Saguaros In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
— Paulo Coelho
Ventana Canyon — Images by kenne (Click On Any Image for Slideshow View)
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area– Image by kenne
Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used.
— Hunter S. Thompson
Sabino Canyon Saguaros — Image by kenne
— Paulo Coelho
Lower Ventana Canyon (02/20/15) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Bighorn Fire has been burning for days in Ventana Canyon.
I love hiking in this beautiful narrow canyon. The lower part of
this canyon contains a lot of desert plants, such as the saguaro cactus.
This Sonoran Desert signature cactus is not adaptive to fire.
Thousands have already been destroyed by the Bighorn Fire.
It may take hundreds of years to return, if at all. Sad, very sad.
— kenne
Ventana Canyon (Note Invasive Grass in the Foreground) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Saguaros In Sabino Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit,
and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.
A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild,
the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins
and betraying the principle of civilization itself.”
Saguaro Cactus Forest — Image by kenne
— kenne
Saguaro Cactus (Sabino Canyon Recreation Area) — Black & White Image by kenne
— Ansel Adams
Tall Saguaro Cactus In Sabino Canyon — High Contrast B&W Photo by kenne
Legion of Saguaros (Sabino Canyon Recreational Area) — Image by kenne
A Legion Of Saguaros In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Over the years, I have called groups of saguaros everything from a group, grove, and family.
Recently I was told that the correct term is “legion.” So, here you have it.
— kenne
“See You On The Trail” (Saguaro National Park, 01/03/20) — Image by kenne
— kenne
A “Nurse Tree” In Sabino Canyon — Images by kenne
2020 is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) as the year to honor nurses and midwives to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale who is considered the founder of modern nursing. Nurses and midwives are vital to providing health services to our communities. These people are devoting their lives to caring for mothers and children, giving lifesaving immunizations and health advice, looking after older people, and generally meeting everyday essential health needs. And they are often the first and only point of care, yet the world needs 9 million more nurses and midwives if it is to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
The vital role of the nurse becomes a metaphor for those of us (Sabino Canyon Volunteer Nationalists) involved in teaching elementary school children about the importance and survival of saguaros in Sabino Canyon and the Sonoran Desert.
SCVN member, Debbie Bird, telling third graders about the “Nurse Tree.”
(She also got the attention of an elderly couple visiting Sabino Canyon.)
Often, for young saguaros to survive, they are located near another faster-growing tree that shelters the slower-growing plant by providing shade, shelter from the wind and sun, or protection from animals that may feed on the young plant. Such a plant is called a nurse tree. A metaphor easily understood by the children in conveying the important relationship between the tree and the saguaro. They get it!
— kenne
“Even though they’re dead, they are not gone — trees find a way to help each other out postmortem.”
— Allie Wisniewski, American Forests
Cactus Wren — Image by kenne
Lonely wren
high atop a saguaro
resting on spins
no drops of blood
only manipulating
carefully while
coolly surveying
the desert floor
against a cloudless sky.
— kenne
Saguaro Buds In Sabino Canyon (January 7, 2020) — Image by kenne
The top part of this saguaro has died while the arms have new buds months before
saguaros typically bloom in April. The one thing we have learned about nature is that it
can be unpredictable.
— kenne
