The Sonoran Desert is defined by its living things. In this desert, plant and animal have adapted for more than survival.
This desert is the traditional and ancestral land of more than 22 indigenous tribes. I reside in and across the spaces of the Akimel O’odham, Piipaash, Yavapai Apache, O’odham Jewed, Hohokam, Xawiƚƚ Kwñchawaay, Hualapai and Diné peoples.
I consider myself of this landscape more than any of the shapes I know to say I’m “from,” someone who straddles the rim of the Colorado Plateau. It is the easiest way I know how to define myself: a desert girl.
Yet, the Sonoran Desert is a particular type of magic. It clings, barb-like, to words like “lush,” “subtropical,” and “diverse,” still desert it remains: dry and hot and not known for its welcoming. The people who are from and of this space know how to step to avoid burrs, foxtails and cholla. We know to care for water as a precious thing. We know heat, what it touches, and what not to touch ourselves. We also know this space for what it is: a sacred shape, a monsoon churn, an incantation bowl.
Much of my creative work explores the impact of place and landscape on the creatures that live in its folds and creases. As a third generation Arizonan, a third generation Sonoran Desert Dweller, the desert and its magic lives, unbridled in me and therefore my writing.
The photos that make up this website are my own and from places that, to me, carry a particular enchantment :
The “Homepage” photo is of Bartlett Reservoir after late spring rains that turn to snow at the tips of the mountains.
The “Published Works” photo is from the edge of the Mogollon Rim, looking down toward Oak Creek Canyon.
The “Contact” photo is at the bank of the Salt River, near my favorite bluffs.
The photo on this page looks down from the edge of the Mogollon Rim overlooking where the Tonto and Coconino National Forests meet.