softer sun and an easier time of things!  

A Seasonal Wardrobe Change . .

04 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Beauty, Change, Gratitude, Seasons

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Beauty, Desert, God, Nature, Spring

I feel sorry for allergy sufferers during a desert Spring such as this one! There are many stuffed up noses and tear-filled eyes with all the flowers and plants in bloom. It seems as though even normal blooming has been surpassed by super blooming this year! We’ve had regular rains since last Summer all throughout the desert Southwest, usually of a significant amount every month and then we had our usual warm up to prompt seeds to sprout and plants to grow. Now we’re in our glory here in the desert! Like fresh carpets or blankets spread over entire regions, or new Spring dresses adorned to highlight the season, this desert is covered with wildflowers and shrubs blooming en masse!  

I recently drove through the desert between Southern California and Arizona. Along the Interstate, the normally drab and boring desert through which I’ve passed dozens of times on that drive was transformed by a carpet of fiery gold! Everywhere I looked, including up the sides of mountains and beyond, were yellows and orangy-gold flowers illuminating the ground! Brittlebush, poppies and other yellow blooming plants were mixed with a few purple and white wildflowers alongside the highway and beyond to cast a more vibrant costume change over the usual beige dress worn by this familiar desert. 

But I know all this color and beauty comes with a price for so many! They endure allergies daily. I consider myself quite fortunate to not have such issues, as I love being outdoors gardening. Anyone inclined to allergies would have significant trouble this year! What a burden to have to choose between viewing and being amidst the beautiful blooms out in the desert or to sit home for the sake of preserving one’s health?! I’m remembering how the desert around my city once was considered the haven for those who had allergies, doctors often recommending an extended visit or residency here for health reasons. Decades ago, it was less developed and there were fewer species and fewer quantities of those specimens to bother the average allergy sufferer or those with breathing issues. But with the post-war, mid-century population surges of the 20th century, this desert city became a thriving metropolis! Along with all that growth and development came waterways, greenbelts, and many more gardens with more varieties of plants! Now, this desert town has become a beautiful expansive oasis, but the prevalence of allergies are a tell-tale symptom of our progress! We even recently developed a mosquito issue, due to our regular rains and the prevalence of water in communities!  

Although I feel truly sorry for those inflicted by the symptoms of such fabulous blooming seasons as this one, I am thrilled to experience it for myself! It’s amazing the depth, breadth, and scope of natural beauty found in a desert after ample rain! Suddenly, even the harshest terrain can resemble something entirely different and much softer for all the moisture. Bright greens and hues which defy description have replaced the browns and tans the desert normally wears! This change of costume for our desert is a perfect way to delineate the transition from Spring into Summer! As one scene ends with one season, another begins, and the star of the show has a wardrobe change to highlight that transformation! 

I’m sure the allergy sufferers will take their relief shortly when the heat of Summer blasts the blooms into submission. It’s just around the corner now that we’re in April! Even the hardiest of blooms takes a pause for the intense heat, drought, and sun of Summer in our desert which usually is advancing by May. I will savor the moments I now have to enjoy the beauty we’re experiencing by spending time out in my garden and in nature! It’s a beautiful season, a fabulous year, and there is much in the way of God’s majestic design and craftsmanship to behold! And I’ll surely appreciate doing so sans allergies and breathing issues, and be thankful in the process!   

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Cheryl Ries-Author & Model

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