Landscapes
Barren, parched, choking. During the driest springs and summers in the New Mexican desert, I’ve experienced the harsh winds, dust and smoke from forest fires that choke my asthmatic lungs. But this is my homeland and it envelops me in safety and has comforted me during the most difficult times of my life. My eyes and paintbrush are keen to the expansive variety of green; light sage with pops of violet. Chartreuse patches light up the land when the wild sunflowers burst forth at the end of the summer. I relish the lush green vegetation at the base of hot red mesas near San Ysidro and the deep teal of the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The dark richness of the land in early morning, after the monsoon has drenched the earth is reassuring. My land has taught me to wait for the small cool breeze that breaks the heat of a summer night, because surely it will come- bringing relief to the soul.
