The Enchanted World

The Enchanted World of Linberg Pond

It is spring at Linberg Pond. The faint sweet scent of meadow grass and sedge is everywhere, filling your senses. For some time you stand and drink in the scene, enjoying the play of sunlit morning colors on the high mountain meadow. Then, slowly, your perceptions sharpen and the land transforms into a kaleidoscope of enchanting natural forms and hues.

Half-moon shaped blue grama grass catches your eye. Red-top, fox-tail, wild rye, and black dropseed sway with the sun-warmed wind. At the pond's source grow monkey flowers and watercress, while on the glazed surface of the pond itself water lilies blossom from green pads, surrounded by tiny flowering duckweed.

Here the spring, the tiny pond and the meadow are lush with life and filled to brimming with wonders that change with the seasons, as they gently flow one into the other.

In the meadow, hardy, ambitious grasses sigh, their roots deep in rich, marshy humus an oasis in the midst of the dry, rocky soils of the surrounding stands of Gambel oak and New Mexican locust, which quickly give way to a dense forest of ponderosa pine.

Venturing farther, shoes are discarded for barefoot luxury, which seems to befit the land. And at every step the meadow, which at first seemed empty of life, tugs at the imagination as its population grows before your eyes.

A wild iris displays a sculptured lavender flower, in its center a golden splash of color fans outward to veins of blue, beckoning to hungry insects.

Stooping to look closely, a bright blue flash disrupts your concentration. A dragonfly is patrolling the territory. The superb predator stalls in mid-air then alters momentum in an instant. Settling on a dry twig, it adjusts tail and wings, shielding its abdomen from the hot sun and conserving moisture. It circles, then, once around the pond and is gone.

A swift movement next draws your eye back to the pond's surface, where a dozen water striders dart from one clump of grass to another. Skating on tenuous films of water, the small predators propel themselves by long, rowing strokes with middle and hind legs. Each foot creates a dimple on the surface and broad circular shadows on the bottom of the pond.

Rapid thrusts send them ahead quickly, until an encounter with a neighbor sets off a chase. Seemingly unable to control direction they collide and wrestle end over end. For the water strider the surface is a hunting ground, but for you it becomes a circus in miniature.

Small snails roam along the undersurface of the invisible film, and land spiders dash for tasty morsels, returning quickly to shore before they become trapped in its viscousness.

Held close, the design and symmetry of natural things becomes readily apparent. John Running Diving beetles puncture the interspace of water and air, attaching themselves briefly to collect a bubble, while mosquito larvae strike a horizontal pose as they graze along its underside.

With the coming of summer the sun arcs high over Linberg Pond. Rolling and melodic, a meadowlark's song greets the day. Finches, bluebirds, and robins crisscross the open sky, dipping now and again to skim the water's surface for a drink or to feed.

Tracks of squirrels, mice and rabbits dot the damp shoreline. And a primrose blooms along the dry footpath, its brilliant star-shaped anthers and fragrance tempting hungry insects.

Within the pond two aquatic snails drift with unhurried grace. You touch them with care and discover their occupants have gone elsewhere. Living among the roots of the water lily empty periwinkle shells float to the surface. You try filling one brown, algae-covered shell with water and realize How many spirals must be within, as numerous air bubbles rise to the tiny lip. Finally, the shell fills and settles to the bottom.

Bending down until your nose touches the water, you use your hands to fashion a water glass. On the other side of the "window," a diving beetle spurts from one puff of green algae to the next, while a caddisfly larva, twiglike, lounges in an underwater forest.

Tadpoles feed, drift, or swim in the sun-warmed underwater world, the oldest sprouting legs on their undersides. One big fellow with bulging head and body, not quite a frog, grazes near the surface. Any shift in your position causes smaller relatives to struggle away in all directions, but his movement is unhurried and ponderous. He nibbles at a weed, his tail sinking downward until his body is suspended perpendicular to the bottom of the pond.

A huge water bug bursts from beneath the algae, just then, swimming upward to replenish the air supply carried on its underside. Buoyed up by its balloon of air, it makes an enormous effort to journey downward again. As you watch it reaches a depth of about a foot and grabs the green mass, to rest.

Silence reigns as you become one with the world beneath the surface....

Then a plop in the water close by shatters the stillness. A frog has narrowly escaped a garter snake. Before you can reach them, both disappear, the snake to continue its search and the frog to hide among the rushes.

In the fall, when tawny oak leaves begin to blow in upon the pond and wood smoke perfumes the mountain air, the pond is silent. Underfoot the damp earth has grown firm, the grass crisp and yellow. A blue jay squawks, unwilling to surrender the season.

The spring flows less abundantly now. Deer tracks form tiny reservoirs at the water's edge, each teeming with microscopic life, greater in number than all the visible pond denizens.

Now walking through the meadow, you become a seed bearer like all the other mammals who roam this land, dispersing potential growth wherever you travel the promise of the spring to come, after winter's sleep, and another observer in another time.

Editor's Note: Linberg Pond is located at a rest area eight miles southwest of Flagstaff, on highway 89A.

Bookshelf

by Mary Lu Moore Inquiries about any of these titles should be directed to the book publisher, not ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.

A Potter's Mexico. By Irwin and Emily Whitaker. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131.1978. 136 p. $17.50.

The closest many of us get to Mexican ceramics may be a Mexican import store in the U.S. or an excursion to a shop on the southern side of the Border. For novice, connoisseur and ceramicist alike, Emily Whitaker, a specialist in Mexican history and culture, and her husband Irwin, a professional potter, artist and teacher, have combined their multiple talents to produce the latest word on Mexican pottery. Discussed in detail are technical aspects: types of firing, fuels and kilns; forming of clay by hand, mold and wheel; and finishing with slips, glazes and by burnishing. Both loza corriente, everyday pottery, and loza fina, fine decorative ware, are examined in detail. Important locations of manufacture and nine major artists are also studied.

The authors used aesthetics as their criterion for inclusion of styles. They note technical abilities needed by the artist and the differences between artists and artisans and conservatism versus innovation are touched upon. Treated honestly and simply is the problem of placing acid foods or beverages in lead and glazed vessels. Indigenous and Hispanic stylistic variations and blends, regional differences and various shapes, types and sizes of pottery are explained, and their Spanish names are always translated. There seems to be no conclusive summing up. Perhaps none is needed, given the statement that ceramics in Mexico face an uncertain future, owning to economic factors.

The text is extremely readable. The excellent color and black-and-white photographs are carefully captioned and complement the narrative so well that the two are inseparable. This volume is a well edited, handsome product. A glossary of Mexican pottery terms gives definitions of Spanish words as they apply to ceramic arts. It includes not only words used in the text, but also those which would be useful to anyIn Linberg Pond time passes in an endless chain of obscure little events, linked closely to birth, death and renewal. John Running one seeking to communicate with Spanish-speaking people about pottery types and ceramic techniques. The bibliography is thorough and completely documented, but might also have included recent publications by Florence and Robert Lister.

Many of the delightful, beautiful and just plain whimsical pottery pieces we have come to cherish may be a fastdisappearing art, as Mexico continues to industrialize. After reading A PotCanyon de Chelly; Its People and Rock Art. By Campbell Grant. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona 85722. 1978. 290 p. $19.50; paper $5.95.

Canyon de Chelly (duh Shay) has a long and distinguished prehistory and history, not to mention artistic displays on its sheer walls. Rock art authority Campbell Grant has now presented an in-depth treatment of a heretofore neglected subject and location. A foreword by rock art specialist Polly Schaafsma sets the stage. Section One of Grant's work gives an overview of the Canyon, covering geology, flora and fauna. In the second part the archaeology and history of de Chelly's previous and present inhabitants receive close attention. Third is a discussion of the many and varied exploring expeditions, archaeological excavations and travelers of note - including Anne and Charles Lindbergh. The pièce de résistance (Section Four) is Grant's special study of rock art. Two thousand years of petroglyphs and paintings can add greatly to the archaeological and historical records if one can make some order of them and analyze them. The author has done exactly that and presents a lively interpretation of the pictorial evidence. In the appendix, which is a survey of rock art sites in Canyon de Chelly, he outlines his survey methods. Using the National Park Service's Western Archaeological Center site numbering system, Grant has added helpful coding to indicated location and height of rock art in the main and side canyons. These sites are listed with their major subjects and physical attributes of the location. Good black and white photographs, reproductions, illustrations and area maps are a definite addition. The excellent bibliography provides references on all facets of the book's topics.

Everyone interested in rock art and southwestern archaeology, as well as those interested in mysterious, fascinating Canyon de Chelly itself will find this well-researched study a most important contribution.

A Taste of the Knife. By Marnie Walsh. 42 p. The Selected Poems of Gwendolen Haste. 61 p. Ahsahta Press, University Bookstore, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725. 1976. $2.50 each, paper.

Ahsahta Press may not yet be a household word here in the West, but it won't be long. Publishers of modern and contemporary poetry of the American West, Ahsahta, located at Boise State University in Idaho, has produced some rather significant works. Each small, attractive volume is nicely turned out on good quality paper with a very readable typeface and format. Each publication contains an introduction by a Western author and cites where else these poems have appeared. In Ahsahta's stable of poets are Peggy Pond Church and Norman Macleod, both of whom write of New Mexico.

Marnie Walsh describes the northern plains and its Indian people. Her poetry is strong and speaks eloquently of the bitterness and despair of their present conditions. Walsh is a keen observer of nature - human, animal and plant. Her unusual insight is mirrored in her realistic, forceful poems.

Gwendolen Haste's earlier years in Billings, Montana, are reflected in most of her verse. Stark realities of bitter winters, isolation, loneliness and barren existence, especially for ranch women, are themes of her earlier works. These and her later writings reveal her thoughtful observations of life and death. "The Horseman" and "Prayer of the Homesteader" say it all beautifully.

Far too few of us take time to read and absorb any poetry these days. Here is a prime opportunity to experience fine Western verse.

Yours Sincerely SHARING ARIZONA

Editor: Last year I achieved my life's ambition to visit Arizona, and the beauty of this state really did exceed all my exресtations. I only hope that I will be able to return sometime, and in the meantime, your magazine brings some much needed sunshine into my life every month.

Is it possible that through “Arizona Highways” I could contact someone in Arizona who shares my interest and love of this beautiful land?

Although we're not in the pen pal business, we do happen to have just the right amount of space for your letter, Helen. You may find there are as many people out of this state as in it that “share (your) interest and love of this beautiful land.” Hope you don't get writers' cramp. — The Editor

THANK YOU

Editor: I wanted to write and thank you for your beautiful if not inspiring maga-zine.

Although only an amateur photographer, I have learned more from reading and studying your magazine than I ever have reading straight photography magazines. Learning the technical aspects of photography is fine but I prefer Mother Nature as my subject, and through your magazine I've learned to train my eyes to see only what is essential.

I would also like to thank Josef and David Muench what can I say about their work? David's work always gives me such an uplift, when I have a peace-ful moment to myself I usually end up looking at one of his books over and Over. You might say he is my mentor. I only hope as a photographer I can live up to everything I've learned from his work as well as your magazine.

One of the greatest joys of Arizona Highways Magazine is the caliber of people with whom we have the opportunity of working - Josef and David being two outstanding examples. It can be truly said that their love for what they are doing can be seen in their work. If you have learned something from studying their photography, then, if we may speak for Josef and David, we're sure that they would be pleased and honored. After all, no man's candle becomes dimmer because he has lighted that of another. Just as Arizona High-ways photography inspires you so does your appreciation of their work inspire the photographers. The Editor

RELATING TO NATURE

Editor: Your magazine brought out the poet in me.

Oh Gods of life how wonderful you are, We know you as sun, water and soil. Your spirit you give to trees, grass and flowers.

We glory for we know your spirit as ours.

We are relative with your miraculous creation, And are astounded at the panorama of beauty We see in your Goddess who is more radiant than all the stars. Her name is recognition.

We stand amazed as her chariots of meaning fill our Souls, for we know the spirits of the Gods live as this unfolds.

She is who gives birth to this universe.

She is the light of the path, the guardian of the night, she is the pillar of existence delight.

Your scenic magazine touches off a pleasant relationship with nature.

TIMELESS PUBLICATION

Editor: I have just read your most interesting issue of June, 1978. I again note the timelessness of your publication and this brought to mind an incident which happened in 1969.

My wife and I were eating luncheon in the German walled city of Nordlingen. The business men in this restaurant were reading newspapers printed in German so I asked the waiter to bring me something printed in English. He soon returned with a copy of Arizona Highways dated 1953, saying that it was all he had. I now recall that the issue of 1953, read in 1969, was as enjoyable as though it were a current issue.

Arizona Highways Magazine has a way of appearing in some of the most unusual places at the most unusual times. You will find us in all 50 states and about 80 countries around the world including: Russia, China, India, and numerous places in South Africa, South America, Australia, all over Europe, including Boras, Sweden; Haar-len, Holland; Sajka, Hungary; and even tiny Luxemburg. - The Editor

35mm COLOR SLIDES

This issue: 35 mm slides in 2" mounts, 1 to 15 slides, 40¢ each, 16 to 49 slides, 35 each, 50 or more, 3 for $1.00. Allow three weeks for delivery. Address: Slide Department, Arizona Highways, 2039 West Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009.

(Inside back cover) Fed by gushing springs of crystal water, Haigler Creek, under the Mogollon Rim, winds its way through miles of enchanted natural wilderness, directly in the path of the annual sheep drives on the Heber-Reno Sheep Trail.

(Back cover) Carvings in the round by Arizonan Wally Maarsingh seem nearly lifelike in natural surroundings.