Famous diarist Virginia Woolf once explained, "The past is beautiful because one never realizes an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past."
It was midnight at the
oasis when
panamaus put his
camel to bed. I was overjoyed to see him arrive safe and sound from
haze's with an *eeks*
fire salamander from
Jet-Poop. I hugged maus then the salamander, 'cause it was just so sweet;
more hugs for maus who said he had another one for me from
our esteemed administrator. Up early the next day we drove out to Old Tucson to wander around a bit catch a shoot 'em up. Sadly there was a great fire a few years ago and so much movie studio history was gone in a flash that the place has more of a small amusement park theme.
maus wouldn't ride the stagecoach *sniff* *sniff* and told me to stop petting the horses. *smiles* He is such a gentle administrator. It really was boring, so we returned to the local watering hole for some great Veggie fajitas and chili releños. Yum yum!
She was right, but it's the kind of weird you want to be around; only a surreal landscape like the
Sonoran desert could have. What happens when you get
two generally quiet people together? You get a nice relaxing visit! Driving westward through a forest of
giant saguaros (*proud smiles* I only got us lost once), we got to the
Sonoran Desert Museum by early afternoon.
Chras4, can you believe they STILL don't have the hummingbird aviary done? But we were treated to
one perched in a
mesquite tree and got a picture of another drinking his fill at a blooming
salvia.
For the Snark's a peculiar creature, that won't
Be caught in a commonplace way.
Do all that you know, and try all that you don't:
Not a chance must be wasted to-day!
- Lewis Carroll: The Hunting of the Snark
There was some picture taking under an odd and out of the ordinary looking tree. Sometimes in the desert one can get a definite feeling as if they are on another planet. Walking through a maze of boojum trees
(Fouquieria columnaris) will evoke an other-worldly-ness. (There is a picture of one in my homenode right now.) You might be wondering where this quaint little common name came from. The boojum tree is one of the strangest plants imaginable. For most of the year it is leafless and looks like a giant upside down turnip. Its common name was coined by the plant explorer
Godfrey Sykes, who found it in 1922 and said,
"It must be a boojum!" Of course, he was referring of the outlandish and storybook creature Carroll called a boojum in his children's book,
The Hunting of the Snark.
Home came alive as soon as we got back. Hubby returned from work, Number Two Son came home from a friend's house and Number One Son called to say he was still alive. We feasted on pirate food and retired to a nice quiet conversation with the Grammy Awards playing in the background. We talked about good times and sad times, of E1 and E2; how things have changed, and where we hope it might go one day. Mostly though we both agreed that it has impacted our lives profoundly and in more positive ways than I could have dared to dream.
Whonk, whonk, bump-ba-da whonk, whonk
He got electric shiny jeans,
He got the fever, eating up the collard greens!
As panamaus headed out we said goodbye; wei la la! I collected my hug from bones; more hugs from maus. Later that days I got the glad news from WolfDaddy and Quizro that he made a happy homecoming to his new residence in Santa Barbara, California. (See their day logs on February 25, 2003.) It was a certain sadness when we said so long; I can still hear his last words,
"Bye sweetie!"
Really love them... Love each other with genuine affection, and
take delight in honoring each other... be the one to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner or, if they need lodging, for the night.
Romans 12: 9,10, 13 (NLT)
Devotion