A Gila Monster Rescued, Mating Rattlesnakes, and Images of Life Sparked by the Monsoon Rains
Arizona’s spectacular monsoon season is in full swing this year. Here in the Middle San Pedro River Valley, we have received 7.28 inches of life-giving rain during the past seven weeks. Life of all kinds is emerging, much of it empowered by this season alone.
The strikingly beautiful Gila monster pictured above was photographed by my wife Kathleen just days ago. (One more reminder to my readers: if you don’t see that image, it is because you are viewing this in your email. Always go to my blog site – https://ralphwaldt.com – to see this post as I intended it, without omissions.) It is one of many desert animals whose activity increases or otherwise changes as a result of monsoon weather.
The world we live in has been under deep duress this past year; the global pandemic, political division, economic hardship, and numerous worldwide catastrophes have all combined to make many people feel stressed and depressed. That is the anthropocentric world. A wider view – beyond the human-centric world that we pay so much attention to – encompasses the rest of the planet’s glorious and infinitely varied life. When I feel overloaded after viewing the day’s headlines, I can always find a source of solace, reassurance, and joy simply by abandoning the vicarious, shallow world of my computer screen in favor of the outdoor world. All it takes is a few steps outside. Sunlight, vivid green plants, lizards, trees, bird song, fresh air… the real world is medicine for the soul.
One does not need to live in a rural area like I do in order to tap into the natural world. I have a friend who lives in suburbia, along the fringes of the immensity known as Dallas-Fort Worth. He spends time in his backyard where trees, shrubs, and a garden bring life and happiness into his world. There are no bears, cougars, or Gila monsters in his yard like there are here – but there is a diverse variety of life. My friend focuses his attention on smaller creatures and other forms of life; insects, lizards, and flowering plants, for example. He photographs what he sees – things that most people never even notice. The photographs from his back yard are often stunning, revealing a world remarkably rich in life captured by a talented, artistic photographer whose sharp observational skills remind us that life is everywhere, and that life is beyond beautiful.
With those thoughts in mind, I offer a series of recent images taken during the heart of the monsoon season here in the Middle San Pedro Valley of southeastern Arizona…
2 thoughts on “A Gila Monster Rescued, Mating Rattlesnakes, and Images of Life Sparked by the Monsoon Rains”
Dear Ralph, Thanks for this blog/celebration! And I share your appreciation of the artistry of our
friend in Texas. Nancy
Awesome Ralph,
Truly enjoyed reading you new blog. I have learned quite a lot reading it. Yes, we are having a great monsoon and it shows. Amid all the wickedness and strife among our species, it is refreshing to explore the life of other living things that are thriving despite the impact of Humanity on our Earth. Our anthropocentric world. The monsoon rains have been a Godsend this year. After a 22 year drought it’s so very nice to see that life is abundant and able to carry on.
Dear Ralph, Thanks for this blog/celebration! And I share your appreciation of the artistry of our
friend in Texas. Nancy
Awesome Ralph,
Truly enjoyed reading you new blog. I have learned quite a lot reading it. Yes, we are having a great monsoon and it shows. Amid all the wickedness and strife among our species, it is refreshing to explore the life of other living things that are thriving despite the impact of Humanity on our Earth. Our anthropocentric world. The monsoon rains have been a Godsend this year. After a 22 year drought it’s so very nice to see that life is abundant and able to carry on.