Is it Spring Already? In February?

The past week has been absolutely beautiful in my corner of Arizona, Picture Rocks. As I drive the road into Tucson the purple lupine-like wildflowers are carpeting the sides of the road.

On one day it was just a blanket of golden flowers, with their bright yellow color flowing through the desert floor in contrast to the upright saguaros and prickly cactus.

Then the next day the purple bloomed as a surprise, and little bushes of pink buckwheat like flowers appeared. Finally little white daisy like flowers were sprinkled  throughout the purple.  I keep waiting for a really cold snap to bring reality back. So far so good. The beauty of the desert is still all around me.

The photo historian in me wants to pull over with all the other gawkers to capture this mid winter phenomenon. There is no way February 18th thru 29th is Spring! Tell that to the thousands who descend upon Tucson for the International Soccer Team's games (just ask David Beckham) or the hundred thousand who watched famous golfers from all over the world in the Accenture Match Play week long series of World Championship Golf games at the Ritz Carlton, Dove Mountain in Marana (last year the golfers woke up to snow on the ground.)

What are the locals doing during this fortunate spell of great weather? They are attending the annual Vaqueros Rodeo Days. Even the little guys, "bust mutton" riding on large sheep to compete. Only in Tucson is President's day NOT a school holiday, but the Thursday and Friday of Rodeo Week is!!!

As a BEE in this desert, I am right at home with nature's surprise of riotous color all around. The wildflowers (some say weeds) have finally found their way into my backyard, covering the normal dirt, sand and rocks. They have begun to go to seed and have died back from around the front of my driveway. So I've got to get out the hula hoe to knock them down; and begin clearing the "weeds."

Clearing the weeds from my thinking, too; maybe I can focus on the symbolic desert called cyber space. Now, instead of roads in the wilderness, I can concentrate on links (that may soon be disappearing according to blogger James Tanner) into the world wide web. Now instead of looking up at the clouds passing over head on the winds of this morning's cold front passing through, perhaps I can learn about THE CLOUD and what it means to genealogy.

It may not be Spring on the calendar yet, but there is a spring in my step and a time of new beginnings in my search of the scriptures. Now to begin my journey into my series on "A Genealogist Looks at Isaiah."