Portfolio

Sea of Grass

A Portfolio by Bruce Griffin With summer's arrival, a virtual sea of grass captures the eye of the traveler in southeastern Arizona thanks to the monsoon season when the region receives most of its annual rainfall. It is then that tenacious desert plants, such as these daturas (RIGHT) in the San Rafael Valley, produce their showy blooms. It is then, too, when the area's two major rivers, the San Pedro and the Santa Cruz, begin flowing along their ancient courses. Unfortunately this also is a brief period. Too soon September arrives heralding the end of the summer rainy season. Humidity falls, the land dries, and nights start to turn cool as autumn advances.

Along Road (LEFT) south of Tucson, zinnias carpet the desert foothills. (PRECEDING PANELS, PAGES 28 AND 29) Lightning crackles through the sky near Tucson. The spiky plants are sotol, a member of the lily family. (PAGES 30 AND 31) Late summer brings a display of Mexican star flowers to the San Rafael Valley below the Huachuca Mountains. (PAGES 32 AND 33) A summer monsoon advances along State Route 83 southeast of Tucson. The pulpy fruit of the prickly pear cactus is edible, and the Indians make a tea from its pads.