Snow on the Desert: A Portfolio

Sometimes with a rush of wind as warning, sometimes in deep silence, an alien snowstorm wanders over the desert, leaving in its wake the strange vision of cactus and creosote covered with white down. Overnight the once forbidding desert world is transformed into an exotic paradise.

Desert plants greet the dawn in robes of pure white. Spiny saguaros stand like sentries in gleaming armor, guarding the gates to an inviting dreamworld of unfamiliar soft sculptures. Tiaras of snow crystals crown the prickly heads of desert royalty, and delicate embroidery adorns the humblest subjects in this pic turesque domain.

How incongruous it is to see snow clinging to subtropical plants we normally equate with torrid summer heat!

All around, the landscape is resplendent in its winter mantle. When snow reaches down to the Sonoran Desert, most of our state has been visited by the same storm. Distant snow-capped mountain peaks and closer frosted mesas stand in bright contrast against the azure sky. A windblown glaze whitens the sides of desert washes and rocky outcroppings.

But snow is only a brief visitor here. The thaw comes quickly once the sun appears. Snowmelt soaks deep into the sandy soil. The thirsty plants absorb what moisture they can. Along with the gift of precious water comes the promise of a vibrant spring, when this soon-forgotten snowfall will manifest its legacy in the splendor of colorful desert blossoms.

DESERT SNOW

DESERT SNOW

DESERT SNOW