Desert Spring
My daughter and I find ourselves walking through one of the local Tucson desert gardens, under the warmth of the spring sun, through a cocktail of Sonoran flora.
Bees fly over our heads excitedly, feasting on the blanket of rainbow surrounding us. The spring air fresh in our lungs and birds singing in appreciation of the changing weather.
She and I talk about things that would not matter to anyone but us, and laugh about things no one else would understand.
Hunger rumbles in our bellies, and we book a table at the restaurant within the gardens. The wait is long, but it gives us time to sit in the waiting area and appreciate the wildlife that visits us.
A lizard, a bird, the beautiful olive tree above our heads. The sun rays pour through the branches of the olive trees like shooting stars, and my daughter takes pictures of herself in front of it to capture both hers and the lights beauty.
Once the wait is over, we are shown to our tables for brunch in a smaller garden within the gardens.
The shade of umbrellas over the row of small tables creates a calmness from the ever rising sun. When the rising light finally touches the garden, it highlights the deep greens of the grass and the leaves circling the garden. An occasional hummingbird disorienting us with the sound of its wings over our heads. Our own secret garden.
My daughter orders French toast covered in fresh, plump berries and the sweetness of maple syrup.
My omelette arrives, filled with bacon and avocado, and a side of potatoes that are so crispy I can hear them melt and crunch as I savor the seasoning of each bite.
We laugh about nonsense. My daughter wears my sunglasses to keep the sunshine at bay and we people watch the tables around us. A family in chaos with their children at the table in front of us, a couple sat in silent familiarity on the other side. All enjoying the beauty of food and nature in their own way.
Full and happy, we continue our adventure around Tucson and drive 30 minutes to the University district where we find our usual parking spot in the large parking garage right off of the University Avenue strip.
Meandering towards the strip, it is eerily quiet because of spring break. There is no hustle and bustle. The emptiness is peaceful yet lifeless.
Walking towards the University grounds, explosions of flowers continue around each corner. In the desert, we lack this kind of color much of the year, so to walk across a soft green blanket of grass surrounded by flowers under the crisp blue sky, is a delight.
We spot a bench under a row of trees near a quiet street. We sit and people watch some more, giggling as we tell each other stories about each person we see. Who they are, what they do for a job and what they enjoy doing for fun. Most stories are absurd and strange, but we laugh until we lose our breath anyway.
Early afternoon creeps in, and we feel the exhaustion of a full morning creep over us. We have been out for quite some time.
Heading back toward University Avenue we have full intentions of getting back to the parking garage to find our car, but become distracted walking past an Art store. We look at each other, grinning sheepishly, and head in.
In the store, we are inspired. We look at, and want everything.
Craving an outlet of colorful creativity to savor the days worth of nature, we spend more money than expected, excited about taking it all home to experiment with. My daughter with her alcohol markers, and I with my pastels and paper.
Finally home, we release shoes from our sore feet and head to the kitchen island, where we pour the contents of our creative goodie bag.
The rest of the day, recreating and spilling the gifts of nature onto paper in silent, peaceful and full company.