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| A bumblebee asleep in a Purple Prickly Pear flower |
Even though New Year's Day is the traditional time of year for making
resolutions, any day can be a time to make changes. Here's a few from my list:
1. Plant more pollinator-attracting perennials and
shrubs.
Bees, butterflies, and
other insects throughout the world are in dire need of our help.
Adding plants to your garden that
provide food and shelter for them is a beautiful and significant step you can
do to help ensure their survival.
The Pollinator Partnership website (
www.pollinator.org)
is a great resource for pollinator-friendly gardening practices in general, and
the Sonoran Desert Museum website
(www.desertmuseum.org)
contains specific information about practices for our region.
On their site, a search for “pollinator
conservation” will lead you to a page with tips on plants and other pollinator features
to add to your garden.
One
exciting thing I read there is the news that the nectar and pollen of plants in
the genus Helianthus (IE: sunflowers) may help bees reduce their parasite loads.
What an easy way to bring a smile
to your garden and to your heart!
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| Road to Arivaca Lake, 2008 |
2. Take more hikes out into the surrounding hills
and valleys.
Besides the health
benefits of fresh air and exercise, being in nature is medicine for my mind and
soul.
Because my edge-of-town garden
feels like I am out in the middle of nature, it’s easy for me to contentedly
stay here… but I know that really being “out there” inspires and invigorates me
in every way.
I know that before
long, my old knees will complain but the rest of me will be feeling
better!
The website
www.southernarizonaguide.com has
a nice list of day-trip adventures around Tuscon, Green Valley, Patagonia, and
other Pima Co. locales, but as most Arivacans know, there are many trails very close
to home, from a quick walk at the Cienega to the more-challenging Arivaca Creek
Trail and Mustang Trail.
One of my
biggest goals this winter is another hike up Brown Canyon too!
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| Dawn over an Indiana duck pond, 2014 |
3. Stay in the moment.
Time flies faster every year, and how easy it is to let my
day-to-day responsibilities and stress occupy too much “space”, so to
speak.
The joy of simple
things is worth slowing down to absorb, like watching the dawn light creep over
the sky and then burst into color, a cat rolling in a sunbeam on the screen
porch, the late afternoon sun shining golden above the trees, the glow of coals
in a fire, the star-filled heavens above, a tasty meal, or just walking to the
Arivaca Saturday Market.
These and
many more are moments worth staying in to absorb for as long as you can, like
desert soil soaking up the rain.
Happy New Year to one and all!
Photo credits:
Purple Prickly Pear flower with bee by Emily Bishton
Road to Arivaca Lake by Emily Bishton
Dawn over an Indiana duck pond by Emily Bishton
