The world is all about dichotomy, isn’t it? Case in point: the landscape of Joshua Tree National Park.
I’ve written before about the attractive but aggressive cholla cactus, and at Joshua Tree there’s a whole garden of them. (I captured these images on the Cholla Cactus Garden Trail.)
So pretty! But don’t get too close, because those fuzzy-looking little nuggets are actually ninja-style spine bombs.
This genuinely fuzzy friend knows to keep some distance.
It was hot during the day (mid- to upper-80s) so I got out every morning for a hike. I’m not much of a morning person – at least, as in joining the world in the morning – but, surprise, it’s actually worth it to get up and out this early. Sometimes.
This was another example of dichotomy – an actual oasis in the desert, on the Fortynine Palms Oasis trail.
The spooky yet beautiful scene at the top of Ryan Mountain.
Barrel cactus putting on a colorful show.
And of course, the park’s namesake. Desolation and spiny elegance in the Joshua tree.
There are a few dirt roads in the park where you can walk dogs, and I found this lone Joshua tree on one of those with Sam. I made it with my iPhone and, as usual, wished I’d had the foresight to bring the Sony or Pentax. But, alas.
What’s your favorite example of dichotomy? (And when was the last time someone asked you this?) Let us know in the comments.
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6 Comments
First, I look up dichotomy, then having an understanding of Bipartitionism, I can answer by observation my favorite dichotomy. As always I turn to the books I am current in and oblige with a reference. Impudence, not showing due respect for an individual. Reading Chinese fairy tales gathered in the 1860’s, I come across the tale of the family that posted the sign No Sorrow. When this struck a magistrate queerly, and he challenged the family, This dichotomy arose as a test to wisdom being assailed. If I stand in the threshold of the doorway, am I going in or coming out, certainly I am doing one or the other, as wise a witness as I am the Dichotomy of the current action being frozen at a point in time can be that of the measurement of time, we are only ever present in the moment when we are neither looking back at our past, our eagerly into our future and simply forever living in the present. Clearly the cat tail becomes the bulrush when the wind blows through it sending the dandelion like seedling scattered. A Dichotomy of naming conventions example: Jumbo shrimp, …pretty ugly. That last one I squeezed out of my coworkers when asking for an Oxymoron. Idiot Savant when observed may actually be Autistic Genius, sadly anyone on a spectrum could be classified as being bullied with a label. I wish labels were just sticky Post Its, they say what they are but they fall off after a while. currently reading Chinese Fairy Tales: Forty Stories Told by Almond-Eyed Folk. Second book: 6 books by William Atkinson by William Walker Atkinson.
Rob, do you write poetry? If you don’t, I think you should. I always appreciate your comments here.
Deonne, thank you for sharing these fascinating photos! I have never visited Joshua Tree National Park but hope to tent camp there in 2018 or 2019. I enjoyed all of your photos, but I adored the gleaming light on the Cholla’s thorns in your sunrise photo. When I camp at Joshua Tree, I will definitely hike the Cholla Cactus Garden Trail at sunrise in order to view the extraordinary dichotomy between the graceful, flowing clouds and the sharp, threatening cholla thorns!
Clint, it’s my pleasure! I’m so glad you liked them AND that you’re planning a visit in the near future. I like that sunrise cholla shot too, and it’s as if the cacti are reaching up to the sun as a welcome.
very outstanding photos – thanks
My pleasure, Ron, thank you!