Return from Japan

I have been battling jet-lag for several days. I am completely incapable of sleeping until 2 or 3 am, despite my best efforts. My mind races with a million ideas. But by 3pm, I can barely keep my eyes open. So far I have reached a sort of compromise with my jet-lag, in the form of a bimodal sleep pattern. I sleep from 3 to 9, and then have a nap from 3 to 6. This is obviously not a good permanent solution, especially since I start my teaching duties next week.

We returned to Tucson after our week abroad to find our garden transformed. A jungle of green covered every inch of space, filling beds with a profusion of flowers and weeds. The grass (which we were so certain we had killed for good last spring) had become an impenetrable, tangled mass. Apparently it is possible to have a lawn in Tucson for a few months of the year without wasting any precious water on it.

Those of you who have seen our yard in other seasons will appreciate this photo:

Toby (our little 3-legged kitty) seems to especially enjoy the change in the yard. He loves to lurk in the thick vegetation and roll in the grass. Over the last two days the resident pair of mockingbirds have started a new campaign to taunt and harass him (they know he can't jump or climb, and make the most of it). Toby regards their animosity as free entertainment, and spends hours rolling under their tree and meowing at them.

The burst of monsoon vegetation brought a particularly nice surprise in the front yard. The previous owner (who was an avid and talented gardener) had apparently sown the yard with senna, orange mallow, and some kind of native large orange flower. The same plant bloomed profusely last year on the Santa Rita Experimental Range, but I'll need to pull out the plant books to find out what it is. While most houses on our street have fresh green weeds or nothing at all (depending on the diligence of the owners), our house is graced by a carpet of orange blooms.

Of course, all this new growth means that we must act quickly before the lovely garden becomes completely out of control. Before he left for the conference Andrew mowed the grass (a task that almost overwhelmed our thrift-store push mower, not to mention Andrew). I have spent many long hours on hands and knees, pulling weeds. There is something very satisfying about pulling weeds, and I have many blisters to show for it. Pulling weeds becomes particularly tempting whenever I think I should be writing my dissertation proposal. I have compromised by pulling a few weeds every time writing becomes too frustrating.

In case you are wondering, we had a fantastic time in Japan and I do intend to write all about it, with pictures. I am hoping to collaborate with Andrew on it, when he returns.