At the trailhead, signs are posted warning hikers about the heat. The Park Service seems tired of search and rescues, which they say have increased this year.
They have even placed a big thermometer at the trailhead and a picture of a helicopter rescue.
If I squint hard enough into the cactus, I see one who makes
it on her own, who has weighed marriage in the balance and found it lacking. Perhaps I am like the cacti, the more durable
green of summer.
After climbing over a ridge and looking into the next dry wash, something green is in the distance. Zoomed in it is truly green
She says her fear
ReplyDeleteis a handicap.
Cactus' spines prevent
tired travelers
from staying too long.
from rest.
oops! Quick someone make that into a five line tanka!
ReplyDeleteShe says her fear
Deleteis a handicap.
Cactus spines prevent
tired travelers
from rest
Oops missed the possessive
DeleteI'm glad you missed the possession of cactus spines, Susan and Lois. It's best they keep them. A good collaborative tanka, while Cactus, not cactus, does the preventing. She's a mean one.
DeleteI heard that all Cacti produce flowers, which I think they are unbelievably fresh and beautiful, especially when compared with their often mean looking surface.
ReplyDeleteNo flowers on the cacti this time of year, Keiko. They are smart enough to defer sex to cooler weather. Come in winter, after a rain, they promise to the bees that they will be lovely.
DeleteLooks like you have plenty of mothering in all the signs about you, so I'll spare you
ReplyDeleteThose cactus spines are enough to deter me
that's 'my' excuse for staying here on my mountain in our own record high temps
Oh,Junnie the spines are not so bad, and the rattlesnakes mean no harm. There is the Pinto Gneiss to understand and the White Tank Monzogranite, all intruded by the Malpai Basalt. It's all so fascinating.
Deletetesting
ReplyDelete