Standing on an oasis of bare, sun-hardened earth on a small berm, a high desert dune in a sea of high desert dunes, I looked out at the great dichotomy in front of me. Here in the vast high desert of southern Arizona's sky mountains region, I witnessed the tenuous balance of life and death that so defines its reality. Flourishing trees, survivors of a scorching heat that persists for most of the year, prosper in defiance of their thirst. Plants and grasses cling to life showing their struggle in the mix of living green and dying beige leaves and branches. Intermixed throughout are the hardened carcasses of those that failed in the effort to endure until the next rain, exclamation points that remind that life here is less an assurance than a struggle for continuance.

Animals life teems in this stark environ. Native creatures abound. Small birds punctuate the silence with songs of melancholy while raptors soar overhead. Rabbits and deer can be seen in numbers, while coyotes and mountain lions hide until night falls. Snakes, scorpions, and spiders hunt for their next meal while and ants, more diverse than can be cataloged, prowl the floor hungrily consuming the detritus left behind by the latest death. Butterflies dance in a sing-a-long rhythm and bees navigate in hive like precision to pollinate and rejuvenate the flora. In the background, cows bellow their familiar moo, mankind's introduction to the diversity of fauna here.

In the distance, the magnificent dragoon mountains rise in defiance, a towering assemblage of boulders seemingly dumped into a haphazard collection of hoodoos and cliff faces. It was here that the legendary native-American leader Cochise held out against US forces, forcing them into a treaty and cementing his brilliance as a strategist for all time. His remains lie here, secreted in a place long ago lost.

It is 7:45 pm. The clouds are tinged in the purple hues of suns retreat, and the temperature has cooled from a stifling 102 to a comfortable 85. I stand as witness to the moment. Its grandeur humbles me. I am home

I am thankful to God for allowing me to be His scribe.
Shoot Date: June 27, 2018
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Manual 2.0 sec at f/11 0 EV
Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM @ 16 mm
ISO: 100