Rain and Blooms

Tucson gets an average of 12 inches of rain per year, but each of the last four years have been shorter than that even. That is, by my estimate, as rare as holidays are. Normally the distribution consists of the majority falling during "monsoon season" (July and August), some falling in the winter, and a couple light showers in the spring. Thus, you can imagine my anticipation when I recently saw dark clouds hovering over the north and south sides of town.. "today just might be a surprise holiday!"
Well, in fact, the clouds strung us along for a couple days before anything happened. Which was still nice, since our temperatures have already been surpassing 100 F regularly. Finally the tease was over and we got some rain, and everyone had happy faces and felt some internal sunshine. So, this was our April shower... in May.
The spring has also brought blossom to one of our most common tree species here in the Sonoran desert: the Palo Verde.

Detail photos show that the Palo Verde is so named for it's completely green trunk and branches. Also, check out the spikage - these make this tree a nightmare for bicyclists in more ways than one.


Ordinarily the whole picture would be green, but for the summer these yellow guys are here to stay. But not really, because they actually blow off all over the whole world, and you discover them in your car, your hair, your mouth, and your nose especially. Those of us with allergies find ourselves getting cuddly with the Puffs box around now. This is where I would show you a micro closeup of the barbed pollen, but I think this better conveys the message (bats are a huge pollinator in the desert, this species exclusively eats Palo Verde pollen).

The String-Fingered Homunculus

Today wins!
And it all started last night...

I was watching youtube -for reasons divulged in a later post- when I came upon this page, full of exactly what I like: Fun with Covers (I know what you're thinking..)! But really. Really. I was delighted to see these low-budget stairwell renditions, splendidly sung with dumb grins I could feel. I was so nostalgic about playing music with old friends, I'd have hopped through the screen if I could.

See, it's difficult to be a science major who was talked out of being a music major. Every bit of your spare time is spent on math and chemistry and physics, while your right brain cries all day long. Personally, when it's been too long since I did anything creative it sort of hiccups out of me in small ways. I'll spend a day on a painting before admitting that my calculator's getting lonely. So I got to thinking and thinking about how to bring that fun back into my life, and then...

Working in a soil lab that nabbed me for the week, I ran into one of my newer friends (and coworker), Whitney! Here she is in all her splendor:


That's a rare moment.

So she's (obviously a blissful animal lover) an out-of-practice musician, ecology/environmental biology student, very much in the same boat as I. I might add vibrant and happy, and and, and, she's agreed to be my music buddy! My soul sista!
Sweet pie on a honey-colored neo bulb!
So far we've got nothing but a few shared favorites and terribles, but I'm excited - time to dust off the old guitarra!

A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours

I live in Tucson, Arizona.
Until I can move (upon college graduation), I will have to make the most of this rain-forsaken place, with decades of memories lurking around every block and my immediate family everpresent (believe you me, that means issues, issues). Given circumstances, it would be easy to let myself hermit crab my way through these years supposed to be golden or youthful or -some even say- care-free.
But there's a bud, no a flower!, inside me pushing through my neck, aching to see the sun. And there is so much sunshine here in bright Tucson that it seems a shame to smother this flower with a head. An ego, a judgement, an angry pair of arms... this flower needs to grow, and to seed in other people! The only way to clear the air surrounding me is a complete perceptual turnaround - I need to watch for small parts of every day that make this world the stunning beauty it is.
I have faith in my ability to do this because I've made an internal commitment to swim near and far, searching for pearls hidden in the sand, regardless of the wreckage I (and all of us) carry around. Pearls are everywhere; they're shady and play hidden initially, but ultimately I believe this hunt will no longer require so much strategy and talent: they will glow brighter than little fish and beg to be picked up.
Though large and lustrous, I'll eat them one by one with my tiny mouth and add them to the crown that makes me a shiny beacon in the sea, inspiring others as I've been. Let this blog serve as that crown... I really hope the best for it.