A hot, sandy stretch of barren gray land - that was the desert to me. But when Isaw it up close, at my grandparents' home in Arizona, my perception changedcompletely. The beauty was unforgettable.

Here in New England we aredazzled by the changing colors of fall leaves. Green, burnt orange, goldenrod andan array of other colors transform the leaves of the mighty oak and maple. ButNature does not wear itself out here; it reserves a large dose of beauty for theSouthwest.

New England's fall colors are always present in the earth ofthe desert. Golden-browns, brick-reds and rusty oranges abound in the soil andclay. The mountains blaze with these colors, too. The twin buttes that grace thelandscape near my grandparents' home change colors with the evolving daylight.This transformation is magical.

As if all these don't contribute enough tothe beauty of the desert, the animals also add color. Many brightly coloredlizards and snakes call the Sonoran home. There are also many birds and rodentswhose scurrying and flight add blurs of color.

The plants that dot theland are like none in New England. The mighty saguaro cactus's long arms castgray-blue shadows across the sandy soil, and when in bloom, add even more colorand beauty with their pink, orange and yellow flowers.

While theNortheast and the Southwest are as different as night and day in terms of climateand landscape, they share a palette of colors created by nature. The SonoranDesert is nature's giant watercolor.






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