“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2025 is finally here. The Sun has risen, another day has begun, we are still here, and we can embark on that journey of endless possibilities. A toast to you all for a beautiful, peaceful, healthy, and prosperous year.
2024 was bittersweet. It was a year of temptations and personal growth. It was a year of revelations, acceptance, surrender, and letting go. I was given a rare opportunity to peek into the hearts of wicked men and witness the effects of greed and twisted ego. Now I know I must remain true to myself. Acceptance is liberating.
Just as I was closing down a few doors, others opened up for me. I was blessed with opportunities, and in turn, I blessed others in need. I am grateful for good health, my children who keep me grounded, my big brother who is helping me cultivate the art of patience, and my Mother, who seems to have made it her mission to make me laugh on a daily basis. And then, there are my jewels of good friends. Kindness is rewarded.
Image Source: QuoteInPics.com.
As I continue to mourn the loss of many, I give thanks to God for the precious gift of their lives, the beautiful memories we shared, and the hope of reuniting with them again in eternity. While it is impossible to move on, or get over the passing of a loved one, we can learn to cope and live with it as we move forward. May the peace of God surround you as you navigate this challenging time of loss. Today, I can attest that God’s love and grace is unchanging and unfailing, even in grief. God is good all the time; believe He is with you (Lamentations 3:32).
I learned and grew tremendously this past year, and after completely de-cluttering my mind and surrendering to God, He is slowly showing me His path for my life. I am at peace, happy, healthy, and resolute. I remain in a state of gratitude, and I am ready to take on 2025.
Image Source: FineArtAmerica.com.
Every day is a new beginning, a chance to start again by turning over a new leaf. We should all aspire to move onto bigger and better things or smaller and meaningful things.
May this year be one of healing, restoration, peace, endless possibilities, and abundant blessings.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” ― J.P. Morgan
Living in the desert is like taking a gamble. Most days are amazingly beautiful, and the stars are bright and visible at night. It’s less noisy and polluted as opposed to life in bigger cities. The mountain view is breathtaking, especially when covered in snow, and yes, it snows quite often here. Almost everything you can imagine is at close proximity: schools, groceries, malls, outlet stores, parks, movie theaters, museums, clinics, medical facilities, gas stations, car washes, restaurants, and hotels, just to name a few.
For the most part, living in the High Desert is wonderful; however, we also have our gloomy moments: the extreme heat, the high and gusty winds, the weeds (the obnoxious and undesirable plants), the surge of weird and toxic individuals moving here and disrupting the once established peace, and then the wild animals.
In the past, I was told by some neighbors about seeing coyotes around and a few who raise poultry said some jumped into their yards in an attempt to get a chicken or two. I personally thought they were all making up stories, given that for over seventeen years, I never saw one. Well, not until three weeks ago, when I spotted one in the front yard. I was horrified and petrified. After a while, it jumped over the fence and disappeared around the corner.
Coyote in the Garden.
Late in the Spring we purchased a Mexican Fencepost Cactus, and a couple of weeks ago I noticed new (weird) growths from the top of the mother plant. At first I thought the tiny buds were flowers developing from the areoles, but they quickly turned into strange pups, as though the new growth are a different species: perhaps grafts? I will be keeping a close watch on this one.
Mexican Fencepost Cactus new growth.
We were gifted a small Sour Fig (Hottentot Fig Ice Plant) this summer, and I am impressed at how much it has grown and spread. Also known as Carpobrotus Edulis, it is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves native to South Africa. I have been told that it is an invasive plant, and I will be moving it into a large pot to limit its spread.
Sour Fig.
Last week we harvested the Pomegranates and there were so many. We ate some and they are so sweet. We gifted some to our daughter’s friend who loves them and we will use them in meals and smoothies.
We have visited the San Francisco Bay area a few times, visiting with friends. The last couple of times, our kids were very young. This time around, they were eager and excited for the road trip, so we left the planning to them.
Driving through the Mojave Desert, we were amazed by the number of massive wind turbines. According the website power-technology.com, Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), also known as the Mojave Wind Farm, is the second-largest onshore wind energy project in the world and consists of wind farms constructed in the 1970s and 1980s.
We spotted a Twin-Fuselage Stratolaunch Aircraft from the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave. This aircraft is said to be the world’s largest airplane—with a wingspan longer than an American football field, measuring 385 feet.
Twin-Fuselage Stratolaunch Aircraft.
Sequoia National Park
We visited the Sequoia National Park and experience its beauty first hand. We mostly drove, as parking was scarce. We drove by the Tunnel Rock, Potwisha Campground, Hospital Rock, and stopped by the Middle Fork Kaweah River to stretch our legs. After reaching The Giant Forest Grove famed for its giant sequoia trees, we found a spot to park and admire nature’s beauty.
Sequoia National Park.
The waterfalls were breathtaking.
Sequoia National Park, Waterfall (Middle Fork Kaweah River).
The Temple Gate and Buddhist shrine are fascinating.
The Temple Gate and Pagoda (Buddhist shrine).
The memorials, statues, pagodas, bridge, as well as other visual arts are captivating.
Buddha Statue, Stone Lantern, Arch Drum Bridge.
The first thing that caught my eyes was the stone memorial to Makoto Hagiwara by Ruth Asawa. Makoto Hagiwara was a Japanese-born American landscape designer as well as the caretaker of the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, from 1895 until his death in 1925. He is also credited for inventing the fortune cookie in California, which he served at the Tea Garden.
I love the Tsukubai, which is a stone wash basin found in some Japanese tea gardens, temples, and shrines. It is placed near a tearoom and provided for visitors to cleanse themselves by washing their hands and rinsing their mouths.
Stone memorial to Makoto Hagiwara, Tsukubai, Stone Lantern.
The garden features gorgeous landscapes with lots of native Japanese native plants, stepping stone paths, a zen garden, pagodas, stone lanterns, waterfalls, and a few koi ponds.
Koi Ponds.
The Japanese architecture, the garden, and the visual arts are so beautiful.
Some buildings.
Located in the Music Concourse at Golden Gate Park, the Spreckels Temple of Music, also known as the Bandshell, is a venue for free concerts. The structure, which is about 124 years old, was a gift to the city from sugar magnate Claus Spreckels. It is surrounded by the California Academy of Science, the de Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden.
Music Concourse and the Rideout Memorial fountain.
There are several monuments in Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse with the Francis Scott Key monument being one of the largest. The Apple Cider Press, an 1892 bronze sculpture by Thomas Shields Clark. A bronze bust of Ulysses S. Grant by Rupert Schmid.
Monuments around the Music Concourse.
Other monuments, statues, and landmarks in Golden Gate Park:
The North Tunnel Under JFK Drive (the tunnel that crosses under John F. Kennedy Drive to the Conservatory)
The Phoebe Hearst and Rideout Memorial fountains
The Ludwig Van Beethoven Monument by Henry Baerer. The monument features a female figure standing below the bust and holding a lyre
The Cervantes Memorial by Jo Mora, consisting of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza kneeling before a bust of Cervantes
The Doughboy Statue by Melvin Earl Cummings and dedicated to the soldiers who died in the World Wars I and II
The Pool of Enchantment with a set of bronze sculptures (consisting of an Indian boy playing a musical pipe and two attentive California mountain lions) by M. Earl Cummings
Click here to learn about the history of the Music Concourse and here to learn about the history of the Golden Gate Park.
Sand City Beach
According to californiabeaches.com, Sand City is a tiny community including the highest dunes found along the state’s Central Coast. Sand City Beach is known for its strong winds, and it is a popular spot for paragliding.
Sand City Beach.
Big Sur
As the website SeeMonterey.com puts it, Big Sur is a majestic stretch of rocky cliffs, lush mountains, panoramic beaches, and coastal redwood forests located off the famous Pacific Coast Highway. Outdoor adventure is abundant with epic hiking trails, picturesque camping, and breathtaking historic & state parks to be explored.
Driving along Highway 1 was wonderful and Bixby Bridge was thrilling. Always check the weather service, highway condition, and pay attention to posted signs along the way for road closure due to a crash, maintenance, or rocks falling and blocking the road. Once you engage yourself on Highway 1 and can’t continue due to road closure ahead, then you will have to turn around because there are no detours.
We drove along Monterey, California Sea Otter Game Refuge, Carmel, and Big Sur. We made a quick stop at a restaurant to stretch our legs and for refreshments before turning around due to road closure ahead from falling rocks.
Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur.
Indeed, California Pacific Coast Highway takes you along some of the most amazing coastal scenery in the US. Always wear a seatbelt, keep your eyes on the road, respect the speed limit as well as other guidelines, respect other drivers and bicyclists, and drive safely. Practice extreme caution when driving at night, as it can be dangerous.
We had a wonderful time in San Francisco, regardless of the cold weather, and the drive back home was entertaining.
Finally, the weather is getting warmer and I have been tidying up the gardens.
I found a local nursery on Facebook last week and immediately connected the owner for a visit. We drove there the next day and I was amazed by the variety of cacti such as the Beavertail Cactus, Blue Flame Cactus, Candelabra Cactus, Claret Cup Cactus, Golden Barrel Cactus, Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus, Mexican Fence Post Cactus, Mammillaria Polyedra, Old Man Cactus, Organ Pipe Cactus, Peanut Cactus, Prickly Pear Cactus, Rat Tail Cactus, Saguaro Cactus, Silver Torch Cactus, Totem Pole Cactus, Turk’s Cap Cactus, and so much more.
I was interested in the Hedgehog Cacti, specifically to the one below whose flowers were different from the others. I can’t tell if it’s a Trichocereus Candicans or Gymnocalycium Ritterianum.
We finally have a Blue Spruce! I love everything, Cedar, Fir, Pine, and Spruce trees (especially for their cones); though I love Spruce Trees the most. A couple of months ago, we purchased a Blue Spruce from a local nursery. This, I must admit, is a gamble given the facts that these spruce trees are not well adapted to our wet springs as well as to our hot and humid summers. A couple of people I spoke to said they have owned a couple of trees for many years now and they are growing strong. I am a little hopeful.
Blue Spruce.
Along with the Spruce Tree, we purchased two San Jose Juniper Topiary trees. These bonsai garden trees are a great addition to the garden and I hope they will survive for us to enjoy for many, many years.
Juniper Topiary.
The Yellow and White Lady Banks roses are blooming profusely this Spring and gracing the garden arches with their tiny and delicate flowers.
By JM Perez
