Anyone living in Sonoran Desert will gladly acknowledge the extremes in temperatures with a knowing smile. The winter temps can get as low as freezing and of course the summers, oh the summers, can soar to near 112 degrees plus at times.

One advantage, if you will, is that with the appropriate timing, one can hike and enjoy nature all year long.

Although it is winter in the desert, we still have “fall color.” I am not suggesting that the colors of fall in our desert can compete with New England or other areas of the world where there are an abundance of shades and hues, but we do have some color. Mostly that color is gold and yellow.

We took a hike last week in mid-afternoon when temps were in the mid-50s. This saguaro was haloed in a bright yellow light with the light green and yellow leaves of the plants in front accentuating the columnar display.

Birds such as this Black Phoebe were enjoying the sun and the nearby stream on this autumnal-like winter’s day.

As we were leaving the hiking trail and thinking about heading home, I looked back to witness this beautiful vista.

I thought a closeup would prove even prettier and although it is colorful, I like the wider view above.

With the contrast of light and dark on the first picture of the saguaro, I thought perhaps with a bit of cropping, it would make a good subject for a black and white picture. Do you like the black and white or the color version?

 

JBRish.com originally published this post