desert

A collection of 29 posts

desert

PINERS

One summer, my friends and I were camping, and we decided to go swim at a little desert pond. To get there, you had to drive a criss cross of dirt roads across the high desert. You knew you were close to it when a group of towering cottonwoods and

cats

The YOLO Approach

Some of you probably remember, back in another life, I had a baking blog. I was going through a difficult time and decided that I would deal with it by learning to bake. The plan was that I would bake a thing a week, and then give it away (in

desert

This Is Art...

Years ago, I was living fairly far away from my brother, and he made the trek to come see me. We spent the weekend doing a variety of things, and one of those things was going to a pretty-famous, nearby town to which he had never been. It was early

desert

Sensory Deprivation

I was asked to participate in a team relay run. The run was something like one hundred and twenty miles total, through the desert, in March. I was put on a team with some people I knew, some I didn't, and I was given an eight mile leg

cats

Toxic is a Broad Definition

As mentioned, I've got some cats. These cats destroy any plants I bring into the house. I would love to have a house full of plants, but I'd have to choose between the felines and the chlorophyl, and I guess I've already made that

cats

One Chicken, Two Chicken

I live in a rural area. On my street, we are probably the only people who don't have a collection of farm animals. We do have two ferocious, indoor felines who regularly let the bird population know, if that window glass wasn't there, they'd

food

Everything Has a Recipe

Years ago, while on vacation with my family, I convinced my dad to help me bake a desert. My dad, who at the time didn't have the best working hearing aides, agreed to help but was very dismayed when he found out I needed him to knead some

desert

That Looks Ominous

The second time I ever hung out with the guy who would become my husband, he asked me to go stomp around some sun-blasted, stick infested, section of scrub oak filled Forest Service land. He said he wanted to go quail scouting (it was spring, so not hunting season) and

desert

Signs

Recently, my friends said there was a cool bar near their house with a fun, speakeasy vibe. We all walked over there, my friends, my husband, and I, and it was a gorgeous evening. We reached the bar, and there was a sign, about three feet tall, posted at the

desert

The Patriarchy

My husband and I were invited to a friend's for a dinner. We were asked to bring something to share, and my husband decided he wanted to make some venison shoulder, and I decided I wanted to make a lemon torte. Well the day of the event arrived,

desert

More Man

Once I started work at a new place, and I was in that new job fog where I was learning a lot and entirely behind on what needed to get done. I was tired. I had finally made it to the end of the day, and I stepped outside to

desert

The Price of Honesty

In the desert of California, I would go to the local farmer's market. It usually involved a man in a tie-dyed onesie and an alien mask playing discordant tunes on an amplified guitar, at least ten women in high waisted shorts and floppy hats, a minimum of two

travel

Phoenix Invades

One year for my birthday, my husband booked us a cabin on a little guest ranch outside of Prescott, Arizona. The ranch lay off a twisting of Forest Service roads in the Pinon/Juniper forest, and in the dead of winter we were some of the only guests. The ranch

desert

Bad Gas

We don't have a wood stove. But it is important you understand that my husband loves wood stoves. He wants to put one in our house. We've lived places with wood stoves before, but this not-so-new house in which we currently live doesn't have

desert

Vegas, Baby

I went to Las Vegas recently. I've got friends who live there, and on Saturday afternoon we went to a park. While in the park, I took a photo of the lake and sent it to a friend. #Vegas, I said. To which he responded, That can'

travel

Overheard in Escalante

I went "glamping" in Escalante. I'm not usually a glamper, but I was invited, and it actually was pretty fun. It was hot, probably close to 100 out, and this glamping situation had a pool. There were three other women at the pool with us, two

desert

It's Hard To Be So Famous

My entire life, I've wanted to see a book I wrote on store shelves. This dream has yet to come true, but I hope that one day it does. My husband has never had such a dream. He's not a writer, and that's great.

desert

Water is Always Relaxing

One spring, I could feel the hot weather coming, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little stressed by the on-coming heat. The months of triple digit days, and the lack of access to any sort of pool or river had lodged themselves in

desert

Desert Stuff

It is hot. Like, July hot. It isn't the hottest summer ever, but I'd say the temperature is probably over a hundred at seven p.m. I'm in my kitchen, and I look out my back door. I see something. Big. Flesh colored. Wait,

desert

Overheard in a Trendy Town

Standing in line at a sandwich place, a woman wearing bright red lipstick and an ankle-length, denim coat with a faux fur collar, a wide brimmed hat, and white snakeskin boots smokes angrily. She's yelling at a man who looks like he's woken up as a

horror

The Horror Of Teeth

The day before I was moving to another state, we were cleaning out the fridge and we made a fridge-clean-out-cheese-plate. There were tomatoes, olives, pickles, cheese, and a variety of other things. I took a bite of the cheese, and I felt something hard in it. I took the half

desert

Found: Mannequin Head

If you lost your mannequin's head, its on the side of the highway, approximately one-hundred and ten miles north of Mexico, in the vicinity of one of the rainbow houses, but not too far from the jail. This is no ordinary mannequin head. He comes with a full

desert

Happy Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day. KT comes into town. There's a garage sale down the road from my house. We park before the rambling chainlink fence, the yard of dirt packed with sun-bleached stuff. Tables of broken, outdated strips of plastic and rusty metal fill our

desert

Seen in the Desert

While getting my hair cut in a hair salon that also happens to be a museum about hair, three Gen Z'ers walked in to peruse the shop's various bits and baubles, because that phrase was actually made for the things in this place. The young women

travel

How you Find Yourself

#vanlife It's a thing. I see them all the time. Vans in their various sizes and values– Sprinter vans with surf racks, decommissioned plumber rigs with the only back window boarded in plywood, the previous's owner's buisness lettering still visible. The van occupants, like