Beauty Taken for Granted

Moving back to central New Mexico has again reminded me of the beauty I appreciated as a child, and yet so much more now. Yes, I love the wooded mountains of Colorado, green forest meadows, the South’s thousands of trees dripping in mosses, beaches and ocean waves far as the eye can see—those are all easy to admire. They call to you in their pride, knowing they are easy to love, knowing you won’t hesitate to do so.

Occasionally, the desert speaks loudly in a sudden rush of glory—it’s stark vastness seen from a hilltop, mountain peaks seemingly barren gleaming in the sun, the sheer power in the wind and the twisted branches of low lying bushes who have withstood it, the sunsets whose intensity and beauty the best painter can only dream of truly capturing!

Mexican Bird of Paradise

Most of the time, desert beauty is simple and lies in the details. You have to stop and pay attention to the hawk’s graceful swooning flight overhead. You must look closely to see the intricate details of a new spring bloom, the pattern of stripes on a lizard’s back, the regularity and intricacy in a cactus’ spines and blooms. There is life everywhere, at every turn, not arid as many might imagine. Desert beauty doesn’t beg or demand to be admired. It dares you to! It is quiet, unassuming, and confident in its place. It calls you to rest, take a moment, and take in the little details. Breathe, watch, ponder.

Apache Plume

Enjoy the photographs. If you are local, hopefully you know what I am talking about. If not, perhaps you need to stop and breathe for a while, and take in the little details. If you are from out of state, yours is beautiful, too, but you may not realize what you’re missing. ( And yes, we have trees--loads of them, and much, much more. I just didn't choose to photograph those.)