the hunt for beauty: a desert morning

I’m in the desert right now.  Not in the metaphorical sense, but the actual desert: hot, sandy, and creosote-bush-covered, where road runners and families of quail skitter across the road and where you better get up early if you want to enjoy being outside.  Otherwise, its just too darn hot.

I woke today feeling the weight of what I am waiting for bearing down on me.  I have felt this way the past couple of days, with time crawling by like so much old honey being poured out of a crock.  But instead of trudging through another day, I made a decision.  I chose to go on the offense, to go hunting. 

Hunting for beauty on a desert morning.

Still in my pj’s, I slipped on flip-flops, grabbed my iphone, walked out the back door and into the cool morning, my lungs filling up with air sharp with the peppery tang of the desert in the morning.

First stop on the hunt: my father-in-law's garden.  He built this greenhouse using old sliding glass doors salvaged from construction projects.  He's cool like that.  

inside the greenhouse you can find surprises like
avocado trees, a citrus tree, and lots of happy tomato plants

 

sunlight on a happy squash plant

grape vines in the sand

 Next stop: front yard.  The sun shone on the rosemary, filling the air with its woodsy scent.

rosemary spilling over a retaining wall

they do live in a desert after all!

harnessing the power of the sun

morning sun on the woodpile

The desert is harsh, stark, relentless.  Waiting for something completely out of your control has a lot in common with the desert landscape, I am finding.  But the desert is also full of texture and light, and the startling beauty of objects in stark relief.

Back inside the cool of the house, I felt a bit lighter inside, freer.  Beauty will do that to you.  Especially the beauty you find right where you are.

***********************
Where are you finding beauty today?  It would be a delight to hear from you in the comments!