Deserted on Route 66

There is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, of water to sand, insuring that wide, free, open, generous spacing among plants and animals, homes and towns and cities, which makes the arid West so different from any other part of the nation. There is no lack of water here, unless you try to establish a city where no city should be.

~ Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

Dead Wood, Cactus, and Scrub

The Desert Has Many Teachings

In the desert,

Turn toward emptiness,

Fleeing the self.

Stand alone,

Ask no one’s help,

And your being will quiet,

Free from the bondage of things.

Those who cling to the world,

Endeavor to free them;

Those who are free, praise.

Care for the sick,

But live alone,

Happy to drink from the waters of sorrow,

To kindle Love’s fire

With the twigs of a simple life.

Thus you will live in the desert.

~ Mechthild of Magdeburg

Translated by Jane Hirshfield

Bird On The Wire

Like a bird on the wire

Like a drunk in a midnight choir

I have tried in my way to be free.

~ From Bird On The Wire by Leonard Cohen

Check out bird photos by other bloggers at World Bird Wednesday hosted by Pine River Review.

Route 66 Sunset

the road is life

~ Jack Kerouac

Where Light Meets Dark

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir