April 2023 Calendar

Over springbreak we had a quick get away down to see the wildflowers at Picacho Peak and let me tell you, they are a beautiful sight to see! The blooms typically begin in late February or early March, depending on the rain that we have been getting, and can last through April. Arizona has been getting a lot of rain this year and so the wild flowers were blooming like crazy! Some of the most common wildflowers at Picacho Peak include lupine, brittlebush, California poppies, and even red ocotillo blooms. The wildflowers provide a colorful contrast to the green and brown hues of the desert landscape.

This month you get to bring a little bit of Arizona spring time into your room! Enjoy the lupines and California poppies!

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Small Wins, Big Results!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we all said and focused on the things, with child-like energy, that we are good at?

The other day, as I dropped off my kids at school, I heard a kid tell their dad that they were really good at jumping up on curbs. I didn’t see the kid’s face but I knew it was glowing from being so good at jumping up on the curb. It made me think about how honest and real this was for this kid. They are good at it and they were just letting their dad know that they should watch out for this goodness. Then I thought, if this kid, as with many wise kids, can recognize how good they are at something like this that I as well should be more childlike and embrace this as well!

So, this time in my birthday month I thought I would focus on my small wins and encourage you to also focus on the small things that you do that are as simple as being good at jumping on curbs!

I started running a year ago or so and at that time I was not running very far at all. I was running from power pole to power pole, then I would walk to the next one, then run again. I increased in distance and how long I was running the longer I kept with this new hobby. I would message Bryce, my husband, to tell him I was off to run and today I was running three five-minute runs or two eight-minute runs. Time kept adding up and I would see the next run would be longer and I would think to myself, how will I ever do two ten-minute runs? But, you know what, each time I attempted it, I achieved it!

I was just thinking how I could have NEVER run this far a year ago, but, by taking small steps, just a little bit at a time, I am now running over two miles without stopping or walking! This isn’t a small thing by any means but those small steps led up to something BIG!

So, here is my invitation to you. Take small steps and look back at those small steps and you will see that you have really accomplished a lot! Be like the kid who is good at jumping up on curbs! Celebrate yourself and all that you are doing! Leave a comment with what you are celebrating or what small steps you have taken that have added up to a big result!

March 2023 Calendar

There is a park that I like to go running at after I drop off my kids at school. Late last summer/fall, after all of the wonderful monsoons we had, these exquisite flowers started to pop up. I didn’t recognize them by name and so I did a bit of googling and found out that they were Arizona poppies. Arizona poppies are not actually a poppy plant at all and are thought to be called that because of how they resemble the California poppy. Nonetheless, I love the discovery of different flowers and bright and cheerful they are. May this Arizona poppy brighten your screen throughout March on our journey toward spring!

Coming Home/A Garden Variety

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A Walk in the Desert

I May Be Dreaming/Pointed Elegence

I haven’t always paid attention to the desert and the beauty that I have been surrounded by most of my life. Somehow I missed the gorgeous desert blossoms and blooms and would see only the sharp pointy bits that could hurt me. Then something changed, and I can’t quite tell you what made me take notice, but I finally woke up to the secret that I missed that was all around me. There are times, like now, when the desert puts on a show of color and then there are times when the only green is the green of the cactus.

Now that I have finally taken notice of this beauty I am enjoying taking adventures to the surrounding desert and learning all about the types of cacti that grow in our desert. I know that I knew, long ago, that saguaros grow only in the Sonoran Desert but when you take time to really stop and think about the fact that this desert, which stretches across parts of Arizona, California, and Mexico, are the only place in the world that this plant grows. That is mindblowing and gives you a reason to pause and really take a look.

On this walk I discovered the desert putting on a show with its new growth with this cholla cactus. As I told you, I am just learning about these cacti and so I am unsure if the burgundy will turn into flowers or if it is just new growth. If you know, please tell me, I have been looking but can’t find the answer.

Even though they are beautiful you still want to keep your distance, and see the wickedly sharp spines that want to lock into your flesh!? Yeah, I kept myself clear of the pokie bits and snuck in just close enough to capture the splendor of these cacti.

These guys are sometimes known as “jumping chollas” but they don’t actually jump. They just like to catch a ride on your clothes or skin, ouch, and that is how they reproduce all over the desert by humans and animals taking them from place to place and redistributing them elsewhere in the desert.

Spring Intrigue/Pointed Elegence

Contented/Pointed Elegence

For too long I missed the beauty of a cholla being backlit, no matter the time of day, the sun shining through those white spines is magical!

So, this makes me wonder, what else is right at my fingertips that I have overlooked for far too long? What is waiting around the corner that I am going to start to notice now? What about you, what is something that suddenly came to life for you?

Discovering an Artist

Art by Violet

A couple of days ago Violet walked out of school and was telling me about her art class that day. She handed me her art, while we walked to the car, and as soon as I opened it I knew who the artist was, that they were studying, but I didn’t say anything, as I love to hear about her experience and let her tell me about what happened.

She said, “We were studying an artist today that lived in the desert, she painted images of flowers, and she painted other desert things.” She paused and then said, “But I can’t remember her name, I think you would like her though.”

When I opened up the artwork and I saw a large beautiful flower that Violet had painted. I smiled and said, was her name Georgia O'Keeffe, and she grinned, yes, that was who they had been studying. I told her about my love for O'Keeffe's work, how I had studied her work in college, and how I would LOVE to get to go and see O'Keeffe's museum in Santa Fe, NM.

I love the conversations that we have and love the art that has been part of the kids' lives. We are so lucky to have had some really great art teachers in our kids’ lives. So, thank you to all the beautiful artists and art teachers that make a difference in our children's lives!

February 2023 Calendar

Happy February! This month’s calendar features a photograph of an alsike clover flower. As I sit and look at an image for a long period of time I start to have memories of things that this image brings back up for me. I found that this image takes me back to childhood when you would race your friends in rolling down the hills covered in clover. It also reminds me of watching the sunset from a blanket while you are on a picnic. I can almost hear the birds singing a sweet tune. This is just one of the things that I love about photography, it can take you to many different moments. Is it just me or can you almost remember those exact moments as well when you look at this image?

The Point of Illumination/A Garden Variety

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A Garden Variety

I have a giant love for flowers, which we all know by now, and though I started photographing flowers in a studio I loved the joy of getting to let it flow from in the studio, (abstract photography, dried flowers) and out into nature, and back to the studio again. I would spend most of my days outdoors if it were a real option, hiking out in nature, discovering great beauties all around us like wildflowers in the spring or the stunning beauty of our National Parks. So, I don’t know when to say I started working on the series A Garden Variety but it began from really feeling who I am deep down inside when I am out in the middle of nature. I think that is what we are all searching for, right, that feeling of knowing I am in the right place.

Unstoppable/A Garden Variety

Never knowing what types of flowers you will find while out exploring is yet another reason why I have enjoyed this series. All sorts of different flowers are found in different states and getting to capture a type of flower that doesn’t grow near you is an amazing opportunity!

Magnetic Calm/A Garden Variety

I LOVE photographing flowers outdoors and thinking about the experiences that came with those photographs. For example, last year I got to go for a hike with my cousin, a friend, and my family to see Showy Lady Slippers in Minnesota. These flowers are the state flower, and cannot be picked, so the only place to photograph them is right where they are. My cousin and friend knew right where to go and were delighted in getting to show the kids and me these spectacular flowers tucked just far enough away that if you didn’t know where they were you would go right past them! That trip and seeing those flowers is something that is a memory I love to revisit not only in my mind but looking back at the photos as well!

Blake Garden Ranunculus/A Garden Variety

January 2023 Calendar

Happy January! The holidays went way too fast! We have had lots of time to sleep in and a bunch of family time and now it is time to get back on the normal schedule. Last month I suggested a new series in the making for the calendar but it isn’t to the point where I want to show that work yet, so, I will continue to work on it until it is ready to share with you all.

January’s calendar features an Arizona poppy!

So Sweet/A Garden Variety

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Saguaro National Park East

Over the last couple of years Byrce and I have started a tradition of going to Tucson for the weekend when I go for my other work. These little getaways are fun because it is just the two of us and we get to go on adventures to new restaurants, museums, and both years we have gone to Saguaro National Park.

These two years couldn’t have been more different weatherwise. Last year, right at the same time of year, we went to Saguaro National Park West and it was a warm December day, tanktop weather really. This year the weather was cool and rainy. In fact, it rained almost the entire time we were gone from Phoenix, which never happens!

The park is divided into two parts and the two parts are about an hour away from each other and in the middle is all of Tucson. Since we visited the west side of the park last year we wanted to try out the east side of the park this year. Both sides are stunningly beautiful! I love getting to walk around surrounded by saguaros, which only grow in the Sonoran desert and only in certain parts of it, knowing that these cacti have been around longer than I have been alive.

Getting to see this park in cool and rainy weather was such a contrast from last year. The grey clouds hung over us and almost every time we got out of the car it would start to rain all over again! This was so enjoyable because it doesn’t rain as often as some of us would like. So Bryce and I wandered down this path and then that path all the while getting rained on and hiding my camera away so the rain wouldn’t wet.

As always, it was a wonderful trip and it was so much fun to get to experience an Arizona National Park in the rain and with interesting weather. I loved that we have gone twice and had two totally different experiences. I included my reel from Instagram to show you some of the beauty of Saguaro National Park!

December 2022 Calendar

December is here and with that, it means the year is wrapping up! 2023 is sneeking up on us and it makes me wonder what it will hold! This year I focused on the series Pointed Elegance for the desktop calendar to share with you every month and with January not super far away I am thinking ahead to what series I should share next. Will it be one of the series that I have already created, and continue to work on, or will it be a whole new series? Wellllll, currently my plan is to create an example of a couple of my ideas and I hope to get feed back from you guys! Maybe take a little poll and you can vote for which is your favorite! Keep an eye out for that!

Happy holidays, my friends, and enjoy your last desktop calendar of 2022! Don’t forget to share it with your friends!

Keepsake/Pointed Elegance

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