Thinking of Mama Rosa on Easter ... I can still hear the sound of her hands clapping making tortillas . . .

Mama Rosa was my maternal grandmother who raised me since I was 3. She immigrated from El Salvador to San Francisco in 1964. My parents worked several jobs, so they needed someone to take care of my younger brother and I. We only spoke Spanish in the home, so we grew up bilingual. She taught us about our culture and so much more  . . . it wasn't until I moved to Mexico that I realized what a gift she had given me. Rosa Chavez was a devote Baptist and she lived for her church. Easter Sunday was the most important day of the year for her. Here's to Mama Rosa!

The aftermath of the Huerta fire...

I walked around near where the fire started . . . the ground was covered in ash... stark, but interesting terrain. Now I can see the fence lines.

Palo de Arco Blossoms

Palo de Arco has been one of my favorite Baja plants since I first discovered it. It grows naturally around Todos Santos and also cultivated in ranches in Pescadero and the Sierras. The yellow blossoms have a delicate scent and they move with the slightest breeze. The bees like the nectar for honey, and local artisans use the stalks to make furniture and woven stick fences. It also makes a good natural barrier and ideal for planting along fence lines. I've been trying to capture this flower without much success. On the night of the full moon just before sunset I found some blossoms close to the ground. I used off camera flash and bounced the light off the ground and was able to freeze the motion and backlit the blossoms. I like the warm tones and luminous light radiating from within.