Richard Robertson Nature 2

Red sky

The dark red smog clouded my view of the city of Phoenix as I sat atop a large hill to the west. It was a calm morning in late November. The sun had yet to rise and so the temperature remained perfect for a hike in the Nature preserve that stood behind my uncle's home. The cacti stood tall upon the ridge line and hikers moved like ants descending the switchback trials that secured the peaks to the lower valley. I was lost for a moment caught in a world away from that city of smog. A world were nature survives in this desolate place. Later that day I was playing the role of curious listener as my uncle told stories of the preserve that lay only feet away. He told of a cactus I had pointed out on the hill as we return down the trial. He informed me that that one plant was   could be nearly 150 years old. As a child I was set at awe, looking back I still am. To think of this saguaro as a silent sentinel watching over its valley as it was slowly destroyed by urbanization. Yet, it was able to survive high above the valley on the protective hills it calls home. This only shows to me how beautiful nature is and how fast it can be taken if not protected.