March Nature Observation
Kiersten Archer Student Submission Set to appear in the May 2022 edition
No matter what time of year the desert always looks the same. Or so it seems. The cacti are always in the same place as when you last saw them. Unless they fall down and you wonder where the cactus with five arms, three holes, and a snake around it went. Then again you might not keep track of every cactus in the desert.
If you ignore the tiny human and you look past the fake grass you can see some hills/mountains. The mountains always look the same to me from afar, but if you ever get close to one you can see differences every season. For instance, in the summer they are brown, In the fall they are a darker brown, In the winter they are a mix of light and dark and in the spring they are light brown with hints of green. Ok, I’m joking (not really), the desert blooms and when it does that’s when you can see bright pops of color next to all the brown.
Now you’re probably wondering why I chose the desert out of all the things I could’ve chosen. I seriously would have done Hawaii trust me. Yet, the desert doesn’t get enough credit. If someone says “We’re going to Arizona!” people’s reaction would be something like, “why?” or “Ok.” Yet if someone said we’re going to Hawaii they would throw a party! So the desert needs more credit. Bear with me here. In fact, let’s start a company we can call it…”The Natural Liberal Arts 4 Desert Association!” In all our Nature Observations we just write about….The Desert! You got it! You know what? Never mind, let’s just get to the fun stuff.
Facts about Cacti that I figured out all on my own (and I mean all on my own):
1. Cacti are filled with water and when you shake them you can hear them. (Only shake the ones that don’t have spikes.)
2. There are at least 20 different kinds of cacti.
3. The plural for cactus is cacti.
4. Cacti can live for longer than 200 years.
5. Cacti can HURT! (I learned that the hard way.)
6. The holes in cacti are for animals to live in. (I wish I could not get hurt by their spikes. One time I got one in my lip.)
7. They have delicious fruit! BUT MAKE SURE YOU SCRAPE OFF THE SPIKES!
Here is a sunset…In Arizona! Of course, Arizona does have its perks. Imagine living in downtown New York. So much pollution! This is just plain Arizona with cows and a beautiful sunset. In California, you would not pass cows on the road where you live. It looks like a painting! Maybe I could paint something like this! I would be the next Van Gogh!
Again ignore the people and look at the landscape. Imagine having that for your front yard! It’s in full bloom! That’s the dessert in the Spring! Although you can’t “smell the fresh air” and you’re usually panting while walking down the sidewalk, the desert can be pretty. There is a LOT of aloe plants, though. It’s not the place where you grow palm trees. It is its own kind of paradise!
That concludes this wonderful Nature Observation and thank you for joining the Natural Liberal Arts Level 4 Desert Association! I hope you enjoyed listening as I enjoyed writing. I swear I should be a comedian!
Here’s a poem about Cacti for all of you:
Roses are Red
Violets are blue
Cacti are green
And everyone should love the desert too!
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