Archive for the ‘Saguaro Cactus’ Tag

How Do You Define, “Survivor?”   Leave a comment

Wild Burro Canyon HikeHow Do You Define, “Survivor?” Saguaro High On A Cliff — Image by kenne

 

Life Goes On   Leave a comment

phoneline-trail-0629-blog-framed“Life Goes On” — Image by kenne
(Note Small Saguaro Next to the Dead Saguaro)

A young saguaro cactus usually starts life under the protection of a mesquite or palo verde tree, call a nurse tree. When this two-foot saguaro next to the dead saguaro began life, at least 15 years ago, it was next to a stately saguaro along the Phoneline Trail in Sabino Canyon. Last year the elder saguaro died, leaving behind the young saguaro having provided a well-protected beginning to life.

— kenne

Late Fall In Sabino Canyon   Leave a comment

D500 PhotosLate Fall In Sabino Canyon Near Sabino Creek — Image by kenne

“I know there is no straight road
No straight road in this world
Only a giant labyrinth
Of intersecting crossroads”

–Federico García Lorca

Death On The Trail   Leave a comment

D500 PhotosDeath On the Trail — Image by kenne

This towering Saguaro, close to forty feet, fail across a trail near the Sabino Creek Dam. This big fellow had no arms even though it had to be well over 100 years old. There were no signs of disease so it may have just gotten too big for its root system.

kenne

Saguaro Love   1 comment

Starpass Trail 2012Saguaro Cactus in the Tucson Mountains — Image by kenne

“Ouch, not too close, I don’t want to get a whisker burn!”

A Summer Morning In Sabino Canyon — A Photo Essay   12 comments

This time of year if you are going to spend time in Sabino Canyon, it needs to be early in the morning. It doesn’t take long before the temperature can be in the triple digits — yes, this is Tucson, Arizona.

For a lot of us who love spending time outdoors and hiking, this time of year most of our time is spent up on Mt. Lemmon. Couple that with my trying to spend more time with Joy, except for checking the mail and an occasional meeting, I haven’t been in the canyon lately.

So, this morning after a little jog in the neighborhood, I headed over to Sabino Canyon where I went on an hour and a half hike in and effort to relieve my guilt. 

Barrel Cactus (1 of 1) blog

We are still early in the desert monsoon season, so signs of the heat and dry air are everywhere. (Barrel cactus)

Sabino Creek (1 of 1) blog

Sabino creek is dry . . .

Sabino Creek (1 of 1)-2 blog

. . . and the area above the dam looks like a beach.

Sabino Creek (1 of 1)-3 blog

Down stream from the dam rocks minis water flowing over and around them have taken on different colors.

Squirrels (1 of 1) blog

Even so, there is still plenty of live in the canyon, here two squirrels are cooling themselves in the shade at the creek dam.

Ground Squirrel (1 of 1) blog

Here a busy ground squirrel checking me out before retreating into his cool den.

Saguaro Blossom (1 of 1) blog

A late-blooming Saguaro can occasionally be found.

Desert Marigold (1 of 1) blog

Desert Marigolds . . .

Desert Marigold - Butterfly (1 of 1) blog

. . . attracting butterflies.

Gall (1 of 1) blog

A gall produced by flies that inhabit creosote bushes.

ocotillo (1 of 1) blog

An ocotillo leafed out from an early July rain.

ocotillo (1 of 1)-2 blog

Another ocotillo surrounded by prickly pear cactus whose fruit is beginning to turn red.

Prickly Pear Fruit (1 of 1)-2

Prickly pear fruit.

White Winged Dove (1 of 1) blog

Still, often under austere conditions, life goes on. (Whitewinged Dove)

Sabino Canyon (1 of 1)-2 blog

The harshness of this land causes many to see the Sonoran desert to be a wasteland.

Sabino Canyon (1 of 1) blog.jpg

Those who have experienced the beauty of this amazing desert know it is not, but if left unprotected, it can become a man-made wasteland.

— kenne

Among all the geographic areas of the United States, the Southwest in general
and Arizona in particular is blessed with a panoramic beauty that almost defies description.
Only a limited number of poets, painters, and photographers
have been able to do justice to her splendor.

— Marshall Trimble, Arizona: A Panoramic History of a Frontier State, 1977

Desert Silhouette   7 comments

Dead Saguaro Shadow_0899-ghost-of-desert-past-blog“Desert Silhouette” 

Desert Silhouette

A dead saguaro

Stands silhouetted

Against the morning sky

A darken symbol of life

As a lone hiker looks up

From the trail below

Still in the canyon shadow

Pondering the meaning

Of this dark creature

As shadows move

Down the canyon walls

Vanishing the silhouette

And any creature thoughts

Only to leave behind

The remains of what was

A Sonoran desert giant.

— kenne

Quiver With The Same Music.   4 comments

Saguaron Blossom (1 of 1)-2 blog“Saguaro and Ocotillo Salad” — Image by kenne

Sing and dance together and be joyous,

but let each one of you be alone,

even as the strings of a lute are alone

though they quiver with the same music.

— Kahlil Gibran

 

Cactus Wren   Leave a comment

Cactus Wren (1 of 1)-3 blogCactus Wren on Saguaro Cactus Buds — Image by kenne

 

 

 

The Early Bird Doesn’t Get The Nectar   Leave a comment

White Winged Dove (1 of 1) blogWhite Winged Dove — Image by kenne

Resting on a saguaro cactus bud
the white winged dove
will return 
mañana
for the blossom nectar.

— kenne

 

Gila Woodpecker On A Saguaro Cactus   Leave a comment

Gila Woodpecker (1 of 1)-2 blog

Gila Woodpecker (1 of 1) blogGila Woodpecker On A Saguaro Cactus — Images by kenne

“You’re better equipped for this world than I am,” she said.

“I’m always trying to change the world.

You know how to live in it.”

― Tom Robbins, from Still Life with Woodpecker

Saguaro Blossoms   5 comments

Saguaro Blossoms In Sabino Canyon — Images by kenne

A very dry spring

Hasn’t slowed cactus blossoms —

Saguaros in March.

— kenne

New Years Day In Sabino Canyon   2 comments

Saguaro Sunrise (1 of 1) blogNew Years Day In Sabino Canyon — Image by kennei

Nature is a receptacle of wisdom

we can’t see it because we fail to respect

or even recognize its totemic being.

— kenne

 

A Stately Saguaro Family   1 comment

Saguaro (1 of 1) blogA Stately Saguaro Family — Image by kenne

“Existence is no more than the precarious attainment of relevance in an intensely mobile flux of past, present, and future.”

— Susan Sontag

Desert Sunrise   2 comments

Sunrise On The trail (1 of 1)-3 blogDesert Sunrise — Image by kenne

Dawn

Bells of Córdoba

in the early hours.

Bells of dawn

in Granada.

They hear you,

all the girls who cry

for the tender Soleá in mourning.

The girls

of Audalusia the High

and the Low.

Young girls of Spain

with tiny feet

and trembling skirts

who’ve filled the crossroads

with lights.

On, bells of Córdoba

in the early hours,

and oh, bells of dawn

in Granada!

— Federico Garcia Lorca