desert

Thankful Thursday: Honey in the Rock

The desert is a desolate and dangerous place–to the uninitiated, at least.


But signs and wonders are hidden here. I know this from prior visits. 

In the broad expanse of seeming nothingness, an oasis springs from the desert floor.

Here, a place of dangerous exposure, yes, but also…refuge.

And unexpected beauty.

Here, a parched landscape, pockmarked with sharp rocks and thorny plants.

But also: bright flowers, butterflies and birds, not yet visible in that landscape.


 I dipped my toes in the cool, clear waters of the oasis last weekend. I hiked its rocky trails. I basked in warm, bright sunshine of the desert, and drank deep from the wellspring of its promises.

Honey in the rock.

And I'm back at my desk this morning, peering out my office window. A mockingbird's singing his heart out, and my camellias are in full bloom. Finches fight for seed at the feeder, and the citrus trees are budding. Hold tight to those images, I tell myself: springtime is coming.

Thankful Thursday: wellsprings in the desert

Strolling on, it seems to me that the strangeness and wonder of existence are emphasized here, in the desert, by the comparative sparsity of the flora and fauna: life not crowded upon life as in other places but scattered abroad in spareness and simplicity, with a generous gift of space for each herb and bush and tree, each stem of grass, so that the living organism stands out bold and brave and vivid against the lifeless sand and barren rock.  The extreme clarity of the desert light is equaled by the extreme individuation of desert life-forms. […] Love flowers best in openness and freedom.

– Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire