Technically, the country in which Alice Springs sits really is a desert environment.
It is, however, far from barren.
Central Australia is beautifully vegetated – botanically “rich”, not “poor”.
Trees and flowers are not its only beautiful plants.
Photo is copyright Doug Spencer, taken a little south of Alice Springs at 8.38 am on 15 June 2023, which was a typically crisp and lovely Central Australian winter day.
Clicking this will give you some idea of how grass-rich is this region.
Musical bonus
Julian Lage is one of very few virtuoso guitarists who are equally expressive with either an acoustic or an electric instrument.
(Not a few “top shelf” guitarists are capable players of both, but most are obviously a more eloquent player of one or the other. Consider, for example, Eric Clapton and John Renbourn: each is/was a deft player of the other’s primary instrument, but it is patently obvious that Eric is primarily an electric guitarist, whereas John was most especially a singular acoustic player)
Generally, on any one album, Julian Lage plays one or the other, throughout.
His most recent release, however, features both electric and acoustic guitars, and two guitar heroes; on Julian Lage’s The Layers Bill Frisell also plays on all but one cut
“This World” is a Julian Lage original, lovingly interpreted by Julian and Bill, “unplugged”.
Fortuitously, this American duet sits very well with a Central Australian “desert” morning: