https://www.wtmconservancy.org/about-us/local-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona-Sonora_Desert_Museum
Desert Flora and fauna
“These plants include: yuccas, ocotillo, turpentine bush, prickly pears, false mesquite, sotol, ephedras, agaves and brittlebush. The animals include small nocturnal (active at night) carnivores. The dominant animals are burrowers and kangaroo rats. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles and birds.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro
The Saguaro comes alive to me…
“Saguaros have been a source of food and shelter for humans for thousands of years. Their sweet red fleshed fruits are turned into syrup by native peoples, such as the Tohono Oʼodham and Pima. Their ribs are used as building materials in the wood-poor deserts. The saguaro cactus is a common image in Mexican culture and American Southwest films.”
The Saguaro cactus stands tall in the Sonora. I see its watchful eyes protecting the desert valley, providing sustenance to all living things, including mankind.
The Sonora sustains life the same as the Ocean, I believe. See how the desert is teeming with life, as does the sea.
Look closely at the Saguaro, and listen to the sounds of wildlife and Native American flute music from afar. Can you Hear the spirits singing from the top of the White Tank range?
When I gaze at the White Tank Mountains and meditate in silence, the spirits move my soul. My mind imagines life in the Sonora long before the white man settled here.
This was a time when agriculture took hold in the desert from vast aquifers. Natives learned to bring water to the desert floor to grow and harvest the bounty.
I imagine too how Native American life and culture may have been back then. I see beautiful people living in peace, building a thriving community, with a spirit of kindness and love.
“Most of the petroglyphs in the White Tank Mountains are attributed to the Western Archaic culture. These desert nomads roamed the area prior to the Hohokam, perhaps as early as 2000 B.C. This rock art style is abstract and includes lines, squiggles, sets of circles, concentric circles and gridiron patterns.”
