Veggies in the desert

Due to a freak winter storm our last gold claim trip had to be rescheduled... We decided to landscape our yard and prepare for my bestfriend's slightly, life consuming wedding... The weather was bizzare; 70 mph winds one day, 70 degrees the next, then it starts snowing at our house at 2 in the afternoon.

We managed to get a decent raised planter bed put up. Matt and another guy moved 13 tons of material over 3 days. It looks pretty but my goal is to have a produce section in our backyard come this summer. I've heard nothing but how impossible that task is so I hope to prove over the next few months that you can infact grow veggies in the desert.

We put in 4 tons of an organic garden soil mix to get us off on the right foot. We used plants like lantana, jasmine, various cacti, orange jubilee for the hummingbirds, and an orange tree. Between the main plants are the seasonal veggies and herbs. I have a whole section for my herb collection, salad greens, various tomatoes and peppers, a corn patch, carrot seedlings, peas, and cucumbers. Oh and I almost forgot out strawberries... 

With gas prices skyrocketing well before summer has even arrived; we are anticipating a noticable increase at the grocery stores over the next few months...

We really hope to make our small backyard a place to enjoy the summer nights and sustainable for 2 people.

Latest and Greatest from Vegas

Sandstone boulder, natures graffiti

   Just in case anyone has been wondering if we got lost in the desert or eaten by our resident mountain lion this past week the answer is nope.

We've been entertaining company and are just now getting back to our routine again... '









     There is so much to show people about Vegas when they visit and there is never enough hours in the day to accomplish everything.  Matt and I have lived here 3 years now and we haven't even toured all the casinos... Obviously, that's not as important to us as hiking all the trails in Red Rock or exploring old Ghost Towns. In fact, Matt can only tolerate the strip in small doses, like a couple times a year:) If he has to go, his favorite Casino is Caesars by far.

   So we balanced touring the casinos with a day of Red Rock and some walks in the desert. We went out to our secret wash in Red Rock and did some rock hounding. If your lucky enough to be out there after a rain the colors that come through on the rocks are so vibrant. The patterns left behind on the sandstone rocks are beautiful and you may even find a fossil or two. 

Another highlight we love to share with newcomers to the desert are the petroglyphs you can find hidden amongst the rocks.
I think they choose who and when they will show themselves. These carvings are thousands of years old, created by the Paiute Indians. Whenever you are near petroglyphs it feels like sacred ground. If they took the time to put these images up than I think it's important that we stop and pay attention to what they wanted to share for generations to come. It's sickening that there are some idiots in the world that would graffiti them or write over them... 

The brilliant eyes are the only thing that sets it apart from the surrounding landscape

In the middle of all this chaos I managed to get some good shots of our ground owl... Hitch the hound scared the little guy out and to our surprise he has a mate. The mate flew off to safety while the male stood sentry at their nest. He was very photogenic..

Both of us, including the dogs, are ready to get back down to our gold claim... After playing tour guide for a week we're ready for a break from city life and people. Not to mention we had pretty much sold out of our PayDirt within a couple days of being home from the last trip... We only have two more trips two the gold claim before the Gold Show is upon us so the pressure is on... Matt and I are going to be pulling long days to get as much material as possible. The temperatures are starting to climb down in AZ. Before you know it summer will be here and we'll have to work at night with the scorpions and tarantulas.
I'm also excited to try out my new clay baking oven while we are down there... The Indians used to make roasting pits in the ground and pile rocks on top to bake their food. This is a very similar idea and used in many parts of the world. I'm really excited to give it a try. I also want to try my hand at making a basket from the yucca one of these days... So much to do and so little time.

 The day after I took all these beautiful sunny shots of my owl a front moved through that generated winds gusting up to 70mph for a full day. Our house was literally shaking from the gusts. Matt and I had to gear up for extreme dog walking conditions... 
 In a matter of minutes the clear blue skies turned brown and at some points you couldn't even see our mountains. The visibility was crap and the wind was causing power outages and accidents all over the city... Needless to say we stayed home except for a short puppy walk. Vegas drivers suck on a clear, sunny day so I can only imagine how awful they must have been in those winds...