Desert Beauty

Arizona has some really beautiful plants and trees that I wanted to share with my Northern friends and family. There is a slideshow (off to the side) that shows off some things from Nana and Papa's neighborhood and from my neighborhood here. I really love flowers on cacti. It brought to mind the way we are to be in the world, but not of the world.
I have been fascinated with the plant life since the first time I visited Arizona with Nathaniel before we were even engaged. It was "winter" here and there was lettuce growing everywhere, different kinds and colors. I had never seen anything like it and I made him pull over so I could get pictures. He just laughed and rolled his eyes since it is so familiar to him. I was so excited to find lemons in his neighborhood and he and his family got a kick out of my enthusiasm. I grew up appreciating different crops and plants that grew around us. My grandparents and Uncle Mike and Aunt Joyce have many different crops I had the experience of working with and learned to love. Apples, pears, nectarines, peaches, cherries, asparagus, etc. This is just so different here. Lemons, oranges, pomegranates, grapefruit, lettuce, etc. I love the diversity and the beauty of both.
I'm not a photographer so bear with me. Laurel, you would have seen some of these in person if you would have gone on that walk with us...too bad you were too busy being a good mom :)