Bright overhead sky showered sunlight down on the leftover remnants of the city. No humidity. Only the endless knitting of sweltering days bleeding into each other. Simone’s straw hat kept it from blinding her. The goggles helped, too, but cloud coverage would be better. Rain would be a blessing.
She searched for leafy plants. They indicated a water source the plants need for those big leafy greens. The demise of native grasses meant cattle starved until they died out. A few goats provided milk and meat. The Chihuahuan Desert expanded. The biodiversity declined and soon the landscape water and recharge the crucial aquifers and pools.
The suburbs and the desert collided. The desert won. Without vegetation to hold the soil in place, sand and dust blew freely in the winds.
The hike to the
