Stamp in Sam's Garage: A Trip to the Desert

Hi!

Yes, I know I promised photos of those rascally cats for today's post, but my plans changed. So, hopefully, that will be tomorrow's post.

I took a little break this weekend and headed for my friend Roxy's house in Pahrump, NV, along with Mick and Sue. Gorgeous weekend to be in the desert - temps were in the 90's, we had clear skies, and there were lots of spring blooms. What more could you ask for?

Oh, well, yes, it WOULD have been nice to bring home more money from the casinos than I took, but that's one of the hazards of gambling, I've learned. But I had fun, even though it cost me a little bit...

And, I DID win some jackpots, but when you're playing the penny slots at five pennies each spin, jackpots don't mount up very quickly! LOL But while we were there, we had good weather, good food and good friends. Those are more important than a few pennies.

Roxy has tortoises and a great enclosure for them. Here are Roxy and Susan, enjoying coffee and sun this morning outside the enclosure.

Here's one of the tortoises having her breakfast.

We had the opportunity to visit the Master Garden site in Pahrump while there. Roxy has been a member for about 8 years ago.

The Master Gardeners were having their annual Open House, and the garden was just bursting with all kinds of things in bloom. They've done such a good job at setting it up. And wouldn't you know it, I FORGOT my camera for that leg of the journey!

There are native and imported plants and the Master Gardeners have mixed them so tastefully, while considering what the plants need to thrive. They have a great maze you can walk thru - the sign at the beginning tells you it's an old practice used for meditation.

There is also have a garden area with peas that the local school children planted and nurtured until they were mature enough to plant outside, as well as other vegetables.

A number of displays were set up, and there were folks manning all the information tables along the path winding thru the garden. All are knowledgeable, and if they don't know the answer to your question, someone else in the area will.

Since I love to try to grow things from cuttings and plantlets, I'm always fascinated at how many things seed themselves down. I've asked Roxy for seeds from some of the things growing there.

Several years ago she gave me a Desert Willow plant. Since these are known to grow in the desert, and I live in Mira Mesa, CA (about 3 miles from the ocean!), we knew from the get-go that it might not like it here. But I'm happy to report, it's still growing after three years, and I even had blooms on it one year! I was SO EXCITED! I guess I'm sort of a "test garden" for that desert willow, and I'm pleased about that.

Here's a photo of a desert bird of paradise plant in Roxy's front yard. She's promised me some seeds so I can see if I can get one growing here. That's an old farm disc they have used as decoration in their front yard.