The Essence of Desert

Yucca in Bloom

see url Yucca in Bloom ©2013 Bo Mackison

https://pkuatm.org/2024/05/13/o1c3ykku2wm “I seek out places where it can happen more readily, such as deserts or mountains or solitary areas, or by myself with a seashell, and while I’m there get into states of mind where I’m more open than usual. I’m waiting, I’m listening. I go to those places and get myself ready through meditation. Through being quiet and willing to wait, I can begin to see the inner man and the essence of the subject in front of me… Watching the way the current moves a blade of grass – sometimes I’ve seen that happen and it has just turned me inside out.”
~ Minor White

https://restoreredspruce.org/2024/05/13/c5vmaqsr5z There is a transformation that takes place when I sit in a place of solitude and wait.

Buy Legit Alprazolam In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps did construction projects in the Sonoran Desert. They built several picnic areas in the Tucson Mountains, tables of concrete and stone, each in a private space, each table protected from the heat of mid-day sun by an overhead ramada. One of these picnic sites, tucked far from the road, has become my perfect office space. I gather the requisites necessary for spending a day writing and taking photographs in the desert – camera, a few reference books, my old notebooks, but also water, protein snacks, a wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen, my hiking stick.

Buy Valium Next Day Uk I bring my writing office to the desert. I choose not to bring my computer or other devices that might tempt me with an immediate, continuous connection to the rest of the world. I choose  solitude instead. I write by hand, pen to paper, scribbling, crossing out, adding words, sensing the connection between brain and hand. I compile notes from a dozen notebooks, unravel bits of my life from words written during the past decade. I pull inspiration from these worn pages and curate them into the skeletal beginnings of my Desert Wisdom Cards.

https://www.vertaglia.com/cuzyi7fv I take frequent breaks to hike – a favorite trail begins fifty paces from my table and winds through saguaro-studded desert, in and out of several washes, then half-way up the side of Brown Mountain. There I stop and memorize the desert scene, burn its landscape into my mind – again. In a few weeks I will be in a far away state, and my heart will linger here in this lush desert stretching beyond the beyond.

https://aguasamazonicas.org/xgksx6kr4w Minor White’s quote struck a deep chord in me. I do connect with the world beyond my sight, I feel the essence of place seep into my cells. Sometimes I feel as if this sacred desert space turns me inside out, and exposes my innermost being to the desert in exchange for bits of desert wisdom.

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https://templedavid.org/symons/183airqxwq Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is beginning a time of transition, and finding strength and inspiration in the desert. Her office, at least for a few more weeks, is in the Sonoran Desert.

Beginnings – A Desert Wisdom Card

Beginnings - Desert Wisdom Cards

follow url Cactus Bud Opening © 2013 Bo Mackison

https://discovershareinspire.com/2024/05/ap3sh5kgbpj “A new beginning! We must learn to live each day, each hour, yes, each minute as a new beginning, as a unique opportunity to make everything new. Imagine that we could live each moment as a moment pregnant with new life. Imagine that we could live each day as a day full of promises. Imagine that we could walk through the new year always listening to a voice saying to us: “I have a gift for you and can’t wait for you to see it! Imagine!”
~ Henri Nouwen

Beginnings surround us.

https://annmorrislighting.com/zxu4rgkdezx Walk through any garden, along any sidewalk or road easement, and notice the many beginnings you see. This bright magenta cactus bud, still half closed and quite protected, will soon open fully, displaying its beauty, welcoming hummingbirds and bees to its nectar. They will collect pollen as they feed and then pollinate other flowers. New beginnings, life continues.

We constantly have opportunities for new BEGINNINGS.

follow url We move through our days, experiencing life in new ways, again and again. When we lose our way or make mistakes, instead of punishing ourselves with shame, we can acknowledge our human ways with compassion, awareness, and gentleness. Then we begin again. We return again and again to the practice of living.

Buy Valium 5Mg Uk “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.”
~ Carl Bard

BEGINNINGS offers questions/reflections for journal writing, art prompts, and calls to action:

  • Have you ever thought about “your perfect day”? What would that perfect day look like if you could erase all of the responsibilities and commitments for today only? Write about your perfect day. Add people and places, sensory details and activities, or inaction if that is your ideal. Review what you wrote. Could you add (or subtract) one or more of the items in your imagined perfect day to today? If not today, how might you transform your typical days into days that include some of your perfect day components?
  • An ending is a new beginning. Is there an activity or behavior in your life that no longer serves you? If you stopped this activity or behavior, could you use that time to begin or renew a life-affirming practice?
  • Make a point of getting up early enough to sit and watch the sunrise — from the hint of dawn until the sun is well above the horizon. Each sunrise brings with it a gift of a new day and new beginnings. I frequently watch the sun rise. Afterwards, I read a chapter in an inspirational book, cup of coffee in hand. Do you have an early morning ritual to begin your day? If not, what might you consider adding as a welcome-morning-activity?
  • I first saw delightful perforated permission slips in Living Out Loud, a creative activity book by Keri Smith. Making permission slips are now a popular activity for writers, artists, students — anyone who likes the idea of giving themselves permission to do something they might be hesitant to do. Write permission slips that start with the words “I have permission to BEGIN ______.  Make a dozen permission slips from small pieces of paper, paint chips, or index cards. Paint, collage, or decorate the backgrounds. Or leave them plain and focus on the words. Whenever you need a boost to start a new project, pull out a permission slip, fill in the blank and sign it. Then … ready, set, BEGIN!

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https://grannysglasses.com/?p=wysmljlm Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a deck of Desert Wisdom Cards for exploration and discovery, using photography, with a Sonoran Desert theme – its myths and stories, cultures and heritage, and the desert’s remarkable natural beauty and resources.

Desert Bloom

Claret Cup Bloom

Claret Cup Bloom © 2013 Bo Mackison

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. ~ John Muir

The claret cup hedgehog cactus has one of my favorite early blooms – a deep orange cup that attracts hummingbirds as pollinators. Every time I see the claret cup in bloom, with a hummer dances at its edges, I laugh in delight.

It is the only cactus in Arizona pollinated by hummingbirds. The hummingbirds stick their entire heads into the cup to get a drink of nectar, and get their heads dusted with yellow pollen for their efforts. I love to see the hummers with foreheads of pecks of pollen after they’ve gotten their fill from a few claret cups.

Unlike many cacti whose blossoms close in the evening and last only a day or two, the claret cup flowers stay open day and night and can last three to five days. It’s a cactus that isn’t stingy with its beauty.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She continues to discover beauty and inspiration while exploring the Sonoran Desert.

A Walk in a Desert Garden

Desert Garden Path

Desert Garden Path © 2013 Bo Mackison

The desert, when the sun comes up…I couldn’t tell where heaven stopped and the Earth began.”
~ Tom Hanks

A walk at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was the place to see a profusion of desert flowers. The museum isn’t a “desert in a building” – it’s a botanical garden, zoo, and natural history museum. I visit several times a week and there is always something new to see or explore.

A few days ago I spent the day in the desert – I hiked in the Sonoran Desert at Saguaro National Park in the early morning, then came to the Desert Museum for several glasses of prickly pear tea and a walk through the blossoming gardens.

Penstemon

Penstemon © 2013 Bo Mackison

Penstomen is the snapdragon family’s desert representative. Its bright pink blossoms on four foot tall stems are easy to find — in gardens and along roadsides, too.

Orange Blossoms on Hedgehog Cactus

Orange Blossoms on Hedgehog Cactus © 2013 Bo Mackison

This is one of the first cactus to bloom in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson. This was the first cactus I saw bloom when I first visited the desert four years ago. Then, I was thrilled to see a showy orange flower at the end of each stubby cactus arm. The thrill has never diminished. I smile every time I see one of these beauties.

Aloe in Bloom

Aloe in Bloom © 2013 Bo Mackison

The aloe always put on a colorful show. I love how the colors blend from brilliant orange to the cooler greens, blues, and whites.

Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose © 2013 Bo Mackison

The fragrant tufted evening primrose has soft white blossoms that turn a light magenta as they age. The blossoms don’t last long, so it is typical to see buds, white blossoms and aged flowers on the same plant.

Spring Flowers

Desert Spring Flowers © 2013 Bo Mackison

Yellow desert marigolds, a yucca with a flower shoot just starting to grow, and a patch of pink penstemon combine for textures and color in the desert garden.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She continues to discover beauty and inspiration while exploring the Sonoran Desert

Blooming Desert

Sonoran Desert, Saguaro National Park

Sonoran Desert, Saguaro National Park © 2013 Bo Mackison

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen and waste its sweetness on the desert air. ~ Paul Hoffman