The Beauty of the Desert

It is difficult to find words to describe the clash between the amazing beauty of the desert and the unspeakable suffering that occurs there. It was hard to really make sense of, like many things this summer...
Every single sunrise and sunset was breathtaking. I took this one from the best sunrise-watching spot of all, the camp toilet :-) In the ghost town of Ruby, one and a half million bats live inside an empty mountain; they leave every night to hunt insects.
A barrel cactus bloom. During the monsoon season, which begins in July, everything turns green and flowers... the desert is transformed.
This peak, called Baboquivari, is on the Tohono O'odham nation, to the west of Arivaca and of our camp. It is sacred in their tradition.

Yosemite!

It doesn't matter how many times I go to Yosemite, each time I am completely blown away again. I think it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
While we were there we saw a bobcat, a mother bear with a cub, and a meteor shower! It was amazing.

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Is Marie stuck in that rock?
Are Annie and Marie really pulling that rock apart?
Who is that long person?

I Love my Sisters!

I don't have any of Emily or Kate, but I love them, too!! Doesn't Lia look funny in this one - she seems to be slipping out of the picture and very skeptical about it.

My favorite picture of the summer

What a Summer!

Well, here I am back in DC! I'm sitting at a window in the library on campus, overlooking the quad and the scores of bright-eyed freshmen wandering about, reflecting on how they seem to get younger every year. I am still in the process of finding a place to live - hopefully in the next few days. It is good to be back... what a wonderful summer I had, though! Fun in Santa Cruz, and down in Irvine with Em, Eric, and Clare, two months in the desert in Arizona, a trip to San Diego, a few days at the Farm, and Yosemite!!! Wow. I have so many pictures I want to share from the past few months, so I think I will just write random, non-chronological posts as I have time. So here goes...

Lia!!!

Where to begin after not posting for nearly three months? With Lia, of course! Isn't she amazing? She is very sleepy in the first picture, and you can see the end result. Tonight Auntie Kate and I went over to her house (to make a chocolate cake!), and she was so excited that she could hardly contain herself when we arrived. She alternated between crawling from one to the next of us at top speed (she tucks one leg under her while she crawls, which makes her look like an adorable baby crab), giving little growls, and trying to stand up while grinning ear to ear. She is the most lovable little creature ever.

Now that I am out of the desert and have access to a computer, I will definitely post some of my photos and reflections from this summer. Here, at least, is a beginning!