Days of Our Lives

Sands of Time--newly-forming sand dune in Newberry Springs





It's interesting to watch a sand dune form. The wind has been pretty fierce this year and regularly blows across the roads in Newberry. The road crews have to come along and sweep the sand off the roads back to the sides. Then slowly plants take root and already existing plants begin to start holding down the sand--which, in turn, begins to hold more sand. There is a critical time when it's really a whole lot of fun to take a good four-wheel drive out and tear up the sand and fishtail all over the place!!!! Besides a longer growing season being one of the effects of so-called global warming, the creation of more desert and therefore, more sand dunes will be a great side effect. This is a very convenient truth!

I am living the wee things that make up life. The best news is that a mourning dove has made her nest in the eaves of our atrium. She has been on her nest without a single break for water or food for weeks now. Even when the dogs would come out with me when I would water she just held completely still--never abandoned her post. Now that I've discovered her I'm keeping the dogs away and trying to be very, very quiet when I go out there. What does a mourning dove think about for all that time? Is it morning dove or mourning dove? I guess they can't think--they can only do. And sit on the nest 24/7 is what she does.

The Monastery

Our Lady Searcher for the Lost




We spent last week-end at Holy Resurrection Monastery. The temperatures suddenly zoomed from warm to 100o in one day! That is when the desert stops being one's friend. I took pictures of the monks and Brother John, the new novice. I thought I'd post them on this blog. Anyone interested in spending some time at the Monastery can contact Abbot Nicholas. So, meet our friends.

Fr Basil, Abbot Nicholas, Br John



Fr Deacon Moses, chef extrordinaire and wearer of funny hats





Fr Maximos taking his turn at fixing dinner--which was delicious!

The monks earn their living by running a bakery in Big Bear Lake, CA. It's called The Monks' Oven and they bake breads and goodies and sell them to local businesses and several Farmer's Markets in the area. It's a two-hour commute each way from HRM and can get quite tricky in the winter snow. Matins is at 4:30am week-day mornings and after that two hour service, they take turns going up the mountain to bake.

The monks have Vespers every evening at 6pm. This is a lovely service with beautiful canticles and mostly by candlelight. They're still working on getting the music right.

Br John confused by Fr Maximos' choice of psalms

Fr Basil and Fr Nicholas arguing over who gets the songbook that's in English.

Fr Nicholas leaving Fr Basil holding the candle while Br John gets ready to grab service book away from Fr Maximos

Fr Nicholas painting scarlet letter on Fr Basil's forehead for winning tug-of-war over the songbook.

One of three monastery cats. This is the 'mutant' with double feet(not paws, feet) on her front legs. She has her ears back because I interferred with her stalking some birds that were stealing the cats' food from the bowl.

Right now Fr Basil is doing most of the work of maintaining the grounds and gardens around the monastery. The desert is a harsh environment and getting anything green or with flowers to grow is a constant challenge. All of us lost plants this winter during our unusal long run of below-freezing nights. Of course global warming was the unexpected culprit but the truth of it is that many plants have had to be replaced. The yellow broom both looks great and smells wonderful. He is also working on rock path markers, tree trimming and extending the watering system.

There was a short but strong wind storm which put even more sand into the rig. I drove it back Sunday night and spent 5 hours at the RV fix-it place today waiting for new vents and vent covers to be put on the roof. I am beginning to see how RVing works: before one takes a trip, the rig must go in for pre-trip checks. Result: spend money. Then the trip. Then one needs to take the rig back into the shop to have all the problems fixed that developed on the trip. Result: spend money. I filled up the tank after leaving the fix-it place and the cost was $167.45. This might be too rich for our blood.