Five Amazing Facts about Deserts by Kathryn Lance

Five Amazing Facts about Deserts

By Kathryn Lance, writer, editor, and nature docent. Web site: www.klance.com; Nature blog: KL's Sonoran Nature Journal; Writing blog: KL's Writing Tips.

1.      Not all deserts are hot. Most people think of deserts as hot and dry, with sparse vegetation. But many deserts are actually cold (in the Antarctic, for example), and some deserts, such as the Sonoran desert, support a wide community of plants. The thing that all deserts have in common is dryness. Most deserts have annual rainfall from less than 10 inches per year―to none.

2.      There are four deserts in North America. These dry areas are the Great Basin, a cold desert found mostly in Northern AZ, NV, and UT; the Mojave Desert, in California and Arizona, which contains Death Valley, the lowest spot in the continental United States and often the hottest spot during the summer; the Chihuahuan desert, found mainly in Northeastern Mexico and Texas; and the Sonoran Desert, the lushest desert in North America, which is found primarily in Sonora, Mexico, and southern Arizona.

                   

               

3.      The saguaro cactus is found only in Arizona. This emblematic cactus, with its tall central trunk and expressive arms, is often used in illustrations and films as an emblem of the desert. But this very special cactus is found only in the Sonoran desert. There are a lot of old movies that are supposedly set in California or Texas, or other western states, where cowboys shoot it out among the saguaros. When you see these movies now you will know they were really filmed in Arizona or northern Mexico.

     

                    

4.      Part of Star Wars took place in Arizona.  Most people's idea of a desert involves barren sand dunes and palm trees. The Sonoran desert in Arizona has several areas of barren sand dunes that have been the setting for dozens of movies, from Beau Geste in 1966 to Star Wars in 1977 (Tatooine).

5.      The road to California used to be made out of wooden planks. The shifting sand dunes in western AZ and southeastern CA made road-building difficult in the early part of the last century. Eventually pieces of planking were attached to each other and laid on top of the dunes to support automobiles. My father used to tell me about traveling to California on the Old Board Road in a Model A Ford.

10 things I learned in Pottery Classes - Cindy Douglass

10 things I Learned in Pottery Classes
by Cindy Douglass of Stardust Pottery
blog: http://www.stardustpottery.com/blog

I've taken pottery classes for about four years now. Although I now have a business selling pottery, I still enjoy taking classes for the social and learning aspects. These are some of the life lessons I've learned in pottery classes.

1. Creation is messy

This might not be obvious, but the act of creation is much like giving birth. It is a messy business! When I started taking pottery classes, I tried to stay neat and clean. The clay quickly let me know that it doesn’t work well that way. You have to use water to form the clay on the wheel. Water mixes with clay and then slings all over the place as the wheel spins. Glazes in five gallon buckets have to be mixed with a power drill and mixing tool. The glazes often get slung around, over the tops of the buckets.

In otherwords, you can't expect to keep everything exactly the same if you want something new and different. Stir things up and it gets messy. But the results, hopefully, will be worth the mess.

2. Learning new skills is awkward

I had an affinity to clay. I was sure everything about the clay would come easily to me. Boy! Was I wrong! Learning new skills in middle age is a little rough on the ego. Seeing the walls of the pots droop down time after time can be disheartening. Many times I walked out of that classroom in tears. But when the next class came around, I sat down to try again.

Building new skills takes patience with one's self. You can't base your self esteem on your failures. You have to base your self esteem on your successes, even if that success is merely showing back up to class.

3. It has to be fun

Learning to become a potter became such an overwhelming “must do” for me that I’d get more and more intense as I attempted to work the clay. On one particularly rough day where the clay screamed “NO!” at me, my instructor said to me, “Cindy, you don’t look like you are having fun. Aren’t you having fun?” At that moment I realized how tense I had gotten. I had put a lot of pressure on myself to excel. But what I really needed to do was to relax, enjoy the process and have a little fun with it!

Isn’t it odd that we have to have a little fun to succeed?

4. Slow down and focus

Another thing I learned working with clay is that there’s no forcing it to behave. Clay, like people, have to be coaxed into responding the way we’d like. As soon as the clay felt forced, it would drop like mud.  But by slowing down, giving the clay my full attention, and encouraging the clay made it stand up like excited body parts!

5. Encouragement is always appreciated

We all need encouragement to face and endure the down days in pottery class. It surprises me how few people encourage others until they’ve been encouraged themselves. So, to ensure that I got some encouragement when I needed it, I offered it to the other students. It trained me to start looking for the positive in other people’s work. And that really works to build synergy in a group setting.

6. There is so much more to learn

There are some things we learn that seem to be set in stone, but clay is not one of those things. There are hundreds of techniques and a thousand different ways to accomplish those techniques. There are as many ingredients to a glaze as there are types of soil, rock and minerals in the earth. There will always be something new to learn, but that makes the journey exciting for me.

7. Creating pottery requires lots of exercise

I’ve found that wedging clay requires a lot of strength. One pound of clay is not too bad, but when I try to wedge clay for the 10 lb pots, that requires a lot of repetitive motion. By the time I’ve wedged the clay for the day, I’ve spent at least an hour in exercise. And that’s not counting hauling around 50 lb boxes of clay and the 5 gallon buckets of water and glaze. So if you need strength training, but want something to show for the time exercising become a potter!

8. Don’t follow the leader.  Use your voice.

Every artist who agrees to demonstrate their skills knows that the students will want to practice the new techniques shown them. It is sad though, when a student attempts to copy the entire work of the artist. Don’t be a lemming. Find and use your own voice in your body of work. That’s what makes a true artist.

9. Pottery friends are some of the best

Building friendships on shared creative endeavors really brings out the best in people. My pottery friends come from all socioeconomic classes, but we have a shared passion: clay.  I am lucky in my pottery friends.

10. Only the Great Spirit is perfect

No matter how long I create in clay, it is not likely that my work will ever achieve perfection. It’s said that the Navaho Indians deliberately leave a small imperfection in their weavings because to create something perfect is hubris. Their reasoning is that only the Great Spirit is, and can be, perfect. It is a good reminder for those of us who work with our hands in clay. We naturally strive to attempt perfection every time we sit down to create. But the beauty actually lies in the imperfections our hands create. That’s the charm of handmade items.

Moonlight, Moonbright

“Mam, that yeller paint might be a bit bright.” 

Lillian Walt rises a few inches taller within her thin frame.” It will be fine.” She tells the painter before turning on her heels to meet the contractor in the new home.

“Would you and your husband like a light installed on the electric pole outside? They really don’t cost that much to power.”

“I would love one. Except. my husband wants it nice and dark  at night. He plans to sit on the porch and look at lightning bugs, study the stars.”

“I can see that.”

“Frankly, I can’t. Living in the city, you can see when you wake in the middle of the night.  I’m spooked about no light.”

“You’ll be enjoying your new home soon. Are you sure about that yellow paint?”

“I always have a yellow kitchen. . My kitchen is that same color at home. That’s my son driving in, don’t let me keep you.”

Weeks later, the movers pull out of the driveway. Lillian sits on the edge of a recliner.

“I need a shower, do you know which box has soap?”

Joe Walt shrugs. “That paint in the kitchen is bright.”

“I like it bright. If you remember correctly, that is the color of the kitchen at our house.”

“Well it is the color now.” Joe walks off smiling.

“Soap, I said soap. Where’s soap?”

“It’s getting dark outside, too late to run by a store. Let’s open boxes till we find some.”

“Viola, dishwashing liquid”

“That will do.”

After showering, Lillian made the bed and lay down. Pookie hops on the bed and does his little night night growl.

Joe is walking through the house turning off lights. It gets darker and darker. A bright glow comes through the bedroom window.

Somebody’s out there Joe.

Joe lies next to her. “Pookies not barking. Moon light is bright."

My mother is not feeling well

Mom will be 83 this year and does remarkably well. If people give her time, she is quite competent to tell you what you need to know. She's nauseated this morning and is delaying taking her medications.

I'm lucky in that I have had my mother much longer than most people and I hope to have her longer. It is disquieting when they tell you where important papers and items are in case they aren't around. For MOE, we don't keep large sums of money in the house. For one thing, we don't have large sums of money. We are folks that are going to have a "big ass" fight over the Corelle ware and who gets mom's stainless steel bread pan.

Her little dog Daisy is so in tune with my mom, she is acting sick. I don't think the seven pound chihuahua mix is. My mother does worry about her. I'm sure if we went to the vet they could find some specialty vitamin for the little love. I know some people think animals don't have souls. I think they do. Their feelings are so deep. Daisy would not eat when my mom was in the hospital.

Oh, I was not selected for TEDx. The young man wanted to keep my name and contact open for a future TEDx. Of course if some glitzier folks come along . . . Anyway, he gave me a contact with a storytelling group he thought I would be a fit for. This month's topic is "fast food restaurants". I'll try my ideas out on a later blog.

Holiday from political snark.

Well since it has been announced about the NSA monitoring of activity on the internet and cellphone. All those snarky political commentaries have disappeared from my Facebook feed.

You can think what you want politically. The manipulation of people with put downs concerns me. I read one several months ago that called the president a liar, communist and other things Americans do not like. Reading to the end, there were no examples. Just accusations without substance.

Now if someone wants to say healthcare reform costs too much and we are in danger of creating an entitlement mindset. Well, I can follow your logic.

Healthcare reform is too little too late. I know there are bums and parasites in this world. There are also people who need help and you shouldn't allow them to stop you from helping them. My sister has schizophrenia. The law and healthcare system treat these people poorly.

The real shame about mental illness is that if they applied all the fever they do in finding a cure for AIDS, cancer or heart disease, there is probably a diagnosis and cure for schizophrenia. It's just that these people don't have a voice. Plus, the disease is so devastating it can destroy a family.

My sister takes a much better medication today. The stigma and the early onset of her disease has been devastating for her to live a full life. I am tapping at a computer keyboard instead of standing in front of a classroom working because of her illness.

When you live with a disease like schizophrenia, you recognize it as a brain malfunction. I see dementia like characteristics in my sister. People with dementia get paranoid. A friend of mine said, "You get a lot of money from the government." I get $550 a month and best of all healthcare in the form of medicare for my sister. I give her $200 a month in spending money. I would easily pay someone $350 a month to provide my sister her own room, bathroom, social activities, food, vet bills for her dog.

I don't miss the negative arguments on Facebook. I scrolled by most. What bothered me was these were very nice people who posted them. One I know would give you the shirt off his back.

I don't judge people by their politics. None of us have a crystal ball telling us what the best course of action will be. I just pray for the president and people in congress. I recognize that they may make decisions that I don't understand that may be good for us all.

Its the twisting that concerns me. Saxby Chambliss made a mistake about rapes in the military. He should have said rape was wrong to clarify his position. But he did make a cogent point. You have young men between 18 and 25 making up the bulk of airmen. They have a strong sex drive and you combine that with the mobilization of troops, the boys all need a wife. It increases the possibility of a young males desires overruling his judgement with knowing whether a woman really means no.

And women have another problem. We need a cultural shift where a woman who has sex outside of marriage is not called a whore. Then no doesn't mean a maybe sometimes. A woman can go to combat but has to be coy about having sex.

The gist is that the problems in this world are complex with no easy answers. I worked for a principal one time who all the teacher's despised. What I learned from that was, people need to work together. He hated the teachers, they hated him. It was a piss poor situation.

I know those Facebook comments will return. I'm just going to savor the hiatus. Cheers.

Anyway, this page on facebook looks interesting.

https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheHuntHouse         Save the Hunt House - American History.

The TEDx tryout came and went. I almost did not go. That insecurity that my story would be insignificant and overdone loomed over me. 

I listened to the others. We all got soapboxes is all I got to say. My spiel could have been a wee more academic but the ham took over. Laughter is a terrible encouragement for me. What can I say? Feeling good is great.

The good looking, late twenties guy liked me. The woman didn’t. Was the problem me, the dearth of talent or did she take a dislike for me. I come from the great unwashed and it glitters at time. 

I would hazard how well the conference turns out affects how she perceives her career. I recognize a piece of myself when I was young.  Life is a series of events. Showing up is the big part.

The TEDx is scheduled for June 22^nd. They said it was probably going to be rescheduled for July, which would be a great idea. They really need to advertise. I will go picked or not. I get so much writing material from speakers. They pique my curiosity and before I know it, a character is born.

I’ve got to get my jeans and long sleeve cotton top on. There is a row farm that lets you pick anything in a 5 gallon bucket for $10. One bucket will have purple hull peas. The next bucket will have Okra. The third bucket will be a mix of squash and whatever strikes my fancy. Lots of prepping, freezing and good eating going to happen this week. You know word grammar doesn’t jive with Southern speech.

Happy Saturday, it rained last night. The grass is high and the tomato plants even higher. We are blessed.

Alligator Hunt

Trifecta Writing Challenge - Create a story in three sentences.

I’m on an alligator hunt. Carefully stepping over logs and through the brush, a chipmunk scurries out of sight. I think I feel a bite.

Alligator. By James, scubadive67 on flickr.com {{cc-by}}Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71217725@N00/3176098/