I didn’t pick the desert. The desert picked me.

In grad school, we read this piece about the children of ranch families would grow up hating the ranch life, before following a trend of leaving for the city and then eventually returning, appreciating the ranch life.

Nobody really goes out of their way to bestow a thoughtful love of the desert like one might hope. No school field trips to the river bed, it’s always dry after all.

And somewhere along the way, the desert’s version of Rod Stewart got me hooked on a cactus hobby.

Not all succulents are cacti, but all cacti are succulents. And that brings us to some larger themes around this weekends shenanigans. The Joshua Tree. Yucca Brevifolia.

Or rather, why Jake can’t seem to restrain himself when there are pricks for purchase. Sunday will now be dedicated to a San Diego (well Encinitas) mission for 7 fresh Joshua Trees (and 1 barrel cactus).

The Joshua Tree is on the City of Victorville’s seal…

Victorville’s only been around since 1962…. yikes… That logo needs a refresh at the very least…

But this post is to say that it feels good to be getting the baby Joshuas and take them to the house I grew up in.