Championing the makers, artists, and wanderers in all of us.
l had so much jewel-toned goodness to share with you in part 1 of this color story that it overflowed into this whole separate post!
So you can continue to revel in jewel-toned art, nature, artisan goods, destinations, and DIYs.
Continue reading “Color Story: Gems + Jewel Tones (part 2)”
I don’t think my dog, Quijote, knows Christmas is coming. But we still use the holidays as an excuse to splurge a bit on pup presents we’ve been putting off purchasing.
It’s even better when we can buy them from independent makers and artists who put extra care into what they create.
Not only do I love supporting talented creators, I love introducing others to them – whether it’s in person at a local market or where they’re selling online.
In fact, I was linking to people’s Etsy shops so frequently, I applied to become an affiliate. Now when you click one of the links in this post and then buy something on Etsy, you’re supporting the seller/artist and helping me keep this site going!
Cyberweek Sale: Lots of Etsy shops are offering discounts of up to 60% off from now until November 30!
So here are 5 gift ideas for your canine companions or the dog lover in your life that are made by artists with Etsy shops. I’ve purchased things from all of them before – either via Etsy or here in Tucson – and they all do fantastic work!
The Product: Collar with detachable bow tie
Our purchase: We have this set in blue and white gingham, and it’s now Quijote’s everyday collar. We add the bow tie to dress it up for occasions when we want him to look like a little gentleman (gentledog?) – even though we know he probably won’t actually mind his manners.
Handmade by: Katie of Collar Me Charming
Customizable? Yes. Contact this seller (Katie) if you have a special request.
The Product: Natural-finish wooden ornament
Our purchase: To commemorate Quijote’s first Christmas with us, we got this cute ornament in the shape of a howling dog. He actually does like to throw his head back and howl sometimes, so this makes me smile!
Handmade by: Alexandra Rinde of The Aerialist Press Holiday Shop
Customizable? Yes. Etched with the name and year of your choice.
[UPDATE: This Gift Box will be unavailable through the end of the year. However, there are still tons of fun a-la-carte items in the Aall Forms of Life shop.]
The Product: Curated gift box for dogs and their humans
Our purchase: This gift bundle was a new find for me, so it’s the one thing on this list we don’t actually own. However, I have purchased other things from the artist (Nathalie Aall) and have no doubt this would make a fantastic gift. She also does these beautiful illustrations of desert animals and plants that you can get as prints, cards, ornaments, calendars, and stickers.
Handmade + curated by: Nathalie Aall of Aall Forms of Life
Customizable? Yes. Nathalie will paint a black-and-white portrait of your pet(s) from a photo. You can also request a personalized gift recipient message to be included in the box.
The Product: Cotton pet-sized bandana
Our purchase:
We ordered this fun accessory not long after we adopted Quijote. We were starting to notice that people were drawn to him (he is a bundle of cuteness), but he does not like meeting new people! I summed it up with the phrase “Antisocial but adorable.”
The designer (Andrea Karaha) was great to work with! She sends a mockup of your design before printing, so you can request a change if it’s not quite what you had in mind.
Individually printed by: Andrea Karaha of Gigraffe Design Studio.
Customizable? Yes. Very! Choose your own text and font(s) or provide your own graphic!
The Product: metal and enamel collar charm
Our purchase: We chose the “Watch Dog” charm, because Quijote is always on the alert, even for things that are definitely not a threat. He warns us when the mailman is here, when someone walks their dog past our house, when a barista hands me the coffee I ordered…
Illustration by: Rosie’s Barket (a.k.a. AtTheBarket)
Customizable? While Rosie’s Barket isn’t able to offer customization, once you receive the charm, you can have the back engraved without worrying about damaging the front.
Which of these is your favorite? And if you were going to purchase one pet present this holiday season, who would it be for?
Agave has been cultivated in the Tucson area for hundreds of years.
While tequila might be the most widely known product made from agave (a.k.a. the century plant or maguey), it’s certainly not the only one! Different species of the plant are distilled into different spirits, collectively called mezcal.
Native peoples would also use agave to make food, medicine, and even rope. They developed farming techniques to maximize the plant’s adaptability and drought-resistant qualities, so they could grow it where other crops wouldn’t thrive.
The annual Agave Heritage Festival in Tucson celebrates the plant’s natural and cultural significance. It includes special agave-centered menus at local restaurants, gardening demonstrations, concerts, lectures, mezcal tasting events, hikes to ancient agave roasting pit sites, and a re-creation of the traditional way agave hearts were cooked underground.
After the spring 2020 festival was canceled and last year’s was replaced by a monthly series of virtual talks and DIY tastings, the Agave Heritage Festival made a joyful return this past May!
It has come back as a more compact, focused four days of events – in contrast to the week (or more) it stretched out pre-pandemic.
Following right on its heels was the first annual Pueblos del Maíz Fiesta. The kickoff event for both festivals was a concert by multiple Grammy Award winning Mexican-American singer and activist Lila Downs.
One of this year’s events was the Agave Expo, which included panels, vendors, tables for organizations doing conservation work in Southern Arizona, and a plant sale. It was held on a beautiful morning in Mission Garden, a collection of demonstration gardens where a 17th-century Spanish mission once stood.
I arrived right before the first talk of the day, parking next to a woman who was already loading assorted agave purchases into her car.
“Pollination Nations” was a discussion about agave, bats, and ecology on both sides of the border.
Nectar-eating bats cross-pollinate agaves’ nighttime blooms, creating the genetic diversity essential for the plants’ long-term survival. However, agave planted for human consumption is prevented from blooming. Recent large-scale agricultural methods have lead to hungry bats and a monoculture crop that’s susceptible to disease.
The Bat Friendly project promotes more sustainable practices, encouraging growers to let 5% of the agaves they plant to live out their natural bloom cycle and allow bat pollination. Following their guidelines earns mezcal producers a special Bat Friendly™ label, as well as helping to ensure the continuation of their industry.
The panel discussing these topics was made up of experts from Bat Conservation International, Borderlands Restoration Network, and Sonora Silvestre, as well as mezcal-makers from Bacanora Batuq and Mezcal Zincantan. It was moderated by Jesús García, Research Associate at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Co-Chair of the non-profit Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (FOTB).
(Incidentally, Moderator Jesús had returned from a trip to Mexico just in time for the Lila Downs kickoff concert and gave it rave reviews!)
Afterwards, I wandered over to the ramada where raspados (snow cones) were being served in hollowed out half lemon peels, in exchange for donations to the garden.
They had three different flavors made from garden produce, and I was not prepared for that kind of decision making. I was especially torn between the refreshing sounding lime-mint flavor and the artisanal agave syrup, which seemed like the most fitting choice for the occasion. Then the volunteer scooping the crushed ice suggested I have both. Sold.
Sprinkled throughout the garden were informational tables and artist booths, including Found Design Sculptures by Leonard Ramirez and Cold Goose Pottery by Judy Ganz.
Tucson Audubon Society was there with resources. They were especially highlighting their Habitat at Home program, which shares ways to support birds and other pollinators from your house. One thing they suggest here in Southern Arizona is to leave your hummingbird feeder out on summer nights, because bats might stop by for a drink!
Before I left, I made a final stop at the Chocolate Ritual booth to pick up some of their mezcal-infused chocolate truffles. They create their chocolates to have a taste that pairs well with either mezcal or coffee. The “ritual” is as simple as sipping your preferred beverage in between bites of chocolate and savoring the combination. It’s a practice I can definitely get behind.
We were already on the road to Colossal Cave Mountain Park, when we realized we’d overshot our original destination. We had heard about the cave but hadn’t ever been there. So, instead of doubling back and trying to find the entrance for the nature preserve we had probably just driven through but weren’t sure how to access, we kept going!
We weren’t even sure if we’d be able to get into the park or if it was still closed due to the coronavirus. And we certainly weren’t planning on going into any caves since Quijote was with us. But it was Phillip’s birthday, and he voted to go see what we could find.
Colossal Cave is a dry cave system under the Rincon Mountains in the Tucson-adjacent community of Vail. Before being developed into a tourist attraction by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s, the cave had served a variety of functions, including a shelter for the Hohokam people, train robber hideout, and guano mine.
What to know if you decide to visit:
There are also nice hiking trails outside the cave – I’m sure they’ll be even nicer when it’s not summery hot.
We were looking around the terrace when I overheard one of the staff tell the group waiting for their tour time that they often see coatimundis going in and out of the cave.
That stopped me in my tracks.
A coatimundi (or “coati”) is a long-nosed member of the raccoon family that mostly lives in Central America, but has also found its way into higher elevations of the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico (Mt. Lemmon, for example).
Phillip and I have been on the lookout for one ever since we went to Chiricahua for the first time and didn’t see any there.
We had no idea there’d be a chance to see one that day. Apparently, though, they’re a common sight, going in and out of the cave and hunting around the park for trash (which, of course, is on-brand for the raccoon family).
Moments later, we saw a young coati atop the hill above the cave entrance! He started sniffing along the edge, and then scampered down its sheer face and into the cave.
Phillip barely had time to snap photos, and I had my hands full with Quijote.
But we saw it.
It was like nature gave Phillip a colossal birthday surprise!
I had a dream that Target had its own airline.
Planes would land and pull right up to the airport level of the store. It all had that stylized, white-on-white aesthetic like something from their t.v. ads.
They also offered petsitting. So you could drop your dog off for boarding and then go upstairs to board a plane.
Which is what we had planned to do in the dream. However, when we looked past the trendy waiting room furniture, we saw that the “kennels” were barely bigger than the dogs. They looked more like mesh organizer cubbies that belonged on sale in late August with the rest of the dorm room essentials.
We could not leave Quijote in such cramped quarters. I started scrambling to find somewhere else for him to stay and trying to figure out how we could take him to another place and still get back to Target in time to catch our flight…
Have I mentioned that I had this dream as we were getting ready to fly to Chicago and leave Quijote overnight for the first time? And that I knew we’d have to take him to the real-life boarding place first thing in the morning (and I’m not great at mornings) and then rush to the airport?
Yeah, I was anxious about how it would go.
In reality, however, Quijote stayed at his regular doggie daycare spot and did really well. Phillip and I made it to Chicago.
And, so far, Target is not in the airline business.
I guess travel anxiety can take your mind some wild places.