Bosque

Bosque: Forest

New Mexico is a desert. It's lovely. 

The Rio Grande runs through the middle of Albuquerque. The river these days is shrunken and probably not entitled to the name of river, let alone a grand river. Still, geographically the river has played an important role and the effects are easily visible.
One of the most beautiful parts of the Rio Grande is the Bosque. Bosque is a Spanish word meaning "woodlands." In the Southwest, a bosque is the collection of trees growing along a riparian flood plain. Usually the trees are cottonwoods. 
The Bosque provides an ever changing to an otherwise brown landscape.* In spring the trees bloom and unfurl at different paces, a wave of reawakening. In summer the bosque and its towering branches provide shade in the face of the hot 100 degree sun. In the fall, the trees look like they're on fire in the crisp blue sky; their arms reaching toward the fading sun.

All those adjectives. Barf. Still, they do nothing to capture the essence of the bosque.
The following pictures are from this past fall - forget the adjectives and see for yourself.

Cottonwoods in Fall

Color

Reach for the sky

Sunflower

Make a wish

And a selfie for good measure.

My hair matches the colours.

*For the record: I don't think New Mexico is brown. There are amazing greens, purples, and blues here. I'd even argue it is one of the most colourful places I've ever been. There aren't tons of green trees covering up the other plants and their colors. 
Purple was once the color of royalty ("History, Shellfish, Royalty, and the Color Purple
Jul 1, 2002 12:00 PM, Dr. Richard M. Podhajny, Ph.D. Contributing Editor) and I say New Mexico has enough shades of purple to make it the most royal place on earth.