Nopales and Tunas

When we moved here 13 years ago, we had lived in Berkeley for entire married life. We had a tiny shade garden and no great affection for the desert plants that grow in abundance here (if anything can be said to grow in abundance in our wretched soil.) We had an enormous blue agave that bloomed, putting up a 25 foot tall pole-like spike from it's center and then died. There are several kinds of agave on our hill and we have come to appreciate them more, and even planted some,  since they were credited  with helping to save our house during the glass fire. The big barrels in their centers are full of water and they are unlikely to burn.

This cactus is another desert plant I never really liked much. Our friend David showed up with one morning with one paddle (nopal) and stuck it in the ground on our hill behind a metal version we had just put up .It has grown to its current size in about 10 years and it, too has grown on me. It is a spineless cactus developed by Luther Burbank as potential cattle fodder. It never caught on, but they can be seen all over town. .Ours only had one or two fruits for years, but is now covered with tunas which have prickly skins and are difficult to peel without getting the invisible prickles in fingers from which they are impossible to remove. I guess it's safe to say that it too has grown on me.

I didn't sleep very well last night and had strange dreams when I did manage to doze off. I was listening to something on the radio as I drove to class today about the effect of the cuts in Medical benefits and you could hear the strain in the voices of the doctors and public policy people on the panel. I think the whole sorry mess is beginning to take its toll on my mental health and I doubt if I'm alone. I switched it to the classical music channel. I've always felt that our local National Public Radio Station was a good unbiased source of news, but I need a break. Their funds have been cut and they are scrambling for money.

When I switched to the classical station they too had had their federal grants rescinded and were asking for money. I feel like donating money is about the only thing I can do, but there are so many good programs and people that have been abandoned by this administration, and I only have so much money....

It has been a little cooler today and we're going to barbecue chicken rather than watch the news on TV. And I'm going to remember to press the PUBLISH button, (which I somehow forgot to do yesterday,) so that my sister-in-law and my daughter don't have to check in  to see if we're ok.