Water came to our desert three nights ago with the advent of the first monsoon rains in Tucson. Since then we have had another afternoon deluge to wash the trees and skiies clean of dust. The light sparkles on damp vegetation and lingering pools of precious rainwater before it disappears in the sandy soil or transforms to its gaseous form and wafts away. More Tucsonans caught rain in big aluminum or concrete cisterns decorated with bright colors or whimsical designs ... or just shiny silver columns hugging their home. Some caught thousands of gallons of water that will be metered out to trees, shrubs, and vegetable gardens in the dry times. This is a wise way to live in desert lands. It makes me feel content to leave now, to finally journey back east.Rains are falling in Pensacola, Florida, along the Gulf shoreline. Rain runs down the gnarled trunks of oaks, drips off gray haired moss, sets up in quivering droplets on the leaves of the magnolias.
Out in the Gulf dolphins jump into the pouring rain. It must feel strange to leave the heavier salt-laden oceansphere to leap into the lighter ocean of air where fresh water falls in sheets, pelting their skin. I wonder what it sounds like, feels like? Like an outdoor shower after an ocean swim?Places like Pensacola, where so much water is concentrated, must be affected by its energy. The shoreline (Pensacoleans call it sugar sand beaches) is a divide of sorts, between one set of life circumstances and another, between a water world and an earth world. Dolphins connect these worlds, intercessaries. They come by that honestly as their ancestors once walked the land.
Santa Rosa Island is a magical intersection between sea and land a mixing of elemental things, sanctuary to creatures large and small including four sea turtle tribes. WriteForChange will serve people along this beautiful shore and perhaps the intercoastal waterways of Florida, too. Whatever this move brings, it will surely trip the light fantastic. This Earth is truly a magical place. Whether desert, ocean, plain or mountain, its magnificence is beyond the powers of this writer to truly express. But I feel it everyday, have fallen in love again on each of my 22,421 days walking in its beauty.To learn more about beautful places along the Gulf Coast go to http://www.beachcalendar.net/.
Another good link to learn about Pensacola's community activities: http://www.pensacola.com/
