Landscape 2016

Most people don’t think of Chihuahuan Desert as an interesting place. The intense daytime heat and nighttime cold are far from hospitable. Most of the plants and animals adapted to the environment don’t attract much attention. You really have to spend time out in the desert at the edges of the day to see the beauty that exists there. Hunters and prey are active when the light is low and temperatures moderate.

People driving through Big Bend will probably not even notice Ocotillo in the landscape. Except in extreme rainy conditions they look like tall dead sticks blowing in the wind. Chances are the dead looking sticks are very much alive just waiting for a little moisture to bloom. Lots of desert plants are like that. The landscape is mostly barren until a rainstorm sweeps through. A few days later there are flowers but only where the rain fell. The desert is full of surprises.