Dust Devil

Sonoran Summer Morning

Coffee on the patio, early AM, June, as Desert creatures forage for sustenance. Plump Cottontails nibble Prickly Pear and native grasses,  oblivious to feather-bobbing Gambel's Quail darting between patches of vegetation, shaded by thick Mesquites and Creosote. The Chipmunk-like Harris Ground Squirrel scampers up a prickly Cholla stem. A huge Desert Spiny Lizard approaches, eyeing me, unafraid. Butterflies flit and birds sing before the temperature rises.

—Patricia Donnelly

(Editor's note: Yes, we know it isn't summer, but we thought this summer arrival which we never had a chance to publish until now, is a good reminder as you shiver)

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Send Dust Devil submissions to Tucson Weekly, 7225 N. Mona Lisa Road, Suite 125, Tucson, AZ 85741 or mari@tucsonlocalmedia.com. Dust Devils are 70-word short stories, and are due Fridays at Noon. Get busy, Tucson.