On the lower flank of the trail, the afternoon sun accentuates the gray lifeless-looking soil (dirt) that magically supports life – sagebrush, yucca, juniper. Higher up, cured grasses sway with the breeze and the yellow lace of broomweed outlines the trail edges on this autumn day. Just off the trail, a normally drab-colored shadscale shrub has metamorphosed into a dusty-rose hue. I wander closer to admire its refined color. As I turn back around, I peek up at the Colorado blue sky. It faithfully beams back deep shades of indigo that quickly wrap around my head and shoulders. The embrace sinks into my skin, melts down into my heart. I close my eyes, revel in the moment. Peace enters every pore. Unexpectedly, my world softens; everything now fresh and new.
The trail turns down and southeast where golden blooms of rabbitbrush steal the scene. How does this gray, lifeless dirt encourage this vibrant hue? The color is magnetic and fills some part of me that I didn’t recognize was starved for just this. Closer in, I examine the mounds of soft cottony yellow-gold that crown the four-foot shrubs. Mulling over the scene, I picture an official Paint-Color-Naming Specialist sanctioning the tint, Imperial Gold.
I’ve been semi-consciously noticing Imperial Gold all over the valley and outside the valley, this fall. The color has registered somewhere in a neural network, but I’ve not been awake enough to validate it or muse on it, until today. I have long appreciated rabbitbrush even though it was (maybe still is) considered a bit of a menace on public lands. Public land management accommodating livestock interests have tried to eradicate rabbitbrush as it is inedible to livestock. Urban landscapers, though, have caught onto the aesthetic qualities of the shrub and it is now being prescribed in drought-resistant landscaping. In fact, there are three of a dwarf variety planted in front of our home.
Back on point… Imperial Gold, or rabbitbrush, has been heckling me this autumn – tapping me on the shoulder for several weeks, crying, “Look at me, look at me!” Finally, on this autumn day, I am now receptive and take moment to consider the golden glory. The rabbitbrush softly says, “If you listen closely, I’ve something to tell you!” I am now captive. My ears perk up and I strain to hear. I anxiously wait and as last, Imperial Gold whispers faintly, but loud enough to hear –
I’ve stayed the course
I’ve endured the heat of the day, the cold of night
Coped with both drought and too much rain
Wind that could tear me out of the ground
I’ve fought the good fight
These things made me strong
And now it is my time to blossom
I am whole
I am complete
I offer my glory to the world
