It seldom does rain in our part of Baja, the Bahia de Los Angeles, or the other east-coast central-peninsula villages. They, both the villages and the rains, are few and far between; and they are usually small; small in population and in measurable amounts of rain. The land is very dry and the settlements sparse. I have been paying a small attention to cactus as I have more attention to focus on here, at times. I have the availability of whatever it takes to observe and ponder. I like to do those things and in that order.
Some of the cacti have shapes that readily enable almost elastic expansion. I can't find the correct term as my cactus book is too far to the south and I am north of the frontera for just a moment.
The cacti I refer to are ones that have accordion-like circumferences. You can look at them and imagine how they could absorb, breathe, through what I would think of as capillary action, a great deal of infrequent, momentarily-available rain water in a short period and expend it to their extremities, whatever those might be, over an extended dry period and as they know best.
Then I read of and have forever experienced Elephant Trees. They are balsawood-like. They make poor firewood. This probably serves well for their survival. I know just from common sense that, even though there are several species, they are designed to absorb water when it is available, to dispense it with care for the core like the cacti, the soul, of the entire tree. When there is no water for a period where the cacti or tree cannot support all its responsibilities, its limbs, tributaries, how does it determine which subordinate elements to shut down? There is a basic principle out there, something that must be known to the plant that I don't know. How will I ever be able to figure it out? It's such a vague question and most won't care. But some will.
The more we understand of our world, of our universe, the more we can put our heads and hearts into other organic and even non-organic elements, the more we can help. Help, I ask myself? What are we helping?
Who knows? But it gets me through the day. And what does it hurt to think of other living beasts and what we think of as rocks and sand?
How did we get here and how do we now all work together? How can we improve our systems?
A big question, I think.