Even More Desert Flowers...

These are the last of the photos from my visit to the desert two weeks ago. This batch are the ones that I haven't yet identified. The teensy yellow ones at right carpeted areas just south of S-2 and 78 (near Scissors Junction), in some places covering more than an acre.

Friends visited the desert this past weekend, and they tell me that nearly everything is past prime already – only the ocotillo and cactus are still looking good. My next weekend is (sadly) devoted to doing my 2007 tax returns, so it's unlikely that I'll get out there.

Closer to home, the ceanothus are gorgeous right now, and we have a few other flowers out as well. Most are still in the future, though. Our streams are still running, and our front yard is dominated by (gasp!) grass instead of fillary and other weeds. That won't last long, but we're sure enjoying it while we can. It's novel for us desert-dwellers to look out our window and see lush greenery!

I'm Baaaaack!

And to kick things off, here are a few more flower photos from two weekends ago...

I've been putting in some long hours at work, doing something very different and exciting with a small team of developers. Yesterday we hit our first milestone, very successfully. Software products are never actually “finished” – there are always bugs to fix and more features to put in. But there are usually a few identifiable moments in a software product's life, such as the first time you look at the product and think “Dang! We've really got something here!” That's the milestone we hit yesterday...

That's a lupine above and right; and some assortments below...