Dixie’s Final Resting Place ©2013 Bo Mackison
a·ban·don
1 [uh-ban-duhn]
verb
1. to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert.
Abandoned in the Desert ©2013 Bo Mackison
de·sert
[dih-zurt]
verb
1. to leave (a person, place, etc.) without intending to return, especially in violation of a duty or promise. Synonyms: abandon, leave, quit; forsake.
Desert Heat ©2013 Bo Mackison
des·ert
1 [dez-ert]
noun
1. a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all.
2. any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.
Abandoned Range in the Desert ©2013 Bo Mackison
range
[r
nj]
noun
1. The act of wandering or roaming over a large area.
Hot Stove in the Desert ©2013 Bo Mackison
heat
[heet]
1. the state of a body perceived as having or generating a relatively high degree of warmth.
2. the condition or quality of being hot: the heat of an oven.
3. the degree of hotness; temperature
I first photographed these abandoned ranges/ovens/stoves scattered about the grounds of the Post Picket House, a historical but unmaintained property that’s part of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Globe, Arizona. Ovens abandoned in the desert. Really, who needs an oven in the desert?
The good folks in the Southwest describe their temperature highs with the disclaimer that it’s a dry heat, as if that negates the fact that is it nearly as hot as Hades. In my mind, when heat is described as “dry as an oven” it is still hot. Really, no matter what words you use, lingering temps over 100˚F deserve the descriptor HOT. If you’re not convinced, you could always poke your head in a hot oven for a second or two — not advised though.
So…is the interior temperature of an oven abandoned in a desert as accurate as an oven abandoned elsewhere? I would presume so, considering age and condition of said abandoned ovens.
Disclaimer: Obviously, the prolonged high humidity and temperatures in the Midwest — though NOT dry like an oven — is responsible for the lucidity of this post. A week with temps over 90˚ and brains begin to soften around the edges…
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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is awaiting a break in the weather. Or not.
