Saguaro Sunrise — Image by kenne
“The passage into mystery always refreshes. If, when we work, we can look once a day upon the face of mystery,
then our labor satisfies. We are lightened when our gifts rise from pools we cannot fathom. Then we know they are
not a solitary egotism and they are inexhaustible.”
— Lewis Hyde
Saguaros In the Morning Haze (02-04-13) — Image by kenne
— kenne
“The Squeeze is On” (Saguaro Cactus in Sabino Canyon) — Image by kenne
This saguaro cactus is on the cliff-side of the Bluff Trail in Sabino Canyon.
It’s about two feet long and may have been around for a couple of decades now.
You may think the saguaro has a dilemma, being “stuck between and rock and a hard place.”
The crack in the cliff has provided protection for this young saguaro, so it should
keep on growing for years to come.
— kenne
Persistence — Image by kenne
There’s a thousand “Can’t-be-done-ers”
For the one who says “It can!”
But the whole amount of deeds that count
Is done by the latter clan.
For the “Can’t-be-done-ers” grumble,
And hamper, oppose and doubt,
While the daring man who says “It can!”
Proceeds to work it out.
— from A Thousand To One by Berton Braley
In September of 2011, I titled a post “Why Would Anyone Do This?” There were several Saguaro cactus that were vandalized on the Bear Canyon Trail in Sabino Canyon.
In August of 2015, I posted a follow-up photo-essay on the damaged cactus.
Recently I photograph the cactus that were damaged, again.
— kenne
Images by kenne
Morning Sunrise Along The Trail — Image by kenne
Saguaro Near Bear Canyon Trail — Image by kenne
The Mighty Saguaro
The mighty saguaro,
so majestic and tall,
holds its lifelong secrets
surprising one and all.
The seedling saguaro
begins small and afraid,
hoping it will survive
beneath the nurse plant’s shade.
The tiny saguaro
grows a little each year,
searching for the water
which is precious and dear.
The struggling saguaro
pushes upward for days,
glad it keeps avoiding
a new herbivore’s gaze.
The lucky saguaro
survives the desert heat,
outliving the nurse plant
not knowing of its feat.
The patient saguaro
looks skyward at all hours,
until at age fifty
it produces first flowers.
The giving saguaro
shares its bounty with all
who wait for months on end
for tasty fruits to fall.
The youthful saguaro
knows at seventy-five
that its newly formed arms
keeps desert friends alive.
The aging saguaro
has been a willing friend
to desert’s small creatures
dependent to the end.
The mighty saguaro
grows to fifty feet high,
waiting two hundred years
to almost touch the sky.
— Debbie Emery
Saguaro Scars — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— kenne
Tucson Basin as Viewed from Blackett’s Ridge — Panorama by kenne
— from World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird by
Saguaro Sunrise — Photo-Artistry by kenne
— kenne
Saguaro Cactus (Pistol Hill Trail, January 11, 2019) — Image by kenne
— kenne
The Cloud Above, Death Below — Image by kenne
— kenne
Sun Bathing Saguaro — Image by kenne
― Luis Alberto Urrea, Into the Beautiful North
All Tied Up In Knots — Image by kenne
— kenne
Cactus Wren Grunge Art by kenne
Once in every lifetime
a little bird may come
alone and forgotten
knocked down by the sun.
Every man may choose
to turn and walk away
or take the bird into his hand
and bid him stay.
— from “I’m Strong But I Like Roses” by Ron McKuen
Becoming is Superior to Being 