Orange County Nature Writing

Twenty months of sun days—
the succulent battery loses
its green charge.
Prickly pear pads yellow,
seem almost see-through.
Fat dudleya fingertips
sharpen into gray talons.

The leathery ones
gathered on north slopes—
laurel sumac, toyon,
lemonade berry—
fold up some, wait
for the clouds to call.

Shorter members
of the south-facing mosaic
shrug off their shriveled
leaves—California sagebrush,
brittlebush, monkey flower?
It's hard to recognize skeletons.

Twenty months—
2.2 inches of rain.
Drop, storms,
swing south for a while—
we are rattled by the Santa Ana winds.
We want our fat shadows back.

Prickly pear at Santiago Oaks Regional Park.