YOURS SINCERELY

Yours sincerely THE MARIPOSA LILY:

As an amateur botanist fairly well acquainted with the flora of Arizona, both directly through frequent visits and through Kearney and Peebles' fine book (Arizona Flora, Kearney and Peebles, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1951), I was somewhat astonished to learn that the magic of Mr. Muench's color photography had changed my old friend Calochortus Kennedyi or the desert Mariposa into a poppy!-see front cover October issue, 1952, of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS and caption page 1, repeated in legend. As the most brilliant of the Mariposa lilies, rightly described by Jepson, Manual of the Flowering Plants of California, University of California Press, edition of 1951, page 236, as vermilion or orange, Kearney and Peebles give only orange, and the variant yellow. My first experience with this magnificent Calochortus was on a by-road in the Mojave Desert, where I came upon a great mass in full bloom, very nearly the color caught by Muench's camera. It was one of my greatest floral thrills. No poppy, not even the most gorgeous Oriental, can compare in refined brilliance with the desert Mariposa. A glance at the flowers on the cover page shows three petals and three stigmata or a tripartite division of the one stigma, and many other marks of Liliaceae to which family of aristocrats Calochortus belongs, a far cry indeed from the poppy group, typical dicotyledons, with four their common number of petals.

We have received your fine magazine for many years and think of it as indispensable. We equally find Arizona itself one of the "musts" and hope to continue our trips with greater frequency. A recent trip took us to Superior to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum and since my return I have given talks to various garden clubs on the unique work of the Arboretum. After forty-two years of administrative work in education, my wife and I retired from Berkeley to our Orinda "farm" where I am devoting myself to some unusual horticulture, including experimental work with jojoba.

MUENCH AND PEATTIE:

Muench and Peattie! What a delightful combination you have given us in the October issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, and I hasten to express appreciation. I am sure I shall never again behold a Western Yellow Pine without recalling the word picture Of Peattie and generating the feeling that it is not just a tree but a friend.

Always, upon receiving your magazine, the first thing I do is look for the photography of Muench; likewise in any publication, the product of the pen of that great nature lover, Peattie, claims my attention.

WESTERN YELLOW PINE:

The Western Yellow Pine, commonly called Ponderosa Pine in Eastern and Southern Oregon, is Oregon's No. 2 tree. The article by Donald Culross Peattie in the October 1952 edition of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is an excellent and most interesting and accurate tribute to the Western Yellow Pine.

LAKE A CRATER?

I have been flying over Arizona for a number of years and have just about convinced myself that Stoneman Lake lies in the basin of a large meteorite crater. If so it would be about twice as wide as the Winslow crater, but not as deep.

The hills around it form a perfect circle and also seem to have been "pushed" into position as they do not conform to the surrounding hills. This is especially noticeable on the east side.

I never paid much attention to the Lake before but since we have been flying across here at high altitudes, 16,000 to 20,000 feet, it is quite outstanding.

I would appreciate any information you could give me.

LOST PHOTOS:

I was in the vicinity of Tucson, Phoenix, Oak Creek Canyon and Grand Canyon last August. While there on a vacation I lost two undeveloped films. They were taken of my mother after she had passed away in July. I would be eternally grateful if you help me recover them.

LITTLE SHEPHERD

Crowd closer, little sheep, The blade of the wind cuts deep; White cold breathes sharp from the earth's parched lips, the wind is a shearer who pulls and rips at your coat of fleece, Crowd closer, little sheep. . . .

Crowd closer to the others, The wail of your cries smothers my heart. But soon the brief grass will call, the mesa sun's warmth blunts the cold for all of the lambs and mothers; Come closer, little brothers.

PURVEYOR

I spent today in gardening, And thought each flower bent Its head in loving gratitude For all the time I spent.

I stepped outside this evening, And found a perfume there Not meant for human savoring, A strictly 'plant' affair.

Each flower coaxed the moth to sip, For reasons quite remote From formal patterns I had set. I made a mental note: These flowers are not my bouquet. No gracious lady 1, But servant girl to lay a feast For moth and butterfly.

THE OLD WAGON

Let us keep Grandfather's wagon Here, beyond the garden road; Rest it near the jacaranda, Let blossoms be its only load.

Let its wheels that have known the desert. Mountain rocks, and river fords, Nestle deep in green lawn-clover; Let sunshine varnish its worn boards.

Let us keep the wagon always, That our thanks be never stilled For the greatness of our heritageForefathers with a dream fulfilled.

PICNIC PARTY

You drove right on but we delayed. You got to town by seven. You captured Time! We watched sun's set And captured part of Heaven!

Back Cover

"AGAVE LOOKOUT" By Esther Henderson. Many a Hollywood stagecoach has rolled past this Schnebley Hill point and many a technicolor movie has been made in the embrace of this Oak Creek Canyon area. It wasn't many years ago that Sedona Schnebley and her family drove their wagon over this one and only road into the canyon from the rim. Now the old road once more resounds to the creak of wagon springs; the clomping of hoof-beats. From wagon to highway to stagecoach again-the wheel has made the complete turn! 5x7 Ektachrome, Goerz Dagor wide-angle lens, 1/5 at f.45.

Opposite Page

"QUIET WATER" By Esther Henderson. It's vacation time on Lake Mary near Flagstaff. Somewhere, on this morning, Moms are frying chickens, Pops are tinkering with tackle, Juniors are contriving boats and kites from back yard oddments. Somewhere, along these shores, picnic tables are being spread, firewood is being gathered, tents are going up, bathers are in search of thickets; all the world, it seems, is busy with the chores of summer camping. But here, in the reflection of a morning thunderhead, sit two wise men in a boat. 5x7 Ektachrome, 12" Tessar lens, 1/30 at f.11.