BLOOM SEASON AT LIFE UNDER THE OAKS FARM

By Veronica Kuffel Tucson Local Media Staff

May is a special and busy time for Life Under the Oaks Lavender Farm, tucked in the foothills in Oracle. The start of summer marks the beginning of bloom season, saturating their fields with the flower’s signature hue.

“Bloom season is what everyone waits for,” owner Carolyn Blair noted. “The field is all purple, and there are thousands of bees and butterflies. It’s magical, you can see pictures of it and talk about it, but it’s one of those things you just have to experience.”

Life Under the Oaks prepares for its upcoming season with new products, workshops and events that come with this year’s harvest. Along with their famous afternoon teas, one of which is Sunday, May 14, Blair and her team will bring “a little bit of farm to the city” at their Downtown Tucson store, Lavender Manor.

Blair started using lavender for medicinal reasons, and after a visit to Washington, “the lavender state,” she decided to start her own farm in 2018.

It was a passion project combining her love for art and nature, but it also provided a key educational resource to those interested in lavender and its uses.

“It’s known as the mother herb,” Blair said. “You can cook with it, craft with it, use it for health benefits and nothing goes to waste. We use every bit of the plant for one item or another.”

Lavender is not usually seen as a desert flower, but it doesn’t need much water to grow. According to Blair, the older the plants are the less water they need. This makes them ideal for hot and dry climates, especially in mountainous regions that emulate their Mediterranean homeland.

Life Under the Oaks sells its lavender in a variety of forms, including dried flowers, oils, culinary ingredients and beauty and health products. A key point of business for the farm has been the medicinal and healing qualities of lavender.

“The public in general, especially

FARM PAGE 9

Romny began using his artistic skills to help those with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities. Worked on and off for seven years at the nonprofit Hozhoni Foundation, in Northern Arizona, caring for the elderly and the young with emotional problems, through art therapy.

He and his wife, Hilary Myla, moved to Tucson and he found similar work at another non-profit, Intermountain Centers for Human Development.

Health as an “artistic behavioral health specialist” under the center’s “Art Awakenings” purview. It favors his strengths, he said, a healing power of self-expression. He talks of one day returning to school to become an actual therapist. “It would be nice to get a little more scholarly.”

He talks of the suffering he’s worked with over the years, the schizophrenics, the suicidal, the bipolar, the disabled, the self-harming. Sometimes feeding and cleaning them.

“I present art as a coping skill, for the anger, isolation, loneliness. We can create something wherever we are. Sometimes a kid, who couldn’t be trusted with a plastic spoon, is soon carving safely with a small machete. It’s baby steps.”

He shakes his head, withholds specific horror stories of the severely troubled he’s seen and worked with, and said, “It taught me patience.” He pauses, con- siders that a moment, adds, “it’s pretty incredible to be able to share things I do to help them.”

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He is just now working at Resilient

Several days later, late-morning, Romny slackens into a chair on the small back porch of the midtown duplex he shares with his wife, who he met years ago at Outward Bound. “When I first saw her I knew she was it,” he said. “For her I think it took a little bit,” he laughs. Hilary is out today, doing office work at a local Montessori school. They’ve been married 15 years.

She’s not into Buddhism, and Romny said it doesn’t matter. “The amount of compassion that Hilary has comes naturally. Sometimes I wish I had that.”

Their place sits behind a new weed dispensary, which forced the landlord to erect a corrugated large metal wall around the property. The outdoor brick toolshed doubles as a meditation space, a sizable toolbox shares space with a Buddha and an Asian rug. A hummingbird hovers around blooms of tended cactus, colorful Tibetan prayer flags catch a light breeze over the pleasing yard, rich in springtime scents.

Romney talks family; the closeness with his sibs, who live in the northeast, and his mother, who still doesn’t speak English. His dad died a decade or so ago, Romny made it back to the Bronx in time to say goodbye.

The yard shows a shaded worktable to the side, with its forever patina of desert dust, organized with file tools, a small machete and raw pieces of wood. He sits anywhere with a sketchpad. He plays disc golf as a hobby, but not video games, and “I don’t watch TV much. I’d rather be outside creating something.”

Gentleness is a quality and value that gets squashed and beaten down daily in anyone worth a damn. As it is said, a good piece of wood has one major quality that defines it.

“I think I just want to be at peace,” Romny said. “Be here in the world, be OK.” He laughs, “then my mind goes all over the place.”

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WE Honor Active Military, Veterans, First Responders and Healthcare workers TODAY. LEARN MORE AT AZHeroesMemorial.org young mothers, want natural remedies,” Blair noted. “Our products are all made naturally and come from the farm. It’s so much better quality than what you can find online or at a big box store.”

The farm also offers artwork, ceramics and jewelry, all made by Blair, the farm or local artists throughout Tucson. Blair couldn’t mention the farm without highlighting their other activities, including workshops and private parties at both their locations in Tucson and Oracle. Their most attended events are afternoon teas, and their upcoming Mother’s Day parties are almost completely booked.

“They’re popular because there aren’t many places to go get tea in Tucson,” Blair said. “Once people find out we have lavender, especially in a Tucson summer… it’s a nice escape for people to come up and see something thriving so well.”

Blair created Life Under the Oaks to fill a need she saw in the community for local quality and natural lavender.

For almost five years, the farm has provided the flower, along with education and resources for those who want to learn more about it.

As summer draws near, Blair assures outdoor lovers that Life Under the Oaks is a unique place to explore the fields and take advantage of all the benefits of lavender. The best part, according to Blair, is it’s a flower oasis open to the community.

“I wanted to be able to share it with people,” Blair said. “In our area, I didn’t realize how many people didn’t know about lavender. It’s good for people to become aware of what we offer and to help educate the future.”

Life Under the Oaks

Lavender Farm

1221 N. Rancho Robles Road, Oracle

Lavender Manor 347 E. Fourth Street, Tucson 520-820-3454 lifeundertheoakslavenderfarm.com lifeunderoaks@gmail.com

By Linda Ray Tucson Weekly Columnist

Give Mom A Giraffe

A zoo animal is a perfect gift for any occasion. Imagine, for instance, taking your mom to the zoo on her day and introducing her to your new family member. The zoo can’t promise her official adoption package by then, but why wait? Your adoption fee goes to work right away supporting the zoo’s animals and education programs. For $30 she’ll get a certificate and info about her animal. Extra goodies are included in other packages up to $300.

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily or 24 hours online, Reid Park Zoo, 3400 Zoo Court, reidparkzoo.org/get-involved/ adopt-an-animal, adoptions start at $30.

READY, SET, SCHOOL!

Here’s a series of low-pressure playtimes for kids entering kindergarten in the fall. It will help them build confidence for that scary first day of school. With their parent or caregiver, 4- and 5-year-olds discover letters, sounds and numbers; practice focus and self-control and try critical thinking and communication skills in English. Along the way, they’ll hear and tell stories, sing songs and enjoy activities.

10:30 a.m. to noon every Friday for eight weeks, May 12 to June 29, Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Library, 7800 N. Schisler Drive, register via pima. bibliocommons.com/v2/events. A second series begins 10:30 a.m. to noon Friday, May 26

“STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI” IN CONCERT

In this climactic episode, the Tucson Symphony accompanies Darth Vader as he readies a new death star, and Luke Skywalker as he joins Princess Leia and two loveable droids to free Han Solo from Jabba the Hut. The music swells and soars throughout the ensuing battle with the entire Imperial Fleet. After hearing this epic galactic fable as never before, you can enjoy a meet and greet in the lobby with members of the 501st

“NERDLESQUE: THE FULL FRONTIER”

Longtime local burlesque leading light Natasha Noir presents another in her series of burlesque shows for nerds like us. Expect sultry reveals of pop-culture heroes, from the highest-regarded to the most obscure. Noir describes the event as a “full-length striptease revue” of favorite characters from “across the geeky galaxy.” It’s for fans of comics, movies, anime, pop culture, horror and, of course, classic burlesque.

10 p.m. Friday, May 12, Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Avenue, surlywenchpub. com, $10 at the door

“NERDLESQUE” REVEALS ELVIRA AND OTHER ICONS OF POPULAR CULTURE. (NERDLESQUE/SUBMITTED)

REVEILLE MEN’S CHORUS: “HEROES/SHEROES/THEYROES”

8 to 11 a.m., Saturday, May 13, Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd Street, gunstogardens@ southsidepres.org, free

Train Day

This is a great day for model train collectors, both current and aspirational. Admission is free, and the focus is on Tucson’s model trains and garden train communities. Yes, there are trains running through local backyards. For the kids there will be rides on the Fun Farm Choo Choo, and everyone can watch for an up close and personal look at a passing Union Pacific freight train. You can also visit the full-size Locomotive No. 1673

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Southern Arizona Transportation Museum, 414 N. Toole Avenue, tucsonhistoricdeepot.org, free

Readings At Antigone Books

REVEILLE

SALUTES DIVERSITY IN HEROISM.

(REVEILLE MEN’S CHORUS/SUBMITTED)

Reveille’s spring concert celebrates “Queeros,” folks who, by being true to themselves became superheroes to others. In addition to a selection of show tunes and popular favorites, the chorus will premiere a new work dedicated to Bayard Rustin, a close adviser to Martin Luther King. Rustin was nicknamed Mr. March on Washington for his role in organizing protests for racial justice. The new work was composed by Nehemiah Luckett.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 14, Temple of Music and Art, 330 S. Scott Avenue, reveillemenschorus.org, $25 advance, $30 door, free for kids under 12

REISEN WINERY TOUR (SONOITA-BENSON)

Owned and operated by a third-generation Tucsonan, Reisen tours are laced with inside knowledge and informed by decades of family memories. Sonoita is rolling and wheat-colored this time of year. Its terrain eases the way of the desert into the surrounding high country. The land and climate are ideal for boutique wineries. Taste wines at four of them on Reisen’s six-hour winery tour itinerary.

(VISIT TUCSON/SUBMITTED)

Start times vary, every Saturday through June 3, reisenarizona.com/#day-tours, $175, pickup is in Tucson, lunch is included

Legion. Audience costumes are encouraged.

7 p.m. Friday, May 12, and 2 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Avenue, tucsonsymphony.org, tickets start at $17

Guns To Gardens

What to do with that gun you have lying around? Have no plans for hunting or target shooting? Concerned that kids might get to it? Can’t sell it, or don’t want to? Put it in the trunk or the rear of your vehicle and drive it over to Southside Presbyterian Church on Saturday morning. Safe, experienced arms handlers will take it out and dispose of it for you according to guidelines of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. All drop offs are anonymous. The metal will be forged into gardening tools.

Mari Herreras, a former Tucson Weekly editor and fifth-generation Tucsonan, debuts her first published chap ter book of poetry, inspired by her years living around the corner, “At Grande and Congress.” The readings, presented by local R&R Press, also include Brian Smith, author of the Tucson Weekly column “Tucson Salvage,” reading from his book of the same name. Dan Stuart, a prolific author best-known for his band, Green on Red, will read from “Marlowe’s Revenge,” the final book in his Marlow Billings Trilogy. Maggie Smith will read from her forthcoming young-adult novel, “Catamopus.”

4 p.m. Saturday, May 13, Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Avenue, antigonebooks.com, free

Mamma Mia Singalong At The Loft

Sing, dance and hug a mom (or similar) to the timeless, bubbly charm of this movie’s all-ABBA score. Indulge your overbusy, overwrought mind in a story line as pastel as a spring afternoon on a sunny Greek Island. Understand, fully, the emotional range of Meryl Streep’s remarkable career. Surely someone you know deserves this ice cream sundae of an afternoon with you.

2 p.m. Sunday, May 14, The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Boulevard, loftcinema.org, $15, $12 for children under 12, passes not accepted)