Back and forth.....

And so, we came home.     Although Montrose is about 20,000 people...probably more cows and horses....the airport is busy busy  with major airlines parked at the gates.   More and more are seeking the outdoor life and the area is exploding.    

But it was good to get home and the snow arrived to make everything beautiful. 

 

 And then we did the long drive back to AZ and sunshine and chilly days.    There was quite a bit of frost damage on the plants and flowers.    The lemon tree looks particularly stressed.  

In my spare time.... between knitting and walking  and reading.... I draw and paint.   I like to try and capture plants and natural things.    This is a cholla (choy-a ) and they grow in various forms.   I'm always picking up things from the ground to draw or study and I came across this teddy bear cholla with it's little puff balls scattered about.    Knowing they are prickly, I carefully put one in my jacket pocket.   As I continued my walk and felt the sharp pricks through the jacket, it dawned on me that this probably wasn't a good idea.......

Once I got home, I put on some leather gloves and began the retrieval process.   You can guess the result.   The spines have barbs on them so they stick ferociously.    Then there are the tiny hair like projections that are invisible and cling to everything.    Days later, I was still removing spines and those tiny hairs from my jacket....and I kept feeling teeny tiny irritations on my skin and using a magnifier to find the offender.     I'm not sure what inspired me to pick up the puff ball....I'm very aware of the warnings and pictures of golfers who tried to retrieve an errant ball......I  blame it  on the creative side of my brain, not the smarter side.  

Meanwhile, my mana-tea infuser was in my Christmas stocking and makes me smile every time.    And it works.    

I am so proud of Becca.    She set goals, worked hard,  and yesterday, she reached that goal at her happy place, Disney World.   😘