Monday, May 9, 2011

in the desert...

we had an amazing weekend in the desert. have i ever told you what a desert girl i am? i can't get enough of it. there's something about the barren, sparse beauty of it that just gets me. everything in the desert is intensified. and the sunshine, oh, bring it on...

something so crazy was happening at our campground. the gypsy moth caterpillars were hatching.

apparently this happens every spring. they literally take over the cottonwood trees. you can see the trees that have already hatched because there is not one single leaf left on the tree. the ones that have not hatched are covered with the nests.

it was fascinating.

and the girls couldn't get enough of them.




we went for a beautiful hike, where the girls collected lots of rocks,



we relaxed in the shade and read books,

we swam in the river,

(love that belly!)




we went for evening strolls,
and just had a really good, relaxing time. it was lovely.

as usual, i was very inspired by both the landscape and the flowers in the desert. i always think about how hardy and tough and strong these flowers have to be to survive there. these are no yard flowers, receiving fertilizer and daily waterings. these are the real wild wildflowers. they are on their own, surviving, thriving, in the harshest of conditions. so inspiring.








i have wanted to make a sego lily necklace for a very long time. i love the simple beauty of the four heart shaped petals meeting in the middle there. i think i will try it this week.
(i do not know why this is underlined?)

i hope you all had fabulous weekends,
(with lots of love that wasn't quite this prickly...)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Did you see any of the mariposa lillies, or moon lillies? They are three-petal white flowers that look like hats or maybe an upside-down bell... They are my favorite....(and funny enough, made myself a lily pendant with moonstone in it yesterday...)...very excited to see desert-inspired jewelry from you...All hail the desert lillies!

Sierra Keylin said...

Beautiful!!! I miss the days of desert camping...when I was in massage school in Albuquerque we would head for the hills every weekend!!!! Looks like you had a wonderful mothers day! Oh, and I see your hubby appreciates my favorite cerveca of choice...TECATE!!! delicioso!!

kristi smith said...

erin, i did not see any of those. but i checked out your necklace and it is going to be beautiful! i finished the sego lily piece today.

and yes, sierra, desert camping is the best. i enjoy it so much because there's only a brief period in the summer and fall when the weather permits it!