Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge Arizona has some of the most beautiful places that are pretty easy to get to.  We’ve found that taking side roads rather than interstates let us stop and really look at the plants, birds, and animals as well as the wonderful mountain ranges!  These pictures are from a recent trip to Southern Arizona.  I’m always amazed at the color, texture and detail in nature.  Enjoy! Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Broad-billed Hummingbird California Poppies Creasote in bloom Huachuca Mountains Mallow Palo Verde in bloom Prickly Poppies Roadrunner Thistle buds - the bloom is yellow

We just returned from an 8 day road trip to Big Bend Texas where we saw spectacular country and the best wildflower show in 30 years.  One could almost OD on nature’s beauty…  The Texas Bluebonnets were 3 ft deep each side of the road and went on for miles.  The sides of the mountains and hills were blue and yellow with white dotted here and there.  I wanted to stop (which we did often) and just sit in the middle of the blue.  We planned the trip with time to stop every so often as I needed to walk and keep my new knee limber.  That let us explore along the way stopping for short walks, looking at birds and flowers, discovering rocks and finding places we might like to visit again.  Golden -breasted Woodpecker Texas Bluebonnet It took 2 ½ days to get to our destination and 2 ½ days to get home.  That left 3 days to explore Big Bend and 4 days to decide where to car camp while traveling.  We were able to ...

So many wildflowers are still blooming.  It's because we've had so much rain I think.  Just had to share them with you.

  Canyonlands is a wilderness of rock.   It is vast and sculptural and colorful.   It is fascinating to see the various rock formations, canyons, and mountains that make up the expanse of this National Park. There are three areas, Island in the Sky, The Maze, and the Needles.   The Maze and the Needles were a little too remote and needed a 4 wheel drive, lots of water and supplies.   We explored the Island in the Sky.   From the broad mesa, you can see views spread before you that stretch for a hundred miles in front of you and 1200 miles beneath you.   Views abound that take your breath away and are difficult to comprehend.     Rain is scarce but it is spring/summer and when we rounded a corner we had to stop and look.   There below the very tall rock formation were a lovely variety of wildflowers blooming.   What a sight! Yellow and purple wildflowers Quite the View! Lizards find rock shelves where they can...

The road curved around a mountain just outside of Superior AZ and … SURPRISE!   Wildflowers all around us – up the hillside and down the hillside; under the saguaros and next to the highway.   Breathtaking.   In fact, Peter and I had to stop and park along the highway (which is another nice thing about taking the scenic route.)   We walked among the spring flowers and took lots of pictures.   Fortunately both of us had cameras because I lost all of mine in transferring them to my computer.   Frustrating!   But the memory of being surrounded by purples, yellows, oranges, and reds remains.   We went to Tucson to see doctors at the University Medical Center for Peter.   Getting a second opinion on a serious illness is so important.   This one gave us hope and yes there will be surgery.   Once we have a definitive answer, intelligent choices can be made.   The first medical opinion was way too scary without e...