Sol y Sombra
Short Stories From The Sonoran Desert
by Steve Brown
Signed by author
199 pages
Tiny Island Publishing

The youngest of four children, Steve Brown was born in the 1940s and grew up on a cattle ranch in the Sonoran Desert.  In 2007 Steve was struck by a major physical disability that led to a long hospitalization, followed by an extended recovery period.  These stories emereged during his recovery process.



"Tacho and I first met one day in June, in the gun shop across the street from the Frontier Hotel.”
 
“Near the corral it was all cholla.  As we set out up the ridge, prickly pear cacti clustered close by the trail, first big flat green paddles, with buds hinting at their lemon yellow blossoms, then smaller purple prickly pears, with flowers the color of ripe peaches in the sun.  Higher, tiny rainbow cactus and bright turquoise pincushions sprung from cracks in the quartz rock of the ridge, their delicate flowers hiding tiny barbed spines.  Hedgehog cactus peeked from sheltered nooks where they got more sun than wind.
 
What soil remained on the steep south face blended subtly from gray toward red the higher we climbed.  Hummingbirds defended their territory, startling the horses as they flashed green and gold across the trail.  Century plants danced overhead.
 
If snakes saw u pass, they stayed hidden and quiet.”