My Morning Walk

This morning I took a little walk (I never left my own yard so it wasn't like REAL exercise).  Even though our little scrap of land in the city has what is called xeriscape (reduced need for water use AND low maintenance) it is still abundant in spring blooms.  It is NOT lush by any means but it still has it's own unique desert appeal.

This little plant, Mexican Primrose, lives under a tree an oak tree named Pokey.  All five of the trees that live in my yard have names (I figure they live so long they deserve a name!)  These pretty pink blossoms appear every spring and disappear as quickly as the temperatures rise.





This little beauty, Freesia, has lived with me for about 10 years now.  To my surprise it pops out of the ground with it's gorgeous orange and yellow blossoms every year.  This plant started as an ornamental plant purchased from a grocery store.  It was a AUTUMN gift to one of my daughters from a visiting boyfriend.  She does not have a green thumb and so asked me to take care of it for her.  I planted it in the ground thinking there was no way it would survive in the desert.  The boyfriend is long gone but the plant lives on!

BIG yellow blossoms like this are covering a new addition to my backyard.  We planted this tree just a few weeks ago and it immediately started producing these BIG yellow blossom clusters.  Sorry I don't recall the REAL name for this tree, we call it Lizzy.  Why?  There was a Lizard that lived in a small area beside our house.  My husband accidentally smashed the Lizard while moving some bricks.  Over the years he had become attached to the Lizard that always watched him work and so gave it a proper burial under the tree.



Here's another yellow bloomer.  This plant (and all of  it's offspring) has lived on the property longer than I have.  It is a Cassia.  It is a profuse spring bloomer that stays green all year long.  This one has already bloomed with most of the blooms having turned to seed (thus the many offspring!).  These bushes survive on rainfall alone.  And there ain't much of that here in the desert! 

Someone else was out taking a walk in my backyard today, a family of quail.  These birds have inhabited my neighborhood for several years. There are actually three of them (two males and a female).  We see them running around every spring and they always bring the babies out for strolls later in the season.  What a TREAT!