Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Cutest Prarie Dog Saying Hello! Remember when you had to write an essay about “My Summer Vacation”?   That is what came to mind when I decided to share my recent visit to Tucson’s ‘Sonoran Desert Museum’ www.desertmuseum.org .   Peter and I spent about 4 hours enjoying the landscape and animals and could have spent more time.   This is one place I visited often when I lived in Tucson; one place I miss and one place you should know about! Hundreds of saguaro cacti line the mountains on the way to the museum.   Half the fun is driving on the winding mountain roads outside of Tucson, getting to the crest and looking over the desert floor.   It makes me feel small and full of wonder. This place is a world renowned zoo, a natur al history museum and a botanical garden.   Walking along the many paths, you see interpretive displays.   The plants and animals represent a large area of the southwest- Arizona, California and many states of Mexico.   There are more than 300 animal species and

     This week I’ve been reorganizing my computer.   Peter rebuilt it and that meant I had to save everything and put it back when he had finished.   It occurred to me that I have been pretty sloppy about saving and organizing my many (and I do mean many) photographs.   So instead of just dumping them on the ‘new’ computer, I went through them and deleted, organized, deleted, organized and now they are back in folders where I can actually find them.   That also meant there was no time to play in clay or make jewelry!    “It takes less time to do a thing right , than it does to explain why you did it wrong.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  - and then do it again! The exercise reminded me, once again, to do it right the first time.   It saves time, money, eyesight, frustration and makes more room for joy!   So this small bundle of success has inspired me to take more time for the little things - the first time around.   Now that I have my work done, I'm going to play! 

Have you ever been to a Reptile Show?   If you Google ‘reptile shows’ with your hometown’s name, you might be surprised how many are near you.   I’ve now been to my third one.   And each time I’ve seen and learned so much about both nature and people.   The first one was in Tucson AZ and I had no idea what to expect...maybe snakes crawling and lizards leaping and weird people.   Once I actually took a deep breath, paid my admission and walked into the large hall, my fears got lost in my amazement of the variety of animals I saw.    The chameleons were multi-colored and safely caged in habitats of branches and greenery.   Chameleon The poisonous Dart Frogs were brightly colored and hopping around the trickling water in their humid terrariums.    (These have toxic skins for their own protection).   Snakes of many patterns and varieties were in containers and carefully monitored.    Young Green Tree Python  I fell in love with baby bearded dragons as they stacked on top of each o

I miss my Bobcats!   After living in Tucson AZ for 25 years, Bobcats were just part of my yard.   A wash (slightly depressed path where water ran when it rained very hard) ran behind my house with no fencing and was a corridor for a lot of wildlife.   On hot summer days just after I watered down the flagstone patio, a mother Bobcat would bring her cubs and cool off.   Somedays, she would come to drink from the small pools in the stone and stretch out by the back steps.   I loved watching from inside my enclosed Arizona room while I created jewelry.   These are wild animals that seldom bother humans and in Arizona we’ve learned to coexist!       Bobcats are found at all elevations, especially in rimrock and chaparral areas, and in the outskirts of urban areas where food is generally available.   My house was in the Catalina foothills and a perfect place for them to visit.          They can jump 12 ft. high and are often heard walking on the flat rooftops of the houses or curled