Summer in Reno

Above, Snuggles, the mustang, is looking for a good home.

Below, a distant storm shot from my deck.

Yesterday, a rainbow from my deck.

Most mornings I go for a hike and I usually start on this dirt road (below) that runs behind all the houses on our side of the street (owned by the BLM.)  Since I hardly ever take pictures around here any more (all the brown, brown, brown is uninspiring) I decided to photograph all my neighbors that I walk past.

I don't know any of their names, but they are all friendly and know me.

I have been having a lot of fun building a sanctuary and work studio on my deck.  Before, the sun was too hot to tolerate.  Bob, my landlord helped me by building an arch that we tied to the deck railing.  With sheets and tarps I now have a cool, breezy, dry place to relax reading a book, or working on my projects.  I love sitting here when it rains.  All the water runs down to the other side of the deck, but I'm dry and so is my collection of tubs full of stuff I took out of storage last year.

I took a trip to visit friends in California and was profoundly astounded at how green and alive everything looked.  These photos are from my friend David's place in the hills.  It is really a beautiful place - 40 acres in the mountains.  There is a good sized fruit orchard, grapes, berries and all the water comes from springs on the property.  

A few years ago I went with David and Laura on an artist's tour in the town of Mendocino, on the coast.  We met this woman who was making concrete sculptures and that made me want to try it.  So, I made 5 heads (see one below) and put them all into hollow trees on David's property.  Interesting note, above the head is a packrat's nest.  They know good art!  These heads are fun, fast and easy to make so I was thinking of making a bunch of them here and leaving them laying around Reno in unexpected places.  We'll see.

Above, David holding a common green stone on his property - called cert (I think that's what he called it).  Below is David hiking back to his house.

Home in Reno, I'm sitting in the backyard with housemate Debbie and below that is a picture of one of the bunnies that like to join us and eat grass.   I can walk in and out of the house but they only run away if I walk towards them.  Bob has created a beautiful green sanctuary here, but one step off the property and it's brown desert.    We've had a lot of afternoon storms lately so everything is getting a slight greenish brown tinge.

Below, a short video of the Burner weekend we had.  Twenty people from the HeeBee JeeBees, a healer group, showed up to get all the preparations ready for their stay in the desert.  They were the advanced group that goes in and puts up all the pavilions, tents and showers for their group of 67 people.  Everything at Burning Man is free (once you've paid a huge sum of money to get in, of course.)  I heard lots of stories about places such as the Pizza place that only opens a 1:00 a.m. and makes 10 to 15 pizzas that they give away.  There is also an Orgy Dome where you have to use latex.  The HeeBee JeeBees give away free healing sessions, mostly massage.  I'm too allergic to heat to stay more that a day, but someday it would be fun just to take an afternoon tour to see the art.