Acacia with Saguaro

I am not a morning person.  And I have been able to indulge in my slow-moving attitude through the winter months.  But with April has come spring weather and an earlier sunrise. Quails, Flickers, Desert Wrens and all sorts of birds I haven’t been able to recognize (yet) chirp away at the sun and move me to get up and check it all out.  As I sit here in my office, I spotted quails (or noodle heads, as we affectionately call them) walking the top of the fence, in a single file, with their usual intent of getting from one place to another. They are the most perseverant things I know.

Desert vegetation has a distinct feel – and I have finally discovered the acacia, one of the local variety that I had been searching for in vain.  It seems that (according to the books I researched) the only time of year you can really tell them apart from mesquite is during the spring, when they bloom.  Acacia are like the cherry blossom trees of the desert, sprouting their little yellow or white balls before the leaves pop out.  At this time of year mesquites dump all their leaves and after a week or so of sheer nakedness, then they burst out their foliage. Palo Verdes fill in their foliage and bloom like crazy soon afterward.  But I am totally struck by the beauty of a spring acacia.  Clean contrast, elegant lines.

Back to the morning. One confession I must make, though, is that my early burst of energy and good intentions usually falls flat as I get side tracked and side-lined into all the things I want to do. I manage get one thing or two things done if I use one as an excuse to not do another (psychology at its best).  Housework is usually a good activity to avoid.  That said, this weekend I finished reading three (3) books, starting knitting a linen sweater with a pattern I found in the local library (and I have more patterns that I can shake a stick at at home, ha ha), helped my husband trim the shrubbery in the back, all while bemoaning that my ironing pile was looking more full than my closet. It has been said that success is the best revenge.  I suppose that depends on your perspective.

So this morning I have been concentrating on getting my goodreads site updated, cleaning out a bit of my email, going for a neighborhood walk and then maybe getting that ironing out of the way before I finally attack that rug project that is on my weaving loom, so I can cut it off and dress it up with a more fun project instead. I may get distracted by the sweater, or one of the nine library books I have piled on the side (my husband is convinced that I am trying to read every book in the library, but in all fairness two of the books are knitting patterns). This Monday does have some anticipation in it, however, since this week I am going to have my first Arizona Weaving Conference experience!  Starting Thursday, I will be going to the Fiber Through Time Conference, and take a workshop in kumihimo.  More on that after it happens.

In the meantime, I am ready to get that metabolism going!