Water in the desert, eight days til Christmas

Desert dreams, watercolor card

I've learned to love the desert, growing up in New Mexico. You're very aware of how fragile life is, of how much life adapts to survive, of the value of water, of a landscape where history and geology are open books--things you forget where there is lots of green and moisture. Only desert dwellers appreciate water and life so much.
 It tells you something about Jesus and where he was raised that he would say
"but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."  --(John 4-14)
The land is raw and eternally changing and beautiful, and scarce water becomes even more beautiful. Those who adapt are also often raw and beautiful and survive and use the earth, whether adobe from the earth, or springs, or acequias or lessons learned from the ancients. 
In cold winters the only colors are the whites and blues of the snow, the earthen tones of the bones of the land and adobe, and the deep blues of the sky and the rare water.