after the snow

After our recent snowfall and our snowmen making fun ( click here to read about it)...

the dark and beautiful clouds lifted and the sky was a crisp clean blue. Even better than a fresh rain, a snowfall will leave the sky clear and fresh. So, Leah and I decided it would be a great day for a walk. We pulled on our coats and some rarely used gloves and headed out the door.

She decided long boarding was the way to go. I decided to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. The hills in our neighborhood are perfect for the long board. A beginner she is, but she has skills. Cautious skills.

We traveled through roads we have been on before, but were keeping our eyes open "to see new things". That is the motto... see something you haven't seen before. Here was the first thing we saw that we hadn't noticed before. This big saguaro that looked as if it was a hand reaching up towards the sky. See, the thumb on the left and the other fingers on the right as if it is reaching up to grab the sunlight.
Speaking of sunlight, cue the singing long board angels, how pretty are the rays streaming down from the sky?
And then we saw this. I hadn't seen one of these before. It is a

Joshua Tree. (Click it if you want to learn more.)

I thought it was so interesting that the bottom of the tree actually looks like a real tree trunk. But the top, or "leafy" part definitely looks like a yucca plant. There really are a lot of fascinating, bordering on strange, plants(and animals) in this state. I keep remembering the advice I got when we were moving here. "Embrace the desert beauty." So, you know what? I am. I think the Joshua tree is quite unique and beautiful with its puff-like spikes on top of a tree trunk.

Also beautiful, is the longboard girl standing in the rays of the sun on a cool morning after a rare snowfall in the desert.