Desert Rain

Above the wasteland loomed a vast mountain wilderness of jagged rocks and steep ascents.  Tracks of predators garnished all footpaths as if they seized prey the wasteland did not claim.

A lone tree found residence along the trail, yet all life was absent.  Its frame being compromised limb by limb, even the birds whose home was this tree took flight and abandoned their nest.

Further down the path emerged a peculiar drainage with unique flora.  Stooping down inquisitively, this shrub possessed intricate branched knobs as if to portray thousands of tiny fingers.  Discontent with this superficial discovery, pinching one of these knobs caused fluid to be emitted.  A taste of this fluid suggested that its composition was that of salt water.  Perhaps the key to thriving in the desert was demonstrated by this shrub's observed adaptations.  Therein lied a union between that which can prevent vegetation and that which can promote it: salt and water.  These resources were treasured as the shrub's extensions served as a sponge for storage.

Hours after more traveling in a desert canyon, a human settlement appeared.  With no person in sight, the air was filled with calls of waterfowl in the pond ahead.  This man-made oasis contained numerous fruit trees in tiers above the valley floor.  Dates, pomegranates  and olives littered the under-story, initiating a small feast of fruits.

With this adventure coming to an end, morning breeze had transitioned into beating sun, the threat of exhaustion apparent.  A cluster of clouds, almost without warning, amassed in front of the sun and blocked its threatening rays.  Then, a rare occurrence, small drops of precipitation descended from the sky: desert rain.

Wasteland

Barren and void, imprints from a past life remain in the sand.  They become obscured and disappear as new tracks wipe them away.

An outward portrayal of an internal hell, this realm is truly parched and empty.

Fallen timbers from leafless shrubs lay undisturbed as they lack mere water to decompose.

What new life do they create?  What manner of existence do they enact apart from enduring intense heat from the unwavering sun?

All defenses neutralized, the mountains surrounding this valley prevent cloud access, and the few clouds that remain are subject to the full brunt of the sun, dissipating beneath its relentless weight.

Stones array the fields, glazed and hardened under heat as the sun refuses to grant them any semblance  of moisture.  In search of solace, victims lie prostrate in the fields among rocks, and they themselves become hardened.

Shrubs convey an inner conflict as bark abandons limbs.  The antagonist prevails, prying wood open from its viscera and renting its exterior.

What life will be created here?

Sand Dunes

The setting sun pierced between gnarled branches of vegetation, casting shadows of mangled figures on the ground below.  Reaching my hand beneath the surface and drawing it upward, a stream of sand flowed back down to the earth.  Again I grasped the sand in my palm but clasped it tightly as if to manipulate its form, but the grains resisted their mold and returned to their resting place as before.  There they remained, tightly contained yet loosely gathered.  With the breeze, one grain may flow with many others, or it may travel with very few.  Nonetheless, the wind will cease and that grain will rest, perhaps near its origin or maybe far from home.  

Last night some friends and I watched this video several times. I hear it's an Egyptian brand of cheese.  Click on this text to view the video.  .

Dead Sea

Archaeology sampling at Timnah

Timnah Valley

Chumus, the first of many