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“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard … The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

This morning as I read this verse it reminded me of our hike yesterday in the Quebradas Backcountry area east of Socorro, New Mexico. We enjoy hiking in this area because of the lonely, desert scenery and vast open spaces. But in the spring if your eyes are only looking in the distance you will miss a special beauty that is hiding in the dirt and rocks at your feet–spring wildflowers.

The thought of wildflowers for many people would bring to mind fields and valleys covered with a lush carpet of brightly colored blossoms. But living in a desert environment you learn to look for wildflowers with a different perspective. Plants here have a tough go of it in order to survive the dry climate. They cling to life in scattered spots where at first glance you would think that nothing could grow. But when you look closer their abundant beauty is simply astounding. And even more so with the contrast of the brown surrounding desert.

My wildflower sightings were minimal compared to what Lee found and photographed. I walk right past a bit of vegetation thinking it’s not worth looking at but then when I turn around there is Lee on his knees pointing his camera into the barren ground taking a picture. With the advantage of his zoom lens, when he proudly shows me the photograph he’s taken, we both marvel at the delicate intricacy of a beautiful blossom God has tucked away in an insignificant plant.

A couple of photos of distance views in the Quebradas.

Those who know me are probably tired of hearing my opinions this time of year and again in the spring when we adjust our clocks to accommodate “Daylight Savings Time.” If you are one of those people, please pardon me if you’ve heard this before. But what I like to point out is that, as much as we would want to, there is no way that we can “save daylight.” When the idea of Daylight Savings Time was conceived, giving it that name made it easier to get buy-in because it does sound good. If you like doing outdoor activities in the evening it’s great in early March when you suddenly have an extra hour of daylight in the evening after you finish work. But, if like me, you are a morning person and enjoy outdoor activities first thing in the morning, then it’s depressing to look outside and see that it’s still dark when you want to go out.

So, for me, this morning’s run before sunrise was a time of rejoicing that we had set our clocks back yesterday. I no longer had to run my double circuit around the SIPI campus to take advantage of the street lights. The sun wasn’t up yet, but there was enough daylight that I could once again go back out on my run through the Bosque. As I got on the levy road the trees were beginning to glow from the brightness of the sun just about ready to come over the Sandias. Several flocks of cranes flew overhead on their morning flight from bedding down overnight in the river to feeding in the SIPI fields during the day. Crossing the ditch and getting on the road behind SIPI I could see the sun hitting the tops of the golden cottonwood trees up ahead. And, best of all, as I came around the SIPI fields, there was a flock of several dozen cranes chattering and munching in the field.

All of that I would have missed if we were still on Daylight Savings Time. It would have happened after I had finished my run and we were sitting down at breakfast. God’s creatures don’t adjust their meal times and sleep times to accommodate what man decides to use as the current hour on the clock. The only way we will get more daylight is to look forward to December 21 at the winter solstice when the days will once again start to have more daylight hours and less hours of darkness.