As the Grass

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

1 Peter 1:24-25

Not Friendly

Sometimes defensive tactics can be taken to excess. I am guessing the average cactus plants has more spines than this plant but here the spines look excessive. We would not normally see a smaller, green-looking plant with such obvious spines. I have no problem leaving this plant entirely alone.

Wild Roses

When I was very young, we had a huge wild rose bush on our lot in Easter Arizona. I can still remember the smell of their beautiful flowers. From time to time, I still find some of them growing wild in the mountains of Arizona and Utah. Some of these have been cultivated and hybridized but the cultivated varieties usually sacrifice size and color for smell.

The Promise of Summer

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

I found America a long time ago.

Painted Rock Petroglyphs Site, Arizona

The Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is located in the heart of the Arizona Sonora Desert in Central Arizona. It is relatively close to the almost always dry Gila River and not too far from Gila Bend. It is one of a number of sites in Arizona with high concentrations of petroglyphs. There is an almost endless number of books and articles speculating on the meaning of the petroglyphs but although some of them may have been interpreted correctly, the vast majority of these ubiquitous rock carvings are unknown. Think about the speculation in the future of the graffiti that covers so many buildings and structures in the United States.

The Superstition Mountains

The Superstition Mountains on the east side of the Salt River Valley is a Federal Wilderness Area with a difference. The difference is that the edge of the "wilderness" begins across the street from Apache Junction subdivisions. Granted, there are parts of the wilderness that could be considered wilderness and it has claimed a lot of lives over the year to merit the designation, but on the west and south, access to the mountain range is limited to small parking lots. What is really the wilderness is really the vast extense of broken terrain to the east of the familiar and prominent mountain shown in the photo above.

Early March Snowstorm

Winter gets some of its last beautiful days with snowstorms in March. Usually, the weather is so warm that the snow doesn't stick, but this was about six inches in one huge storm. You can't really rely on the weather forecasts because small intense storms can form and take everyone by surprise. This is what we woke up to this morning.