Spring in Southeast Arizona

It is spring here - no doubt about it. Weather conditions are not really what determines spring in the desert, and spring is not the visual bracchanalia that you might see in other areas of the country. Desert spring is related to the increasing amounts of daylight and the sun warming the ground. The ocotillo will bloom even when there has been no rain. The jack oaks will drop their leaves sending out the catkins that will be acorns later in the summer. Sand verbenia and penstemmon will bloom in patches along the roads and California poppies spring up snuggled up in cracks and crannies of the walls and sidewalks.

For the untrained eye the vistas are still dull and brown made up mainly of dead grasses and mesquites that remain dormant.

It is a secret that desert dwellers are bound to keep.

Easter

So Easter is past. The last of the chocolate holidays. Easter is a bit of a mystery to me. The number of people that get religion and get all dressed up for a concept that they don't practice on the other 364 days is a bit of a head scratcher for me. I do however like the candy and an excuse to take time out of busy lives and get together with family. My two youngest grandsons really enjoyed the egg hunt part of the day. Got an interesting shot in my daughter's side garden and I think it makes a good B&W. I think I may go back for a reshoot and see if I can straighten the skull on the wall as that tilt is not working for me.

I took the shot from a side view but I don't think that photo works as well. I have chosen black and white for this shot because there was not much color in the scene to start with, and I want to add a sense of drama. The bricks are concrete, and the skull is in dappled shadow.