Occupation of Independence

Hellish wind is the central fact of a Southwestern existence, in spring.  The other night, predictions were for high wind, so I put my camper's stabilizer jacks down.  I'm glad I did. Here is what I found the next morning. The cholla in the lower half of the photo has been ripped out by the roots.  I've never seen that before.  You could think of the photo as a metaphor for "when evil meets evil."

  Looking through some desert photographs the other day, it seemed strange that I had none of the ocotillos that are leafing out like crazy right now.  Soon, there should be red blooms. Maybe it isn't so surprising.  There is nothing visually spectacular about rather ordinary small green leaves. But it is very satisfying to "see" these leaves, not for mere scenery, but for what they represent.  How can you even discuss this without stepping into clichés such as the 'circle of life?'  But that is what it is.   Nature is cyclical.   If you can't feel a profound satisfaction at watching new leaves after a desert rain, green shoots poking through crusty snow in the North, or a new litter of squirming puppies, then you might as well go home, because you have seen the best that Mother Nature has to offer.   Forgive me if this sounds preachy --  I am actually preaching to myself. This is how harsh ocotillos are, most of the time.

It was bad timing on my part to do taxes so close to the Presidents' Day holiday.  (Can you imagine a more ridiculous holiday?!)   What was it that President Carter called our tax system: "a disgrace to the human race?" There was a temptation to wallow in some sour and unprofitable thoughts about our political system.  But I resisted.   There are more pleasant things to think about: Washington DC's global militaristic empire seems to be falling apart right in front of our eyes.  "DC" might possibly get away with its destruction of the Nordstream gas pipeline, but only because the German Greens are also interested in committing economic suicide. But elsewhere it seems that most events are solidifying Eurasia as a rival power bloc.  How much prestige and influence will "DC" be left with after a humiliating defeat in the Ukraine War?  

 Don't think too hard about this photograph.  You might turn it into a visual metaphor.  It does sum up what is happening to the local desert in southwestern Arizona.