by Roseann Hanson, Art & Science Program Coordinator

As we approach Solstice in 2020, fierce southern winds are whipping an inferno-like dry heat across the Hill—while literally, across the valley, an inferno churns up the Catalina Mountains toward Summerhaven. The Bighorn Fire is more than 15,000 acres . . . columns of smoke tower over the mountain, dominating the northern horizon.

Work spaces on the hill are still closed, so I look back to last June’s sketches for a visit with our desert- and sub-tropics adapted plants. It’s nice to think of them there, steadfastly blooming and fruiting without our presence.