Flowers Dancing

Water cascades down a channel emerging from a lake in Newberry Caldera, creating a ribbon of liquid that graces the parched earth. Paulina Creek appears wrapped in a garland of summer wildflowers that invite us to slow down and appreciate the beauty. I am captivated by the desert-like biome that yields to the riparian zone of waterway. There is no dividing line, just a smooth transition from arid to moist.

The flora simply adapts to the shift in moisture content of the soil. Similar species reveal the those adaptations. One version of penstemon appears with numerous small flowers on woody stems, another version has numerous larger flowers on more flexible supports. They are both in the same family but had different upbringing; water starved and water abundant. They dance together within a breath’s distance apart but live in two completely different worlds.

Farther up the stream, we encounter Western Columbine clinging to the bank. They frolic in the mist of waterfalls as they respond to the air currents generated by the cascading water. I wonder if they ever tire. I suspect the flowers are accustomed to it and develop stronger stems to continue their unhindered dance. Nature seems to be urging me to do the same, to grow stronger with age and embrace the changes. I wish to dance physically or, at least symbolically, unabated until my final breath.