Desert Messenger

September 7, 2016 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 We have great lunch menus, serving at 12 noon sharp! Suggested donation is only $3.50. There's cards, books, games, puzzles, pool table, Wi-Fi available. Community Services, Volunteers Needed! Come join the fun at Quartzsite SENIOR Center 40 Moon Mountain Ave. For more information call 928-927-6496 Senior Center open all year! Monday - Friday, 9am – 3pm Traveling with Gypsy Jane I always worry a bit whether I'll love Quartzsite as much after traveling for five months (Kanab, Utah including the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary; Zion National Park!; and two months house sitting in Albuquerque, NM) -- experiencing all the activities bigger cities have to offer.......but all I needed to re- mind me was the lovely sunset my first evening back! And this morning while hav- ing breakfast on my porch with an unobstructed view of the desert, a bird tilting almost upside down to sip water from the bird bath (returning to an upright position to swallow); more birds pecking away at the newly-filled bird feeder which hangs from a branch of the tall, green tree -- beautiful yet func- tional with the shade it provides. There are doves on the ground under the bird feeder, grateful for the seeds other birds knock to the ground. A bunny drinks from the water bowl, and just at dawn I noticed several quail singing their easily-recognized song as they scurried across the yard. The desert (and my front yard) are a brown, gravelly dirt -- no grass here, but there are splotches of green across the desert. The desert plants in my yard are a lush green, an oasis in the desert. There are about thirty aloe plants across by Jane Finley writer * artist * teacher (stretching, exercise, relaxation, meditation) You CAN go home again Quartzsite, AZ Nominate your favorite volunteer Quartzsite celebrates our volunteers The Quartzsite Health & Develop- ment Board wants to honor our local residents who work endless hours to make our town a great community. To qualify they must be year-round resident and are not compensated for their work. There are two age groups- 18 or younger and 19 or older. You will need to provide their name, what they are being nomi- nated for, if they are with a group, and list their accomplishments. Fill out the Nomination Form on PAGE 2 and return it to Town Hall, the Senior Center, or give to Transit Drivers. by September 14. You can also nominate on www. QuartzsiteSurvey.com. In the September 21st edition of Desert Messenger you'll have a chance to vote for the nominees. The winners will be honored at the October 25th Quartzsite Town Council Meeting. Let's have fun honoring our year-round helpers! Monica Timberlake Health & Development Board First locally-owned and operated music station in Quartzsite, Arizona. Proudly serving the communities of Quartzsite, Bouse, Brenda, Rainbow Acres, La Paz Valley and beyond, since 1988. Quartzsite Radio • Quartzsite's Favorite "CLASSIC HITS" • Local Information • Weather • 24 Hours Day / 7 Days Week! KBUX 94.3 FM 928-927-5111 http://kbuxradio.com the entire front, which I thinned last year, so thick from years of be- ing ignored that one plant turned into three. The three tall saguaros are standing tall; one bloomed for the first time last year! The 12- foot-high ocotillo is one of my fa- vorite desert plants with its spindly arms, red tassels at the tips, reach- ing to the sky. There is a plump, boxing-glove cholla covered with needles, but my favorite is a tree with an oriental feel: tiny, fringed leaves like a mimosa and delicate yellow flowers with a red center like tiny orchids in the spring. Best of all, it is a volunteer, choosing to live with me in my yard of its own accord. So these last few days I have been arranging the porch furni- ture (so I can sit between chores), pruning the yard and cleaning up the debris, unloading my RV, and cleaning house after a five-month absence -- surprisingly enjoying it all. This is balanced out by sitting on my porch, looking across the desert to the mountains, and just letting the peacefulness and won- der of this place soak in. I often re- fer to my winter home as my desert paradise, and once again that has proved to be true. ~*~*~*~*~*~ "Is it time to go home yet? I keep clicking these damn shoes, but nothing happens." ~ Robin Hecht ~*~*~*~*~*~ Jane's book is WANDERINGS: Liv- ing the Ordinary Extraordinarily (Stories from the Road). For an update on Jane's travels and writ- ing, visit her website (janefinley. com) and/or read "Traveling with Gypsy Jane" and "Poems from the Road" in The Desert Messenger (desertmessenger.com) beginning March 5, 2014 (contact: janefinley@yahoo.com)

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