Palo Verde Trees In the Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
The palo verde tree is Arizona’s state tree, and rightfully so since once established, these trees truly need no supplemental water to live. The tree’s bark is green and can photosynthesize something that in most plants, only leaves do. This characteristic also allows the leaves to be very small and drop off during extreme drought conditions.
In the Sonoran desert, there are four types of palo verde trees. The above image illustrates two; the Blue Palo Verde on the left and the Foothills Palo Verde on the right. The Blue Palo Verde will generally bloom first in the spring, followed by the Foothills a few weeks later. During April, you can see these trees blooming everywhere in Tucson.
My place of worship has sandstone walls Arches are altars and ledges become pews. There are rafters of gnarled cottonwood limbs Hidden alcove gardens are my inner sanctum. Gods send messages down the aisles In raging flash floods and down-canyon breezes. After-storm rainbows are my stained glass And potholes are the tadpole’s baptismal fonts. Scriptures are revealed in images pecked and painted On rock surface patina and sheltered cliff faces While holy water seeps clear or flows blood red. My collection plate is passed around by the BLM And I stuff it with permit fees At the end of each guiding season.
Capitol Reef National Park Panorama — Image by kenne
“Capitol Reef National Park is in Utah’s south-central desert. It surrounds a long wrinkle in the earth known as the Waterpocket Fold, with layers of golden sandstone, canyons and striking rock formations. Among the park’s sights are the Chimney Rock pillar, the Hickman Bridge arch, and Capitol Reef, known for its white sandstone domes. In the north are the towering monoliths of Cathedral Valley.”― Google
“What one thinks of any region, while traveling through, is the result of at least three things: what one knows, what one imagines, and how one is disposed.”
Cactus Blossom In The Utah Desert — Image by kenne
I dream of a quiet man who explains nothing and defends nothing, but only knows where the rarest wildflowers are blooming, and who goes, and finds that he is smiling not by his own will.
“Canyonlands has more than 80 natural arches but arch hunters often bypass this park in favor of its neighbor, Arches National Park. Canyonlands’ most famous arch is Mesa Arch in Willow Flat in the Island in the Sky District. It’s a favorite place to watch the sunrise and photograph the night skies.” Source — myutahparks.com
Even though the southwest is experiencing a mega drought, nature finds a way to continue life cycles.
“Drought conditions in the West, particularly the desert Southwest, have intensified over the past 45 years, with less precipitation and longer and more frequent dry spells between storms. The Southwestern deserts that include Tucson were slammed the hardest by far.” Arizona Daily Star
Arches National Park lies north of Moab in the state of Utah. Bordered by the Colorado River in the southeast, it’s known as the site of more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, such as the massive, red-hued Delicate Arch in the east. Long, thin Landscape Arch stands in Devils Garden to the north. Other geological formations include Balanced Rock, towering over the desert landscape in the middle of the park.― Google
Coyote Fence Corral In Doubtful Canyon — Images by kenne
Here is no water but only rock Rock and no water and the sandy road The road winding above among the mountains Which are mountains of rock without water If there were water we should stop and drink Amongst the rock one cannot stop or think Sweat is dry and feet are in the sand If there were only water amongst the rock Dead mountain mouth of carious teeth that cannot spit Here one can neither stand nor lie nor sit There is not even silence in the mountains But dry sterile thunder without rain There is not even solitude in the mountains But red sullen faces sneer and snarl From doors of mudcracked houses If there were water And no rock If there were rock And also water And water A spring A pool among the rock If there were the sound of water only Not the cicada And dry grass singing But sound of water over a rock Where the hermit-thrush sings in the pine trees Drip drop drip drop drop drop drop But there is no water
