A favorite pastime is imagining what the creosote flats might have looked like where I live, before they got paved over. Such a long-lived community of plants, spreading horizon-to-horizon in every direction, makes it something like a city itself. I am fortunate to live near a fragment of creosote scrub.
Somewhat unrelated… but I recently learned of Tu’er Shen, the Rabbit God, a Chinese deity who is the patron of gay love. That led me down a websearch hole that ended with me watching a short film called Kiss of the Rabbit God, which I like a whole lot (Warning for injury and blood, if you intend to watch.)
So, I have had hares and rabbits on my mind. I’m well-acquainted with our local desert cottontails (Sylvilagus audubonii), but I rarely get to meet black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) in the wild. Something about the prominent iris and sclera of hares makes them very arresting. They’re tied with mockingbirds as “SW desert animals that would most likely be a part of the greek chorus” to me.
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This piece is available as a postcard print.
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