Desert Beauty

(Photo added here after I changed my template again.)

Well, it’s not much to look at, is it? My new (and maybe temporary) blog template photo is a far cry from the peaceful, refreshing canoe/lake scene that was there this morning.  That lake scene is what my heart longs for. When we first moved here I felt like everything about the desert was hostile.  It was all prickly, hard, rough, dry, cracked, poisonous, hot, scratchy, brown, windy, or ugly.  In retrospect, though, I think it was me that was hostile. I had spines sticking out all over.  I was also three weeks post-partum, which is just not good for me or my family or anyone who is around me.  And that condition lasted about three years this time around. I think I am getting better. Little by little the Lord is showing me (or maybe I have just been slow to see) some of the treasures of the desert. Beautiful cactus flowers, captivating little birds, water in unexpected places, a patch of lush green, a gorgeous sunset.  My husband tells me that the mountains are hiding the real scenery in places that are unreachable by two-wheel drive.  He would know, because he has been all over this place on his mountain bike. I don’t know whether to believe him or not, because he is prone to exclaiming something like, “Sal!  Isn’t it beautiful!!??” when he is looking at a view like the one above.  (This is where I respond, "What? The dirt??") Personally I don’t see anything beautiful about it, except for the fact that there is nothing man-made in it. He says there are deep, rock-faced hidden canyons with cool streams running through them in the mountains around us…it does sound pretty and peaceful. And inviting! Guess I will never know… I don’t think I could hike that far!