Zion: A three-year tradition

Yes, I have been very slow going through all the photos from this year's vacation. How did it get to be late November and I'm still going through pictures from May, I don't know. Anyway, so lets get back to that, shall we?

At the end of our trip, we opted to tack on a small detour to Zion, but first we had to drive there which can be quite pretty:

 Vermillion Cliffs

Glen Canyon Bridge & Dam

Surprisingly, after four days in the Grand Canyon and the hiking intensity, we were amazed at how another 5 mile hike with a 1400+ ft elevation change felt good rather than painful. On our first trip to Zion, Mike and I had to work up to the Angel's Landing hike and last year's trip we tried the Observation Point trail in Zion. Since it was a first trip to Zion for both our dads, we opted for the Angel's Landing hike again. Rather than talk about it, I'll just share some photos and a timelapse from the top:

 Walter's Wiggles

 Looking up to Angel's Landing

 Climbing Chains

Zion Timelapse 20120527 from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.

Next: Kolob Canyons, Zion National Park

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Final Day in the Grand Canyon
• Little Oases in the Grand Canyon - Day 3
• The Sky In the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2
• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

On hold

Do you ever feel like your real life is on hold while your work life takes over? Well, that's how life has been for us lately, only with a few little trips dotting the landscape.

September and October have turned out to be very busy months at work. I had already started working on a very exciting all-graphics video for the ADEPT program at MU. Working on this introductory video which explains why healthcare providers (and really everyone) should care about alcohol and drug abuse and what can be done about it. Adept is a grant-funded project that teaches healthcare providers oh-so-important tools for addressing substance abuse in patients. I have learned so much on this project and the passion of our clients has rubbed off tremendously. I will share it when I can, as it's not fully completed yet.

September brought another interesting project to our team. The president of the university was responding to twitter questions via a video we produced. I got to work with new software to customize a virtual set for the president. I also made graphics and did the video composite for this video:



Last week we took a quick vacation to Orlando. It was my first trip to Disney World and it was a great time! Next week we're off to Washington DC again for work. Hopefully soon after I'll find the time to finish going through my pictures from this summer's Grand Canyon/Zion vacation and be able to post more of those pictures, and then I'll be sorting through Disney World and DC. Whew, when will I ever get to complete that quilt?

Summer 2011 Vacation Photobook

I finally finished the photobook from last year's summer vacation! Yay! I hadn't realized that I was only a few pages away from finished back in the spring. I'm looking forward to seeing how it prints.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Done! Or at least almost Done!

So I finally finished up the mountains in the front of Glacial Recession. This means I either start re-doing the sky or set it aside for a while to create the back - this is what I'm thinking of doing. Anyway, lets just get right to it. I think this is the most exciting of my timelapses so far:
Art Process Timelapse 6 from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.

Glacial Recession Timelapse #5

Slowly, but surely, I'm making progress on "Glacial Recession". Last week I uploaded a new timelapse and this week, I'm getting closer and closer to having the top "done". Of course that means I need to get on the ball about getting the back designed and done...
Art Process Timelapse 5 from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.
My original plan to have the whole piece done by the end of the year is a tight deadline that I'm not sure I'll make it. Regardless, it's enjoyable work - for the most part.

Re-designing Glacial Recession

This is why I seem to have so little to show from my studio work of late:

It's the re-design of the sky and foreground of my Glacial Recession piece. All those little blocks of color were drawn out and colors chosen from a limited palette. Was it a pain? Yes. Why did I do it? Because I think it's the best way to make this come out like my "vision." Each of those pieces has a number and letter(s) to distinguish it from it's friends, and each one will be cut out and pieced together. The whole quilt is designed so that all I have to do is sew in straight lines. Yay!

Ok so why did I redesign the sky? (If you haven't and you want to see the timelapsed progression of the sky as I've worked on it, go to my last post on this subject.) Well, it's currently a little too "Picasso" for me. It's supposed to be a little blocky- abstract- if you will. And it just feels weird to me. I am taking my friend Mindy's advice and waiting until the rest of it is together before I re-cut the sky, but I have a feeling that's what's going to happen.

Just tonight, I've finished cutting out pattern pieces for the foreground and started some more dyes specifically for that area. This past weekend I spent some time picking out more fabrics for the green mountain on the right and I'll get that timelapse posted when I get to it.

Final Day in the Grand Canyon

I realized recently that there was something I left out of my previous post... Walking the 1.5 miles from Plateau Point to the Indian Gardens campground after sunset it's almost pitch black out as you enter the campground. As you cross the creek, the crickets and frogs create a symphony of music which I stopped to capture on my phone. Perhaps I'll use it as a backdrop for a video in the future.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day hiking out of the Grand Canyon. It must've been in the 70s at Indian Gardens when we started out. The clouds and haze kept the North Rim almost invisible. The wonderful weather made for a good restful night of sleep, so I was ready for the hike. And it was a great hike! The first time we did this hike - six years ago - this was the worst day for me. Fortunately, we didn't have the weather to contend with and I was in much better shape.

By the time we were on the last couple of miles, where almost everyone who comes to the canyon and decides to hike just a bit crowd the trail, we were seeing people in down coats and hats as if it were snowing at the top. When we reached the top, we knew why. The wind was whipping right through us and we found ourselves quickly heading for the car for warmer clothes! Didn't expect that!

One would think we might skip our ice cream tradition, but you can't mess with tradition! So there we sat, shivering and eating ice cream.

Next Up: Zion, Our Three Year Tradition

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Little Oases in the Grand Canyon - Day 3
• The Sky In the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2
• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

A book on Mindful Creativity

Before I read Imagine: How Creativity Works, I was about half-way through a book on creativity told from a very different perspective. I came back to On Becoming an Artist: Reinventing Yourself Through Mindful Creativity by Ellen J. Langer after finishing Lehrer's book and am still really enjoying it!

Langer is a psychology professor and a painter. The book begins with the story of how she became an artist and her references are often personal, and it reads more like a self-help book, which I like. Each chapter and sections of chapters begin with a quote, and it's segmented into easily digestible sections. The title led me to think this was going to be a book about how to become an artist, to which my response is: I already am an artist so why do I need this book? But that is deceiving. It would be more accurate to say that it's a book about mindfulness for creative people.

I think the parts I have enjoyed the most are dealing with evaluation, comparison and criticism. For example, I really grabbed on to this quote on page 59:

"The important thing is never to let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries; to continue steadfastly on one's way without letting oneself either be defeated by failure or diverted by applause." - Gustav Mahler

Langer goes on to talk about how compliments can act as confirmation of the artist's worth, but that is just as dangerous as not receiving compliments or winning awards. Later in the book she comes back to evaluation in the chapter on social comparison. I really liked this part:

"Social comparing is one way for us to gain validation. But there are other ways that are not so costly. Because a work of mindful art has so much of the person in it, it is no wonder that artists are eager to show their work and are so disappointed if it does not receive approval. It is hard at that point to separate oneself from the work." Langer, 142

She goes on to suggest that we consider asking better questions than "do you like it?" to learn more about how others see our work. Some of her suggestions include:

What does it mean to you?
Would you have added something (or left something out), and why?
What does this tell you about me?

The book as a whole is an encouraging lesson, one that all art school dropouts should read, that anyone who creates from the soul should read. It's so easy to talk yourself out of creating, so why not let someone who's been there talk you into creating? For me the take-away is: Don't be afraid to create. Create for yourself and don't be discouraged by others. They may not understand the work in the same way you do and that is ok.

If you are stuck in a mental block, trying to free yourself to be more creative, as I often do, search out and try keeping a list of sources for inspiration and encouragement. I keep a list of books/talks/etc to encourage myself to just go out there and create. You can find my haphazard study of creativity on this page. Now what are you waiting for? Go create something! Do it for you!


(If you are one of those people who were frustrated that Jonah Lehrer failed to cite sources in Imagine, and the fact that it used some of the same studies and stories as Malcom Gladwell's Blink, you will be pleased that Langer references her material and the bulk of the stories shared come from her own experiences as a psychologist.)

Little Oases on the Route to the Top - Grand Canyon Day 3

So, it's been a while getting back to organizing and just looking at all my vacation photos, but of course it's so wonderful to look back and marvel at how impressive that place is - not that these photos come anywhere near capturing it. For the last two days in the canyon I opted to hike more comfortably, which meant all photos were taken on my phone so that I didn't have to deal with trying to find a way to carry my DSLR comfortably - there is no way, I've decided.

There are two really wonderful things about coming out of the canyon via the Bright Angel Trail over two days: one, the first day is not nearly as steep, and two, the trail often is alongside the creek which provides little oases as relief from the heat and sun. So at the end of the hike, dropping the bulk of our gear at our campsite, we get to make the extra 1.5 mile hike out to Plateau Point for the sunset.

 The guys crossing the creek

 View of battleship rock (I think) from Bright Angel Trail

 From whence we came - Bright Angel Trail etched into the canyon

(Unfortunately the puzzle images I took at Plateau were mostly blurry and the timelapse also didn't work, so the only puzzle I got was with my phone and the colors were all off so I got rid of the color and now I like it.

Next Up: Coming Out of the Canyon On the Last Day

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• The Sky In the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2
• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Imagine - A book worth reading!

Just imagine for a minute that there's a book out there that combines the wisdom of multiple creators/artists/entrepreneurs/engineers/etc with the knowledge of neurologists and scientists, simply explaining what it takes to be creative and where insights come from.

Jonah Lehrer's new book Imagine: How Creativity Works does just that. There are many ways to create, but perhaps if we understand where our brains and creativity intersect we can become more creative. Lehrer explains how insight and grit both lead to innovation and how we can work alone or together to make more and better things.

"I think people need to be reminded that creativity is a verb, a very time-consuming verb. It's about taking an idea in your head, and transforming that idea into something real. And that's always going to be a long and difficult process. If you're doing it right, it's going to feel like work." - Milton Glaser quote within Imagine, pg 69

I loved reading this book. It was inspirational, interesting and full of great takeaways.

"Knowledge can be a subtle curse. When we learn about the world, we also learn all the reasons why the world cannot be changed. We get used to our failures and imperfections. We become numb to the possibilities of something new. In fact, the only way to remain creative over time - to not be undone by our expertise - is to experiment with ignorance, to stare at things we don't fully understand." - Jonah Lehrer, Imagine, pg135

And now the 99% has posted the talk that Lehrer gave at their annual conference:

Jonah Lehrer: The Origins of Creative Insight & Why You Need Grit from 99% on Vimeo.

"It is the human friction that creates the sparks." - Jonah Lehrer, Imagine, pg212

I highly recommend this book. Get it on CD and listen to it while you work, or get ahold of a copy and read it bit by bit. It's digestible, interesting, and will make you think about how you create and how you could create more and better ideas.

Imagine by Jonah Lehrer Book Trailer from cosproductions on Vimeo.

Is that Your Studio? This is my Studio!

Recently, textile artist Lisa Call encouraged artists to share their studio habits. I found her post, by way of Vicki Welsh, and the others she linked to very interesting. So lookout folks, I'm going to share my answers too. I borrowed the questions from Lisa, who apparently borrowed them from someone else.

A little caveat: When I'm working on something, and even sometimes when I'm not, my studio is a cluttered mess. And since I'm currently full-force working on Glacial Recession, please excuse the mess.

Is your studio at home or a separate space?
I totally can't afford to pay rent somewhere else. When we bought our first home three years ago we purposefully looked for a place that had the potential for uninhibited messiness! The windows and plain old concrete floor in our basement were the perfect solution. With used carpeting some friends were going to throw out, I was able to make it feel a little more homely without the worry that would typically proceed working over plastic sheeting.


How big is your studio?
Half of the basement. Roughly 500 sq ft.

Typically, how many hours a day do you work in the studio?
That varies. When I'm in the creative mode, I can spend about 3-4 hours an evening in there or 8-10 hours on a weekend day there. But there have sadly been times where the lights aren't even on all week.

How many days a week?
Because I work and have too many passions to focus on, my studio time ebbs and flows. I try to make it down there at least twice a week.

My print/dye room (printing table thanks to my dad)

Do you listen to music while you work?
I pretty much ALWAYS listen to something. It's not always music. When I do listen to music, I tend to replay the same music over and over again - to my husband's dismay - loudly so that I can hear it from across the room. Sometimes I'm sympathetic and put in my earbuds and use pandora on my phone. But sometimes I get carried away by the music and wind up dancing instead of doing my work. So, though I can't dance about architecture, I sure have tried to dance about textiles - usually to disastrous results (I've twisted ankles, made myself sick...).

Lately I've been checking out books on CD at the library. In the past two weeks, I finished Super Freakonomics (which was fascinating), Blink, and The Idea Hunter. I really enjoyed Ignore Everybody (the reader is really great and the ideas come to life through his verbalization). I also really like to listen to talks, either TED talks I've already heard or other inspiring talks (I keep a list of these inspirational things on this page). I tend to re-listen to things because I'll catch something new or remind myself of good practices.

Do you watch television while you work?
Well not when I'm listening to music or a CD of course...but yes, I do "watch" television while I work. I listen to tv shows or movies I have on DVD. I can't stand commercials and I don't get any stations in the basement, so I'm pretty much limited to DVDs. I will only put on things I've already seen. I used to think it was just white noise until I realized that I actually remember things I hear when I'm working.

Do you answer the telephone while you are in your studio?
Most of the time my phone is upstairs and I don't hear it, but if I have access and it rings, I'll answer.

How often do you take breaks?
I take breaks when I hit a wall or get so thirsty or hungry that I HAVE to stop.


Do you have any over-use issues with your hands or any other body parts? If so, how do you manage them or compensate?
Several years ago I had continual problems with my neck and shoulders. I had visited a massage therapist who was wonderful, but after another six months I was back to feeling numbness in my arm, so I saw a doctor. A month of physical therapy - 3x a week for 4 weeks - and re-learning how to carry my head, I have done so much better! Now, when I have trouble, I do my PT exercises and try to take a break. I also have a back massager that I'll use, and I make sure I take a good warm shower, relax, and try to take a break from sewing or working with fabric in the dyebaths.

The "wet room" (bathroom)

And the question that wasn't asked, but I want to hear answers to.... How do you motivate yourself to be in the studio when you would rather slack off?
Motivation is key. Last night I knew I had a book to finish listening to, and since I can't just listen to the book without doing anything with my hands, I wound up in the studio and stayed longer than the end of the book. 

In the summer, it's cooler in the basement so I will sometimes wander down there to enjoy the cool. In the coldest part of winter, the opposite is true. Mostly, I need to have a project that engages me. I have to WANT to be there. And I've found that coming up with a new technique to try can sometimes really get me going.


Mostly, I try to motivate myself by putting pretty things on the wall but that doesn't always help. Listening to something interesting helps me stay in the groove. It doesn't work for everyone, but I come from a home where music was always playing and that has stuck with me in my adult life.


For more behind the scenes in my studio, check out my progress on "Glacial Recession" via my time-lapse videos. I posted the most recent progress here.
        
 Your turn... What does your space look like and how does it work for you? 

The Sky in the Grand Canyon: Phantom Ranch Part 2

We were hot by the time we got back to Phantom, where we went inside to eat our sack lunches, drank some lemonade and enjoyed the fans. By mid-afternoon it was announced that due to the water breaks they would be turning off the electricity, so we went out to enjoy the creek. I had hoped to get down to the beach - I was going to jump in fully clothed killing two birds with one stone - but it was so hot that no one would walk all that way with me. Plus, with the water break washing out the trail to the beach, there was no guarantee we wouldn't have to go all the way around. So, we found our little corner of the creek, soaked our feet, legs, etc.

I washed off my pants and tried to help the newly formed rashes on my lower legs from getting too bad - the red dust must have some microorganisms to which I'm allergic in it and that dust blew right through my pants, settling on my lower legs. Then I removed my shirt and washed that out too. Boy was it cold putting that back on! It's hard to believe that I was shivering for a bit in 110+ degree weather. (Someone said they saw the thermostat hit 122.)

 Bright Angel Creek

 Footbridge crossing Bright Angel Creek

But here's the really incredible part: the clouds seem so much clearer, the sky almost smaller than it is back home, but gorgeous and worthy of better timelapses than my feeble attempts. Trying to get a sense of it? Watch my HD timelapse video on Vimeo:



Now that I've done this twice I can say with absolute certainty: If I do this again, I will only do it if I get a day at the bottom. Relaxation and recovery in addition to actually getting to enjoy being inside of the canyon make for happier hikers on the mandatory climb out of the canyon!

 HDR - Colorado River facing West from the Silver Footbridge

 Surreal HDR image of Bright Angel Creek

Next up: Hiking Bright Angel Trail to Indian Gardens and Sunset at Plateau Point

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Rockin' the Bottom - Phantom Ranch Part 1
• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Art in progress... Glacial Recession Part 4

So I've been busy creating lately which is totally awesome!! Since we got back from vacation (don't worry, I'll get back to my pictures and posts of the trip as I alternate between projects) I've gotten back into the studio and have been working full-steam ahead on my "Glacial Recession" piece. So, four months after I did the first three timelapses (see the others here, here and here), I've finally uploaded another one. The first two sections were shot in February and the last ones were done this past week.


I've finally achieved the look I want using salt and the dyes to create texture, and I am even re-designing the bottom part of the piece. Actually, I'm not really sure I can call it a re-design, considering I didn't really have a plan for it in the first place. This past winter, I forced myself to move ahead, working on the sky first, without worrying about the bottom. Sure enough, as my dear friend Mindy says, the piece spoke to me - it finally told me what it is supposed to look like. It's going to require more fabric and more dyes, so I know what I'll be doing.

Here are some of my first pieces of fabric that show the wonderful texture I've been getting with the salt:

 Procion MX Reactive dyes: Cerulean, Lemon Yellow, and Sky Blue

Procion MX Reactive Dyes: Lemon Yellow, Sky Blue, and Cobalt

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Rockin' the Bottom: Phantom Ranch Part 1

sunburst on Battleship rock in "The Box," North Kaibab Trail

The Grand Canyon... what an awesome place! Backpacking it makes you forget all the troubles and worries of the working world, allowing you to dwell in the moment (particularly on your aching legs and sore knees). Fortunately, when you spend a day at the bottom, you get to enjoy a little of it's splendor without the constrains of carrying all your belongings and mentally reminding yourself over and over "you can do it".

So what exactly is it like at the bottom of the canyon? Rightly, I can't honestly describe it and my pictures/video don't do it justice. That does not mean I did not try to capture it as you will soon see, it just means that no camera can put you there... in that immense space that strangely feels so small, with towering peaks deceiving your well-tuned depth perception, particularly when you realize you can't even see the rim from which you came.

With what did we fill our day at the bottom? We had breakfast at Phantom Ranch. Then, leaving most of our belongings at our campsite, we did a morning walk about 1.5 miles through "the box" on the North Kaibab Trail. Compared to the day before, it was a flat hike that followed the Bright Angel Creek. It's recommended that you make your way through the box before mid-day as the towering walls of the canyon are like an oven that gradually heats during the day and is stiflingly hot from afternoon through evening. Headed North it was mostly shady and we turned back when it looked like shade would be hard to find up ahead.

 testing my slow shutter on the Bright Angel Creek

 (Once I figure out how, I will add a button to enable buying prints of these puzzle/collage photos via Fotomoto)

2 photos morphed together and made HDR

 having fun with HDR and layering photos, created in Photoshop

Up Next: The Sky in the Grand Canyon - Phantom Ranch Part 2

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed them, here are my previous posts:

• Trekking the South Kaibab Trail into the Grand Canyon
• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

The Grand Canyon, Going Down is Optional

The guys admiring the view at Ooh Aah Point - seriously I didn't pose them 

and I didn't name the location either

Our descent into the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibab Trail was... well... let's just call it rough. Lest this be misconstrued as complaining, I'll start off by saying that it's all totally worth it! Exhibit A:

You can actually see where we took the picture of all of us in this collage - that hump on the second picture from the left is the same hump in the background of the previous picture.

The South Kaibab trail is not for the faint of heart. It's hot. The blistery wind whips up the red dust and brushes it like sandpaper against your skin. Almost no shade and no water add to the delights of the almost constant decline of the path. I took precautions for all of these things: carrying at least 4 liters of water, wearing long pants, long-sleeve shirt, and bandana around the neck to safeguard my face through the dust storms, and training by hiking the 9 story parking garage for weeks before the inevitable. However, the almost constant strain on my knees (I wore braces the whole time) and constantly tightening my boots to prevent my toes slipping into the front of my boots over and over again, coupled with my own problem of not drinking quite enough - the bathrooms are too far apart - made it my least favorite day. The phrase "it's all uphill from here" really fit for me.

 A Century Plant (only blooms once just before it dies) 

I literally had my arms raised all the way as I was standing on a rock to get this picture

 I don't know how tall these things get, but this one was easily 2X my height. Fortunately it was bending over so I could get under it to take this photo.

Fortunately, amazing views the whole route and the exciting prospect of a wonderful stew meal at the bottom got me through. (Last time we did this - six years ago - the hike down wasn't so bad, except for the last mile that Mike and I ran - yes literally ran with a 30-40 lb backpack - to get to the ranch in time for dinner, but the struggle getting out was so much worse for me as a result. Also, it actually rained on us in 2006 and the cloud cover made it more bearable.) At any rate, we did this trail in record time - for us - with my dad always the first to get our butts moving after a break, and an overwhelming urge to get out of the heat, I think it only took us like 5-6 hours!

Not quite a 360 ° panorama (click on the image to enlarge it)

The fact that we made it to the campground in the early afternoon turned out to be a really REALLY good thing. We were too late for the best campsites, but we got there before the second break in the water line washed away a good portion of the trail. Had we arrived later, we would've had to backtrack and come around a different - longer - way. The breaks in the water line did affect us. Those who were staying at the ranch were more inconvenienced in that their promised showers were taken away. As it was, there was only one place to get fresh drinking water and all flush toilets required carrying a bucket full of creek water into the restroom with you and pouring that into the toilet to get it to flush.

 Our first view of the Colorado River - probably a little more than half-way to the bottom!

All meals were still served and fun was still had. After a delicious stew meal where we met new friends and shared tales of journeys had and yet to have, we went to a ranger talk about the geology of grand canyon - Grand Canyon ROCKS! - and then attempted to sleep in our hot tents as the wind pushed the dust through the screens. Those who did get to sleep woke up covered in a thin layer of red sand. I, however, was glad to have a view of the moon and stars as I lay awake wondering if it would ever cool off enough to get to sleep.

Next up: A Day at the Bottom!

This is a series on our 2012 trip. In case you missed it, here is my first post:

• Petroglyph National Monument and the Painted Desert

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Petroglyphs and Painted Desert

What might two dads and their eldest (adult) kids do after driving 1000+ miles to Albuquerque, before finishing their drive to Grand Canyon? Hint: playing in the waterpark at their hotel is not the correct answer. Answer: they decided to take a scenic detour at Petroglyph National Monument near Albuquerque.

Yes! One more stamp in my national parks passport! Supposedly there were like 100 petroglyphs on the Mesa Point Trail in Boca Negra Canyon. I think we probably missed a few. One thing we didn't miss were the views of Albuquerque. On such a beautiful day, it was a great little diversion. It was a short, easy trek up to viewpoints into the canyon on one side and Albuquerque on the other. And, though we didn't have it to ourselves, we only saw a handful of other visitors.

We also veered off the highway a bit at Petrified Forest National Park. But since we spent all our "free time" at Petroglyph NM, we opted not to drive the 26 miles out of our way to see the "forest". We did take a little stroll at the Painted Desert, where it was just as windy as I remember it from last time.

This is the first in a series of posts on my 2012 travels. Up next: Hiking the Grand Canyon

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Berries!! Reaping what was sown...

So two years ago I started a real garden. I mean, for real, I dug up an area of our yard, put in a raised bed (two actually), and planted berries. I planted raspberries and blueberries. (I also have one of those hanging strawberry planters.) Just to clarify, I love berries! I am a sugar-holic and would be a fruititarian - as my parents termed my brother when he would eat nothing but fruit - if my organs and pocketbook could take it. Last year, I picked many raspberries and discovered that they really need a trellis to support their 7 ft height.

This year with our early spring and summer, I am actually in town to partake of the wonderful fruits. For the first time, one of my blueberry plants actually is starting to create berries, and the raspberries have gone crazy! A good kind of crazy. I have been going out every day to pick a handful/bowlful of berries. I couldn't go on Saturday, so on Sunday I got to collect two day's worth of berries - 4oz - and there are still many unripe ones on the bushes! So what did I do with those 4 oz? Save them for a healthy snack the next day? Nope, I ate them all in one sitting, not an hour later. They were fantastic!

A few days ago, I got the first strawberry that I could and yesterday I picked off 9 more. Healthy snack today! Yippee!! Now if only I had the patience and ability to make a larger portion of our yard into a garden, think how wonderful that would be! Oh, and a hot house, and a whole area devoted to butterflies, and more consistent composting, and.....

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles