I met up with Colleen today...

I met up with Colleen today to do a swap and hang out. She gave me this box of plants. All I gave her was a shelf and some small pots. I feel like I won the swap. 😂

Since I haven't been shopping/buying plants, this is giving my brain all of the happy feels.

It was a good time! 😊

Between the sun cooking my plants and the rodents chewing them...

Between the sun cooking my plants and the rodents chewing them, we have some recovery to do.

Shaun plugged up any spaces where mice could get in, and we put up another shade cloth. No new damage so far.

Succulents are so tough. That's why they're my favorite.

I got my plants potted!

I got my plants potted! And now I'm exhausted. 😂

Those 3 cacti that are still there are intentional; they're rooting.

Here is a before and after of my potting desk:

Before:

After:

Bear just came through...

Bear just came through and knocked over about half of my work. 😭😭😭

Bear had a dream...

Bear had a dream and barked himself awake, so now we're outside while he patrols and walks it off.

It's nice out, and I snagged this picture of the moon behind a blooming Yucca.

I'm really tired and headache-y, but I feel gratitude in this moment.

Trigger Warning: Body Stuff

Trigger Warning:  Body Stuff

I am a skin picker. I have always been a skin picker.

I had a small bump right inside my nostril that has been bothering me for about 10 days. I've been trying to squeeze it, and I finally got it today. It was right near my septum, so I had tears just streaming down my face, but I feel so relieved to not have the constant irritation of the bump being there anymore.

Another Victory:  I got spined by one of my cactus plants about a month - six weeks ago. It was right near my cuticle. I wasn't aware that part of the spine had broken off in my skin; the area had been irritated ever since, but looked otherwise healed. It's been itching, so I finally decided to do a little bit of digging and I saw something dark and got it out. I'm EXTREMELY relieved. It wasn't infected or anything, just a minor swollen area. Picture of the spine attached.

Speaking of Skin:  My psoriasis is clearing up thanks to Skyrizi. I've had 2 injections now; just the loading doses. But it's also a sensory relief to not have constantly itchy/flaky/burning skin. My psoriasis hasn't been severe or even moderate in quite a few years, but it was definitely still a pain and a bother and distraction. I'm feeling much better in my skin now, and haven't noticed any negative side effects so far.

Balloons over the mountains.

Balloons over the mountains. I don't know how close they'll get, but it's one of my favorite things about mornings here. 😊

Wow.

Wow. Done fucked around and found the ocean.

Gross. 😂

How are agaves living out here?!

Tired and gross, but happy. 💙

Tired and gross, but happy. 💙

I wear entirely too much clothing in Houston.

Maybe the third time will be the charm. 😂

So Colorado is really pretty.

So Colorado is really pretty. I didn't know; this was my first time there. The mountains are really nice and the landscape is interesting. I love that there are lava dikes and mounds. It's so cool to see geological features like that right in your face.  (That's one reason why I love New Mexico so much!)  It's also interesting to see preserved dinosaur tracks!

Our 2nd day, we went to Dinosaur Ridge and did the bus tour and checked out the museum.  It was really crazy to see actual dinosaur footprints.  I don't think our photos are going to do it justice; it's not as easy to see the tracks in bright sun in person, much less via photo. But it was a really fun experience and I'd love to take the kids one day.

They let me dig in the sandbox for fossils - they said I was short enough. 😂  Shaun found one from afar (it wasn't even buried) and I found my own by digging. They let us keep them. Of course, they are just molds of real fossils, but it was still really cool.  I always want to do all of the things. 😁

Overall, it was a very neat experience.  It really put into perspective how small we all are; just here for a blip in time.  Earth has changed so much and continues to change, even though it happens so slowly we can't perceive it.  It blows my mind to think about it.  It made me feel insignificant and grateful at the same time.

I'm scheduling 2 posts for while I'm on the road...

I'm scheduling 2 posts for while I'm on the road so y'all won't miss me too much. As if I've been on here being sociable at all in the last month. 🫠

On the way to Colorado, Google had my back and took Shaun a different route than he'd planned to go, which took us right by the Colorado Gator Farm.  OF COURSE we had to stop.  Shaun said "This looks like a trap." because it was in the middle of nowhere, but I was like "They'd have gotten me!  Let's go!" 😂

Literally, feed me to alligators. I don't care. That would be an awesome way to go.

Anyway, they operate as a rescue / education center for reptiles.  They had all sorts of lizards and tortoises and snakes and we got to interact with quite a few of them.  They had a BUNCH of Sulcata tortoises that they had taken in because they're not easy pets. Everyone always thinks that turtles and/or tortoises will be easy, but then they find out the hard way that's not true. Even our hamburger-sized little Tort Baby is a bossy/sassy little butt.

We also got to hold a baby alligator and they gave us a certificate that they notarized with the baby gator's teeth.  It seemed a little rude to use his snout like a stapler, but I know it didn't hurt him.  I laughed when they did that because it caught me off guard. Who even thought to do that? 😂

Overall, they seemed really knowledgeable and like they took great care of the animals there. I would love to visit again when we have more time.

I watered the greenhouse since I'm gonna be away for a few days.

I watered the greenhouse since I'm gonna be away for a few days.

I got rid of mealy bugs only to have mice chewing their way in and eating my plants. I'm not gonna post pictures of the carnage, but I have ~60 plants heavily damaged, if not missing entirely. I'm really sad. Everyone was looking amazing and I'd really upped my care plan for the summer. This wasn't part of it.

Shaun installed some flashing around the bottom of the greenhouse today and hopefully that will keep them out. We're also going to put out a dish of water, because I know the little creatures are just trying to survive and I can't fault them for that.

Here are some happier pictures from last week. I had some pretty flowers, and my Monkey Tail cactus is finally making a pup.

Confession:

Confession:

I bought tickets to see Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso at Red Rocks.  That is why me and Shaun went away for a couple of days.

That is not all I did.  I also bought tickets to see them in Houston - which is why I am leaving on Friday to trek 13 hours through the desert to my friend's house.  I did it last year and they were worth it, so I'm doing it again!

If I had a job and could've afforded to see them in Phoenix, I would've done that, too.  Not that I had money for either of the shows I bought tickets for, but my mental health has been shit and they are just about the only things that have sparked joy for me in the past year, so YOLO and all that.

I am very tired and have a lot to do before I head out on Friday morning, but this is how that went:

Red Rocks was beautiful.  The weather was amazing.  While we were in line waiting to get in for the concert, deer were just crossing next to the worker in front of us.  It was surreal!

I'd bought General Admission tickets, but the lady who let us in told us to sit in the planter... So we did! We had a much better view than we would have otherwise. We also were near the concession stand and not too far from the restrooms, so it was perfect!

There was supposed to be DJ PeeWee (Anderson Paak), but he wasn't there for some reason.  Thundercat was also an opener.  I don't really care for jazzy stuff and honestly I felt like "Just because you can play super fast doesn't mean it's good."  😂  His keyboard player looked really sad. Like really, really sad. Maybe he was just concentrating, but like, I was worried about him. His drummer was insane, though. Just a BEAST. I'm not thrilled about sitting through his set again, but I'll do it for Ca7riel y Paco.

Speaking of Ca7riel y Paco, they were amazing!  Red Rocks was the first stop of their North America tour, so they were relatively fresh compared to when I saw them last year.  The show did not disappoint.  They played their new songs, plus some older ones.  I was so happy and sang basically the whole time.  Ca7riel cried at least once; I love his soft heart.  Paco is looking fit and I hope he's feeling great, too.  I've only known about them for a little over a year at this point, but I'm so happy to see their dreams coming true.  Looking back at all the music they've made over the years, they've worked hard to get where they are and I am so, so happy for them.

If y'all didn't know, the new album has collabs with Anderson Paak (Ay Ay Ay), Sting (Hasta Jesús Tuvo un Mal Día), and Jack Black (Goo Goo Ga Ga).  They've also been featured on one of Robyn's new songs (Blow My Mind).

At the hotel

Deer Crossing!  There were 3, but I didn't catch the first on video.

In the planter

A few recent flowers.

A few recent flowers. Can't believe I missed the white one; it was only open for a few hours. And the last one wasn't able to fully open because of the spines.

Some recent flowers.

Some recent flowers.

It was a really nice experience having the doves hatch in the greenhouse, but I'm glad to have it back to myself.

I have a lot of bird poops to clean up.

Greenhouse update:

Greenhouse update:

The baby birds left the greenhouse last night. They've officially flown away today. The parents were still watchful earlier. I don't know if any of them will be back.

Also, there have been some pretty flowers the last few days.

Watching the younglings.

Out of the greenhouse.

I can't believe this cactus is blooming AGAIN already.

I can't believe this cactus is blooming AGAIN already. She's wild!

The babies aren't going back into the nest; they're staying on my table and chair during the day. It was humid today and the greenhouse was stinky because of their poops. We are supposed to have a stormy weekend, but if we don't, I'm gonna do some cleaning.

I'm also going to finally repot the cactus they were nesting in. I might just remove the cactus and put the pot and nest back since the adults have more than 1 clutch per season. I don't want to wreck their plans, but I do need to tend to that plant. It's one of my 300 favorites. 😂😂😂