.
An apron of sediment slopes out from the mountain, and they call it bajada. Sometimes a solitary rock pokes up through bajada, and they call it inselberg. Isolated mountain ranges, much larger than inselbergs, rise high above like ships on a desert sea. Sediment between them is often eight thousand feet deep. They have drilled many holes for water in this arid land to determine this. When I have a better feel for it, I’ll deal with the strange theory of how the land stretched, cracked, and became the basin-and-range physiographic province. For now, I am falling in love with arid desert and rocky crags, with plants and animals that make do with little water. Bear with me a few days and maybe I’ll get practical.
It all looks mysterious and beautiful. Is that a Rick and Kathabela couple welcoming you through the archway, into the desert mountain?? You must see it that way too! And we are talking about YOU there at the entrance. We just now walked into our Pasadena home after the three day visit to Santa Barbara... I know you can't come for dinner and wine but we will toast to you at the doorway, with some happy "Amour" for the new year. We saw little birds... smaller than those you picture as the strong ones flitting arount the Biltmore Cafe where we had lunch with Colleen today, they were surviving with scraps... from the elegant visitors... and there were signs (with lovely photos of the sparrows I think... that come there, saying "do not feed the birds". They seem to feed themselves quite well, and even zip in and out of the skylights to nibble under the indoor tables, very fast... animals adapt to their surroundings, and wearing pretty feathers, they fit right in.
ReplyDeleteSilence and solitude in photographic form.
ReplyDeleteMy birds are smaller than your birds, I think Kathabela. Many of them are hummingbirds about two inches long, and more polite too; they don't steal my food.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steven, solitude and silent photos--like a picnic on a tundra
Keiko, in answer to your comment on the prior post, "Saguaro—A World of Thorns”: The saguaro are indeed like people. The ancient Americans thought so and include such thoughts in much of their folklore. I have pictures of saguaros as babies, toddlers, youth, middle-aged, and as old folks. I have them healthy and injured, dissected and whole. Sometime I must give a story on them.
ReplyDelete