A Dead Saguaro in the Darkness of a Full Moon — Image by kenne
The Listeners
Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller, Knocking on the moonlit door; And his horse in the silence champed the grasses Of the forest’s ferny floor: And a bird flew up out of the turret, Above the Traveller’s head: And he smote upon the door again a second time; ‘Is there anybody there?’ he said. But no one descended to the Traveller; No head from the leaf-fringed sill Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes, Where he stood perplexed and still. But only a host of phantom listeners That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight To that voice from the world of men: Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair, That goes down to the empty hall, Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken By the lonely Traveller’s call. And he felt in his heart their strangeness, Their stillness answering his cry, While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf, ’Neath the starred and leafy sky; For he suddenly smote on the door, even Louder, and lifted his head:— ‘Tell them I came, and no one answered, That I kept my word,’ he said. Never the least stir made the listeners, Though every word he spake Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house From the one man left awake: Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup, And the sound of iron on stone, And how the silence surged softly backward, When the plunging hoofs were gone.
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
Crested Caracaras are large birds with wingspans up to four feet. Males and females have the same plumage: a black-topped head, a bare, reddish-orange face, and a white neck. The back and wings are dark browns to black; the legs and talons are yellow. The underside of the wings has white tips. The underside of the blacktail has white at the rump. In-flight, caracaras could be mistaken for black vultures. (Arizona Daily Independent)
Recently, my friend and fellow Sabino CanyonVolunteer Naturalist Ned Harris shared some of his recent
images of crested caracaras. He is an amazing photographer!
Check out Ted’s Flickr account. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ned_harris/
Crested Caracara On A Saguaro — Image by Ned Harris
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.”
“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.
Lower Ventana Canyon (02/20/15) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Ventana Canyon (Note Invasive Grass in the Foreground) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Twin Saguaro Towers — Image by kenne
Crested Caracara — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Crested Caracara On A Saguaro — Image by Ned Harris
A Majestic Saguaro On Photoline Trail, Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Saguaro Cactus — B&W Image by kenne
Arizona Morning Cactus Wren On A Saguaro Cactus — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Saguaros In Sabino Canyon — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Saguaro Cactus Forest — Image by kenne
Saguaro Cactus (Sabino Canyon Recreation Area) — Black & White Image by kenne
“The Squeeze is On” (Saguaro Cactus in Sabino Canyon) — Image by kenne
Morning Sunlight in the Saguaro National Park – East — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Tall Saguaro Cactus In Sabino Canyon — High Contrast B&W Photo by kenne
Twin Towers (Saguaro Cactus’ In Saguaro National Park-East, January 3, 2020)
“See You On The Trail” (Saguaro National Park, 01/03/20) — Image by kenne
![Ebo Pepinensis [Philodromidae] 30x](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/55416272699_ed6c9abbf5_s.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 "Ebo Pepinensis [Philodromidae] 30x")
