EMBRACING THE HERE AND NOW Finding the silver linings. A photo essay by Sarah King

Embracing the Here and Now Finding the silver linings Photo essay by Sarah King

Here at the King’s Anvil, in the southern reaches of Arizona, our day-to-day lives have been less affected than the lives of many others — the benefit of living and working on a ranch. When COVID-19 arrived, we were already accustomed to having a little less social contact, making limited grocery runs, and cooking creatively. We are fortunate that the ranch work has continued relatively unchanged and that the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance — a collaborative conservation nonprofit comprised of local farms and ranches, of which we are a founding member — was already well established, with employees working remotely. Nonetheless, we still feel the pandemic’s effects. We spent the spring, summer, and fall asking the same questions as the rest of the world: How does this virus spread? How do we protect people? When will it go away? We canceled the ranch’s 125th anniversary party in April and like everyone else, we missed numerous other occasions where we would have gathered with family and friends. Although change was forced upon us unexpectedly, there were silver linings. We adapted the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance’s meetings to the new virtual world, which brought the unexpected reward of being able to reach those partners, flung far and wide, that we do not interact with on a regular basis. We celebrated my husband’s fortieth birthday with fewer people than we would have, but with no less cake, party blowers, and festivity. I took more photos of the spring wildflowers this year than usual, in an effort to celebrate the everyday. In the moments of uncertainty and darkness, resilience has meant letting go of what was supposed to be and embracing the small moments of joy.

Right: The majority of our routine on the ranch hasn’t changed since the onset of the pandemic. Many days still end with us unsaddling in front of the tack room. Left: These three photos were taken in early March, just before the state shutdowns. We had friends visiting from out of town, and the virus was making headlines. At that moment it had yet to have a direct impact on us, and we had little understanding of what the rest of the spring would bring. This spring brought us a spectacular show, as flowers in a multitude of colors bloomed across

the ranch.

Despite recent upheaval in the world, spring and summer included plenty of beautiful moments. Our kids have reached ages where they tag along more easily on long days on the ranch. Evelyn took over one of my husband’s old horses this spring and did some of her first short solo rides. George was eager to join any time he could. Mixed in with the picturesque moments on the landscape were plenty of Zoom calls for the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance. This is the Alliance’s 25th anniversary year, and it was great to see how past years invested in relationships allow conservation work to continue seamlessly via technology.

Summer in Arizona can be a trying time in the best of circumstances: heat and the waiting game for monsoons. This summer also saw Arizona go through a spike in COVID-19 cases in June and July. We received one good storm toward the end of July and another bit in August, but overall, the summer monsoons never arrived. The fall remained dry, and as December gets underway, we are still waiting on moisture.