"THOUGHTS FROM THE SONORAN DESERT"

By Levi Brake, guest writer

Here it is almost May already and I'm still down here

at Ajo, living the good life.

This has been a strange spring for this area.The initial 

forecast was for a wet winter and early summer. Only 

partially correct, as we found out.

We had an exceptionally dry winter which resulted in

almost no desert flowers as the Ajo lily and the orange

Mexican poppies this year. In a good year they will carpet

the desert floor in many areas.

However the cacti are blooming well, just not as profusely

as they  usually do. Ah,well. We take what we can get when 

it comes to the weather, I s'pose.

It's still not hot here so I reckon I'll stay in Ajo until it gets 

that way before making the short trip up north to P.V. for

the summer.

It does get rather lonely here in late spring when all the

"snow birds" leave and head home back up north 

somewhere, but that's okay. I have friends in town who 

are year-round residents and I go down and visit with 

them  at the Elks Lodge several times a week.

My cleaning lady came in this morning talking about all 

the "pajaros de nieve" who have left. She's straight out 

of Mexico and doesn't speak much English, so I have a 

chance to practice my Spanish.

I am constantly amazed that people can live in an area

like this and not even try to learn Spanish, but very few

of the locals of non-Spanish descent do. "Ay, que gringos

estupidos".

Every morning I scatter bird seed on the ground in the

arroyo behind my house and then sit up on the back 

porch and watch the doves, quail, and rabbits try to outdo

each other before it's all gone.

A few days ago I watched a mama quail leading a brood

of eight chicks down the path out back. I don't know where 

they were going but they completely ignored all the other

critters eating the seed I had scattered. I think mama must

have thought her young 'uns were too fragile to mix it up

with the big boys.

We haven't seen any fox or bobcats around here for several

months which explains why the rabbit numbers have been 

increasing, I reckon. Coyotes and javelinas we have always 

have with us, it seems. Neither one of those seems the least

afraid of humans although the coyotes are always shy.

It has been a good winter here in Ajo and I am happy each 

day when I wake up on the right side of the grass. I sometimes

worry a bit and wonder how life will be for my kids when they 

reach their eighties...

I might have mentioned to you that there is only one place in 

the world I haven't seen and that I would like to visit, and that

is Australia.  Now I am "getting long in the tooth" and almost 

hesitate to try a long trip that far.

I have never been much of a tourist. I have turned down more

offers to visit world famous sites than you can imagine. My 

interest in visiting other places is to get to know the people

and their ways.

I reckon it's about time to wind this down. You take care, Pard,

and keep up the good work with your wordsmithing. You do

some nice stuff. Who'd a thunk it back in '51?

****************

Ajo Lily

BY E. LEVI BRAKE

CLOVIS HIH SCHOOL, 1951

FOR MIL'S PLACE