The Story Behind the Painting

May 2025 The first morning in Big Bend National Park, we were out early to begin a hike on the Window Trail, in the Chisos Mountains. Steve and I took our time walking, since we both had cameras and were amazed by everything we saw!    One thing I became fascinated with was the many variations in colors of cacti pads.  Not just shades of greens, but there were reds, oranges, purples and pale peach.  Some varieties were hot pink!  Upon further investigation, I learned that cacti may change colors with seasons and can acclimate during drought conditions.  It's a matter of survival.     Five [...]

    I try to walk daily and enjoy seeing the changing landscape of each season.  My husband mows walking paths throughout our pasture, since he knows that I want to see what I'm stepping on.     I have been walking past these mesquite trees all summer and watching the broom weed get higher and higher.  There were some tiny specks of yellow among them the last time I looked.  But on this particular Sunday evening, I was surprised to see that a big patch had burst into bright yellow bloom in the low afternoon sun. The yellows lined the pathway for a long distance. [...]