Thursday, August 27, 2009

Skywatch Friday: Hope in the Desert

Hope starts
With the first drop of rain.
In the desert the dry ground
Sizzles
And it’s gone;
But then another drop follows,
And another,



Until the fragile shower
Has become a raging torrent
Racing down desert washes
Filling empty pools
Until ponds and rivers form
Where once the earth lay
Bare-breasted in the baking sun.

And in these muddy waters
In the creosote scented air
As night falls
The mating calls
Of poison-skinned desert toads
Are sure to follow.

~Kathie Brown (8-24-09)

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These photos were taken Saturday as the rains came down. I did not see any toads this weekend but I did finally hear them calling wildly in the night after last week's rain. So, there is hope for the next genereation after all.

All of today's photos were taken by Kathie with the Nikon D80 and the 18-70mm lens set in Programmed Auto. Except for the toad which was photographed 7-3-09 with the 70-300mm lens set in sports mode.

17 comments:

abb said...

Wonderful progression of nature there. I'm expecting major puddling this weekend from the remnants of Danny. It's been one wet summer (as you well know!) here in CT!

Gaelyn said...

It's like magic when rain comes to the desert to quench the dry ground and awaken life. Excellently written and documented Kathie.

Unknown said...

lovely series of photos. we have too much rain here, when it stops, the heat is suffocating.

Eric SomeSkyMoments said...

Great serie, love the composition of third one, great!!

Have a nice SWF.

Mary said...

Wow...beautiful words and photos both. I've never been there when it rains, but think I would go out and stand in the welcome water. Do many people catch it in rain barrels or such for the dry times?

Regina said...

Great skies! Nice poem.

Anonymous said...

I felt like I was right there with you, when I read about your rain.

The smell of rain came before it actually started where I grew up in Oklahoma. Is it like that there?

bobbie said...

This is a beautiful post, Kathie.

Mo said...

That desert looks pretty nice. Not at all like one would expect

Amila Salgado said...

Lovely Poem, Kathie.
Good news about the Toads.

Kelly said...

Oh!! What a beautiful poem. I totally felt the rhythm of the rain and the quenching sensation you feel when rain moves in during a drought.

Dawn Fine said...

Ahh..beautiful poem and soothing rains.
Lovely photos!

DeniseinVA said...

Love the poetry and the photos. Can almost hear the rain and the rushing water in those words.

Deborah Godin said...

I love the idea of the desert coming alive with the rain, and the urgency of plants and animals to complete their cycle.

Anonymous said...

I like the rain.


Pick a Peck of Pixels

TR Ryan said...

Beautiful!!!! I am heading off tomorrow for my six week road trip (with three weeks of work intertwined). Looks like I should be passing through your neck of the woods around October 6 or 7th ish. But I won't really know until a bit closer. Are you around that time? I hope I get to see you!!!

Celeste said...

I am glad that you have finally got some rain Kathie. Doug had mentioned that you were suffering from a lack of it when he visited you.