Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis, Bignoniacea

i love the Desert Willow. first of all., the two words desert and willow really make me stop and think about this plant. deserts are typically dry, with little water. and willows typically reside near water, sometimes practically in a pond banks. so what is this plant truly about?

the first thing to make note of is that it is not in the Salicaceae family, which all other willows are. those who know drug names may be familiar with the word salicylic acid, a product of metabolizing by oxidation the water-soluble glucoside salicin which is found in the bark of willow and aspen trees (both in the same family), and the main anti-inflammatory ingredient in Aspirin. instead of popping that synthetic tablet with nasty plastic smells every time you get a headache, just reach for that freshly fallen aspen branch or clip off a small twig of new willow growth, shave off the outer and inner bark and steep in hot water for a headache fighting cup of tea! but, I digress. the desert willow, although not a producer of salicin has many other incredible weapons against dis-ease.

in appearance she looks to have kinship with other willows, with her thin, swooping branches, and slender elongated leaves. her flower, though, is unmistakable a bignonia. a monotypic genus, meaning she is the only species is this sub-category. native to these southwest regions, she can be found along arroyos and river banks between 2000 and 5000 feet elevation. so where ever you see a desert willow growing you're also sure to find water just below the surface of the ground.

the flowers, bark and leaves have several uses, but it is most widely used for it's anti-fungus and anti-viral properties. even MORE specifically it is a wonder treatment for systemic candida, which can be difficult to treat due to diet restrictions and other pharmaceutical medications that aggravate such a type of suprainfection. tea and tincture are both effective, although tincture is probably the most available to the general public. if anti-biotic therapy is being taken and there is risk of vaginal yeast infections due to the inhibiting affects it has on pro-biotic flora,  then desert willow is a good candidate for that type of candida as well...including a tea douche.

 

other uses: the leaves and bark in powdered form are a good topical aid for opened blisters and scrapes on the feet where foot fungus like to flourish. also, if you have sweaty feet or frequently wear shoes without socks, try sprinkling a little in the bottoms of your shoes to keep those potentially smelly kicks at bay. it's not a deodorizer so much as it inhibits bacteria growth which causes odor to occur in the first place.

 

lastly, if you ever have the opportunity to smell these flowers when they're at their blooming peak then you are in for a treat. Michael Moore describes it in Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West as "heavy, sweet, and sexy", and I couldn't agree more. 



moth ID

heidi, my expertly friend in birds and insects has informed me that the picture of the moth I posted yesterday is called a Black Witch Moth, and probably a male. how cool is that?!

flowering along the streets of marathon

I am working on a project for the center fold of the fall issue of the Cenizo Journal, "a quarterly journal dedicated to chronicling the history and people of Far West Texas through the work of writers, artists, poets and photographers". my topic is local, edible/medicinal plants (of course!!). I am to submit photos accompanied with a brief, informative paragraph. so, in wondering around trying to capture the essence of plant life in these parts, I get drifted away into plant land taking shots of flowers that aren't necessarily medicinal, or edible, but are outright intriguing!! close ups are fascinating to me, revealing so much detail that the naked eye rarely sees. sometimes abstract, and always magnificent. the earth is full of other, tiny, unseen worlds that we either take for granted, or just don't notice.

wildflower heads going into seed

 

globe mallow

 

sweet clover, white and yellow varieties. I love this plant!! it smells of honey and jasmine, especially when warmed by the summer sun. just wading through a meadow of this stuff ruffles up an aroma that is intoxicating.

desert sumac

 

desert willow comes in a variety of flower colors ranging from white, pink, deep purple and sometimes a little bit of both.

 

 



boquillas, mexico

after September 11, 2001, all boarder crossings into mexico besides those of major transportation (el paso/Juarez, presidio/ojinaga, del rio/ciudad acuna) were closed. the affect was devastating. any small town on the other side that relied heavily, probably entirely, on American tourism and American "locals" crossing for basic shopping or even just a delicious authentic Mexican dinner, quickly dwindled into a ghost town. somehow, some of the residents remained and were able to (barely) survive. others had no choice but to move away. this year, over 10 years later, the crossing into Boquillas was re-opened. basically what this means is that it is not illegal to wade across the rio grande, at this location, to go into the town of boquillas. there is no road or bridge crossing the river. just a little canoe. on the other side you have the option of riding horses into town, or walking, or even a truck ride. once there, an escort shows you the immigration office where ridiculous amounts of paper work is required, along with the purchase of the boat ride and horse ride, if chosen. needless to say, mexico is not cheap anymore. a $5 boat ticket. a $9 horse ride. children running everywhere trying to sell $5 cotton string bracelets that is impossible to say no to. $2 cervezas. $3 tacos. and the most outrageous was the beautiful Mexican embroidered sun dress that was simple enough to cost $20 in the states, was $50 there. it's called globalization. there was a time when $10 was all you needed, and it was enough for the sellers too. an affordable day trip, yes. but not like the mexico I know. I still love mexico and for the sake of boquillas I would still pay.

bienvenidos !!

 path to the river crossing

Ingrid at the river crossing

a shelter for men and boys to await the arrival of tourists calling for the canoe ferry

I talked Ingrid into riding the horses with me. it's a good thing too, because the walk to town was not as close to the crossing as I had thought. nearly a miles walk through hot sand, no breeze, no shade, at sea level...phew!

I think she was glad too. we both were wearing sandals and not really prepared for the trek.

first peek of boquillas

the little restaurant where we sat in the shade and enjoyed cold cerveza and tacos of handmade tortillas, and chatted with some terlinguan and big bend NP residents.

view from my perch

The Park Bar, a favorite of old time regulars. unfortunately, it was closed. we were ready for tequila shots!!

not much to do here except eat, drink, and on cooler days probably roam the town a little more. on this particular day it was completely out of the question. heat stroke was about to set in.

the trek back to the river.

 

 



summer explosion

when the storms come rolling in, the clouds are nothing short of magnificent. as the sun moves across the sky settling in for dusk various hues of yellow, orange, purples and pinks transform the cloudscape until the last moment when all fades and turn into gray.

 

a curious little face. not really a face at all, but rather the back of her neck to look like a scary monster to ward off predators.

monarch butterfly to-be munching on my Rue

 

my zinnias before the grasshoppers invaded and demolished

 

she appeared at dusk, so big, paul thought it was a bat at first. very moth like, but brilliant as a butterfly.





 

nowhere near a quality photo, but a precious glimpse of a newborn nestling humming bird, overflowing the confines of it's home. there is another unseen baby underneath it.

 



greenhouse project update

well, we have success! four months later, this is where we're at.

onions in the foreground, beets in the background

 

kale, kale and more kale



 

 

arugula

 

spinach

 

mescaline

 

carrots, with lots of invading volunteer melons

 

the "other" sector: raspberry bush, rue, helichrysum, lemon balm, valerian, rosemary, strawberries, marjarom, mexican marigold aka tarragon substitute, and various potted cactus/succulent transplants

 



the grounds

i'm proud of my yard. i've never had one, really. i've always tended other people's yards and gardens. so if i seem over zealous about the little things living outside my house, well, it's because i'm in love with it all. we walk outside just about every day to inspect the apple trees...you can tell that everyone is soooo happy about all the attention they're getting!

proud roses...these are only two of the four rose bushes we have. the white, and the other red haven't bloomed yet.

 

apples to be !!

 

daisy fleabane

 

globe mallow

 

wild flowers 

 

the tiniest little humming bird nest...i've been watching her sit in her nest between laps to the feeder...i don't know yet if she has eggs, but she is definitely territorial and protective whenever i'm sitting close by

 

a wayward visitor

 



wild foods

the desert is chock full of wild foods. mesquite, although most popular for it's color and grain in furniture, as well as a good flavored wood for smoking meats, the pods are exceptionally delicious as a flour in baked goods lending a sweet, nutty flavor. a very nutritional food high in protein, carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and rich in the amino acid lysine, it is best used in combination with other flours. you risk burning your baked goods if just using mesquite flour. actually, it's a gaurantee that you'll burn it, whatever it is. the sugar content is way too high to use the flour all on it's own. but, another little tip about mesquite flour is that the glycemic index is very, very low...so people with sugar inbalances can eat mesquite without the worry of their BSL spiking.

this recipe is my adaptation to a cookie recipe found in the Eat Mesquite! cookbook compiled by the Desert Harvesters of Arizona. these people really have a great thing going. after mesquite harvest time is over, and plenty of time has passed to allow for pods to dry, the Desert Harvesters group travel all over the state of Arizona hauling with them a beautiful grain mill and visiting farmers markets where lines of people wait with their buckets and barrels and boxes full of mesquite pods, waiting for their turn to grind the bounty into flour. and it's FREE! i had the opportunity to do this, which is a much more feasible way to acquire mesquite flour as opposed to buying it at $15 a pound.
the whole batch of cookies, all 2 1/2 dozen were gone within a few hours....Indiana, the food theif, highjacked about a third of them off the counter top when i turned my back for about 2 minutes...he's sneaky.

MESQUITE CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES (my version, adapted due to limited ingredients) oh! these are gluten free too!
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar + 1/8 cup molasses
2 farm fresh eggs, like from your neighbors back yard kind of fresh
1 1/2 ts cinnamon
1 cup brown rice flour mix (see below)
1/2 cup mesquite flour
2 ts baking soda
1 ts sea salt
1 cup oats
1 cup oat flour (basically, just grind your oats in a coffee bean grinder)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

brown rice flour mix
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot flour

if you have a mixer, wonderful. i don't. so i beat my butter by hand. whip in sugar and molasses. mix in eggs. in separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. in thirds, add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. add chocolate chips and walnuts. if time permits, chilling dough in fridge for one hour helps the cookies to keep a shape instead of flattening out due to the lack of a combining agent like gluten or xanthan gum. otherwise, if the butter was perfectly softened and not melted, then you might have to cut the cookies apart, but they won't totally flatten out all over the pan.
bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes

also, this is my new antique stove top and oven. isn't she beautiful?!

 

the guilty culprits