Saturday

I've been very lethargic, not to say lazy, all day, but late in the afternoon I decided to go out for a stroll. I followed the dirt road that my road turns into, and went down by the side of the wash to the river bank -- and then came back, because the rest of the round-the-block walk was closed for 'improvements'. Along the way I saw a lizard, a gila woodpecker hammering at a stale bagel that had apparently been left out for bird feeding purposes, and a family of Gambel's quail, as well as various flowers both wild and cultivated. There's something special about the clear, slanted light of the late afternoon in the desert.

This is one of the pictures I took. If it wasn't for the electricity pylon in the middle distance and the irrigation risers in the foreground, it could almost be taken for somewhere wild; actually, it's less than a ten minute walk from my apartment. It's one of the places I go when I need to remind myself why I like living here.