Most days in the desert seem hot, dusty and bleached pale as a bone. Now and then—especially in springtime—you get lucky and see the desert in bloom. It’s not lush and green like a garden; the backdrop is still sere and desiccated. But the tiny flowers that do grow tend to show off intense colors, as if they knew what a vast sunblasted expanse they had to make up for.
I had forgotten what ocotillo is, though I knew it was the name of the place I was starting from. When I saw these plants sticking up from the desert floor on their gangly Dr. Seuss thornstalks tipped in red, I remembered: I had seen them a couple of years ago, on a trip across Arizona to destinations further east, and I took pictures of them then too.
1 comment:
I'm jealous. A-B is one of my favorite places, and to see it in bloom like that makes it even nicer.
I do recall when I was living in Palm Springs many moons ago and some members of my family came to visit. I told them that they were there at a good time because we'd gotten a lot of rain and the desert was green and even blooming in places.
They laughed at me.
I was right, however. The desert was quite green, if you knew what you were looking at. It's all about perspective.
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