Mesquite in Bloom

Mesquite in Bloom

Mesquite in Bloom © 2012 Bo Mackison

The more you actively look, the more the action will become intuitive and natural, subconscious and effortless. With practice your eye will be intuitively and subconsciously drawn to light and the light will be drawn to your eye. ~ Wayne Rowe

In Arizona, the trees stand bare branched much of the winter. As the spring warms and a bit of rain falls, the mesquite gets a few leaves, as if a film of green gauze was twisted about the branches.

And then suddenly, almost as if a mystical being tapped all the trees with a magical wand, the trees burst forth in bright yellow. The flowers are almost like yellow fuzz, and when the southwestern winds start to blow, the yellow bits are blown from the branches and seem to dance along the sidewalks and streets.

Magical mesquites?

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona . . . and enjoying the dance of the yellow mesquite.

About Bo Mackison

I'm a photographer, book-artist, traveler, naturalist, and creator of the Contemplative Creatives Journey, An Online Workshop and Community and Desert Wisdom Cards and Workshops. Though often not well known, I find the desert a welcoming place - a healing space. Its mysteries and gifts transformed me several years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. I'd love to share my desert discoveries and wisdom with you. Please subscribe to receive my five part mini email course The Gifts of the Desert. It's my gift to you.

Comments

  1. I don’t think I ever imagined mesquite to be colorful like this. Gorgeous!

    • Bo Mackison says

      It is only bright yellow for a few days, then the winds come and all the yellow fluff covers the rocks that are my Southwest grass-equivalent and get stuck in the window tracks. I think I need an outdoor vac! 🙂

  2. I agree with Marcie. I had no idea that mesquite have yellow flowers and such a profusion of them.

    • Bo Mackison says

      No longer, but they were really beautiful when in full bloom. The-is tree was in my yard, so I spent a lot of my time watching.

  3. Joanne Keevers says

    These trees sound very much like wattle trees, which we have here in Australia. The photo looks a lot like one too. The yellow is very striking against the blue sky. 🙂

    • Bo Mackison says

      Isn;t blue and yellow a wonderful combination? Now I’ll go look and see what a wattle is — sounds like a chicken to me…:-)

  4. I am enjoying learning about all the different flora! Have to admit, that when I first saw this, I thought “forsythia!” Having used mesquite for flavoring the grill, I’m glad to know what it looks like.

    • Bo Mackison says

      Much denser than forsythia, and no lovely scent, but the color is quite similar. Later I can gather the dried seed pods and use them for mesquite flavoring on the grill. A multi-purpose tree, for sure!

  5. What Joanne said–the yellow against the blue sky is so striking!

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