This post is going to make me sound like an alcoholic, but really I’m just a hedonist. Learning a new language, you don’t typically remember when you learn every new word, but this one is an exception. The first time I learned how to properly order a margarita – en las rocas, con sal – I remember clearly. It was at a restaurant that I was planning on reviewing on this blog at some point, but sadly went the way of many restaurants in the area. In existence for a few years, then shutter or shift chefs, owners, etc. This pattern creates a strange compulsion for the full-timers (as we are called). When you find something good, get it, buy it, take advantage of it because it’s future is not certain. Jungle was the restaurant where I learned the Spanish word for rocks. Run by the very kind, sweet Kim and Carlos, it was a sprawling  compound on the other side of the highway with great ocean views and some of the best experimental margaritas: habañero and pineapple (good and punchy! but needed a bit more acid), and the famous basil jalapiño marg stuffed with fresh herbs grown on the property – perfection!

But I digress, this post is actually about landscaping. The desert is peppered with rocks – big sloping granite boulders, chucks of basalt – but it is very illegal to poach any of these rocks, and plants for that matter. If you get caught, there is likely jail time and of course, fines. So we do it the “legal” way. By paying a native Mexican to go poach them for us. Joachim “finds” these rocks somewhere. He’ll show up at your house and show you pictures of the rocks (scale is a bit difficult, but the shape is apparent). He brings them to your house, dumps them in the yard and uses a backhoe to get them into position. Voila!

We’re using these to add a bit of privacy for the pool from the neighbor’s new house and I love the way they look. We’ll probably add more later, but for the moment, I’m loving the way they break up the very angular, sharp look of the house. More to come!