The Two Faces of Mother Nature

When you picture Mother Nature, does she have a kind, benevolent face?  I picture her dressed in flowing robes, tenderly caring for colorful, fragrant flowers in the garden.

But yesterday I saw the evil twin of Mother Nature when high winds, with gusts up to 50 mph, visited my home town of El Paso, Texas.

The winds should not have been a great surprise to anyone who is familiar with springtime in the Desert Southwest. We can't escape our typical seasonal weather pattern, with temperatures warming up to the 80's to tease us, followed by cold fronts moving in to drop temperatures and stir up clouds of dust.

But when I awoke this morning, Mother Nature had been extremely mischievous in our front and back yards.

A large yucca plant had blown over and was blocking the front steps to the house.

The chinaberry tree, that I had been checking every day for signs of its heavenly scented blossoms, had cracked, and one of its large limbs had fallen over a walkway. 

Not too pretty, Mother Nature!  But she had also left delights in the garden this springtime.

A large Wallflower "Bowled Mauve" (Erysimum) that I thought had died during our long, hot summer, came back to life, putting out purple spikes in all directions.

A very large Cassia shrub in the pool yard has been a mass of aromatic yellow blossoms for at least three weeks now, perfuming the whole area, especially if we are lucky enough to have a hint of moisture in the air.

Climbing roses against a stone wall are an early springtime delight and are always good for a sweet whiff as you pass by. 

But maybe the plants I truly respect are the rough, tough native plants that give so much beauty with so little care. Mother Nature must love them.

Such impressive flowers from a small, thorny cactus.

And the gangly creosote bush in the front yard has recently put on a show of small yellow flowers. Creosote bushes (Larrea tridentata) are well known in the Desert Southwest for emitting an aroma similar to that of witch hazel after a spring shower. This must have been the year for creosotes, because we have probably twenty volunteer plants on our property.  I'm not going to chop down a one.   

I may have to modify my image of Mother Nature, realizing that she (like all of us, I suppose) occasionally has a bad day and puts on her ugly face.

I'm hoping she stays in a good mood until summer  arrives, bringing us long,leisurely days, colorful sunsets, and cool desert evenings.