How about this: Cloudless skies of deepest blue Hold the fiery, withering orb. (Withering is often pronounced as 2 syllables instead of 3, so it might work.) A little nitpick: the Sonoran desert isn't all that barren. (That's where you find saguaros, besides Roadrunner cartoons, that is.) There's a lot of scrub brush around, and unless there's a bad drought, there's a decent amount of green. Just after it rains, there is a wider range of color but the biggest difference to me is how vibrant the colors are. Normally, everything is dusty and slightly faded, but for a short time after the rain, the true depth of the colors are revealed. As an FYI - everything is prickly. Even some of the trees have thorns. (I found that one out the hard way.) If you're interested in some pictures of the area, just let me know. Cheers!