The desert is an amazing place. In just a few short weeks it has gone from barren to full of life. Spring is short and the flowers will make the most of it before the hot, dry season ahead. Today there is a riot of color ,red, pink, purple, fuchsia and white,  among the green of rabbitbrush and the grey-green of sagebrush. The birds are out enjoying this breezy spring day as well and the air is filled with song. Horned larks zip from shrub to shrub and meadowlarks, my personal omen of spring, call to each other across the wash. Suddenly there is a chuck-chuck and a flock of Chukar race across the road, orange high tops flashing as they make for the safety of the tall grass. The big boys are out too. A golden eagle glides the currents above the Bookcliffs, almost motionless at times. A pair of red tailed hawks are cruising over Dogtown and for a time the prairie dogs are silent. A tiny kessler hawk passes us with a frowning eye as if he thinks that we have invaded his territory………maybe we have.

Very soon with the arrival of summer all of this green will disappear. While the rabbitbrush and sage hold their color the rest change to shades of brown. They have not died it’s more of a stasis than anything else. They patiently wait and hold their reserves close. Doling them out as needed, setting boundaries if you will, with the changing environment around them. The animals adapt as well making changes in their routines to best meet their needs for survival. The similarities between man and nature are obvious to those who allow themselves to truly see.

There are lessons to be learned here as well. The desert teaches us to be patient and observant.  It teaches us about adapting to whatever life throws at us and it invites us to expand our focus to encompass the whole picture and not just the pieces we want to see. It ask us to see the beauty that surrounds us but also be willing to see the hidden beauty that reside in all things. And lastly that everything has it’s season, whether it’s long or short,  and that nothing lasts forever.

Each visit to this sacred place, my sacred place leaves me in awe. It fills my heart with peace and cleanses my spirit. It is my hope that whomever reads these humble words has a place or finds a place like this in which to go and be healed.

Adventure on my friends!

Written by and copyright to LBolotin 2017/ Photographs property of LBolotin

Please feel free to share this work as long as no changes are made.