It's dry, dry, dry

It's May, and it's warming up. Temperatures are in the 80's during the day, and it cools off nicely at night. The garden is all planted now, and some things are taking off (tomatoes, cantaloupes) while others are still eking along (peppers). The winds blew down the pea trellis last week and it took the birds no time at all to pick at those juicy young shoots that were exposed. My hope is that they will still recover.

Out and about, the desert has greened up as all the mesquites have leafed out, but even if the landscape looks green, it's not because we have had rain. There is a big forest fire across the valley in the Chiricahuas, and it's being valiantly fought because it is close to habitation, but from here it seems endless as we see smoke billowing every day. My dear grandmother didn't do me any favors in taking me to see Bambi when I was 7: it made a huge impression on me (and I had to be carried out of the movie theatre because I made all the other kids cry too). I fear fire more than anything else.

In spite of the dry, plants that belong here are doing fine: cacti are blooming, as are the ocotillos. No leaves, just blooms, to the hummingbirds' delight. It is also time for the agaves to send up their bloom stalk, which grows inches per day until its flowers are ready. In the picture with Dan you can see the smoke from the fire in the background over the mountains.