Seen and Heard in El Paso, TX Today

Tumbleweeds happen during an El Paso winter. Usually they scoot across the highway in front of you, sometimes embedding themselves in your car's grille. It takes quite a while to pull the sticks from your radiator. Usually by the end of Summer you have picked the last straws out of your engine. This specimen greeeted me this morning in the backyard.

Heard in church this morning: "As the least of us is suffering, so are we all." Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, when Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. When approached by Jesus for baptism, John was astounded, even incredulous. Who was he to baptize the messiah? Jesus made it clear that the baptism must be performed, because it was the right order of things. What humility and deep passion for God John must have felt at that moment. Can you imagine how his spirit soared as he poured the water from the Jordan over Jesus, and how his hands must have trembled when he laid them on Jesus' head, baptizing him in the name of God? I hope to think of that experience this week and apply it in my life.

From my backyard I can see Mt. Cristo Rey, which towers above the U.S.-Mexico boundary with Texas and New Mexico. At its peak is a 42-foot tall crucifix, carved by Urbici Soler, a Spaniard living in Mexico City, in 1937. The monument stands for goodwill between the U.S. and Mexico. It is often referred to as the "Christ of the Rockies." Last year on Good Friday I did a pilgrimage to the top of Cristo Rey. One can perform the stations of the cross along the way.








Here is a picture I took at the summit.

Lastly, here is a fishhook barrel cactus that I rescued from an arroyo that was being developed here in El Paso last year. I scaled a fairly steep embankment and popped this guy out, then carried it about a half mile back to the truck. It was a labor of love let me tell you. The local plant rescue folks in El Paso do a great job of saving plants that are about to be destroyed due to construction in the desert. This lettle fella seems to be adapting to domestic life. If you want to know all about this formidable cactus, this is a great site to visit. I have several species of rescued cactus in my yard, as well as some ocotillo and flowers that are native to the surrounding, beautiful, Chihuahuan Desert.