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| Maybe a Harris hawk nest? |
This one wild and precious life! Some days I'm awake enough to know none of this is ordinary. Not my life, and not yours.
I went out poking around in the desert.
You often see young saguaros thriving in the company of shrubs, usually mesquite and creosote.
They need the shade of these "nurses" to get their start. Then, like that wretched boy in The Giving Tree, the saguaro demands the ultimate sacrifice.
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| The desert is harsh. |
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| This bush was just lucky. Not so this cactus, who started being teased at the age of twelve. |
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| Coyote? |
I've heard people say that the desert is desolate. The Sonoran Desert is anything but desolate. We love it here. The saguaros are always saying something ridiculous.
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| Cactus wren nest in "jumping" cholla |
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| Cholla has-been. |
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| A Barrel of Fun!™ |
I think this indicates the land was once BLM land. Now? I don't know. There isn't any signage. Maybe that's why the cacti are always waving their arms. Hey you kids, get off my lawn!
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30 comments:
Extraordinary photos. You must have the life.
I agree, we lead an extraordinary life for sure!
How did you know about what happened when I was 12?
You are so "right on" with all your cactus information... one would think you are a desert old soul.
Happy New Year!
Grace (in Tucson)
OMG, you're Mary Oliver fans! I knew I liked you two. :-D
Me too!! Recognized the quote immediately. You literary illusion dropper you. That bloomin' cactus is a beauty. Sounds like Tucson's got a hold on you.
You show in your photos exactly why I love the desert so much... and your "captions" add just the right thought or humor. Very Nice!
Extraordinary.
Saguaros have great individuality and personality. I like to name them. Do you?
You ladies just "rawk", that's all. Happy New Year!
Excellent photos! Saguaro are so cool and I couldn't agree with you more about the desert being full of color & life. People in Wisconsin don't seem to get our fascination with the Southwest ("It's so dull and drab", they say!). There's pretty much only white & brown with a little green thrown in here & there around here for half the year, which to me is dull & drab!
I am ready to get back to the desert. Thanks for the little taste of what is ahead of me!
I do so love the desert. The saguaro's are magnificent. But I really, really, really like that cloud picture.
Probably still BLM land. BLM isn't good about posting/maintaining signs everywhere. The local BLM office could tell you, or you could buy "surface management" maps from them for $4 each. Yuma BLM did not have Tucson or Phonix maps.
The Sonoran Desert sure has New York State beat all to heck and back, especially this time of year....
Lucky you guys to experience "the life!"
The most unusual walking stick I have ever seen was made from a cholla skeleton like the one you showed us in the photograph! They are very strong and resiliant. The one I saw had been sanded smooth, stained a deep blondish color, had a band of leather at the top where you would place your hand and the leather was beaded at the very top. Beautiful walking stick!
We also love the Sonoran Desert!
Lovely pix! I like the silhouetted saguaros especially.
The marker looks like a National Geodetic Survey marker, but the Cadastral Survey is a bit different. It does indeed have to do with BLM land, but it sounds like it is involved with National Parks and other things, too.
Definitely an amazingly extraordinary life we lead! Aren't we lucky? :)
The desert is harsh.
Ha.
Really.
Ha.
Great Pics after spending 3 years living the good life Off The Grid. You realize the desert has a ton more life then any forest out there:)
I like that. Speaking saguaros. They are old and can tell stories from the days of the Wild West. They have seen stage coaches go by, sand storms and cloud bursts. They knew the Dalton brothers before they got killed.
I am going to do a whole photo "study" on saguaro gestures and postures....and caption them!
Lynda, you should. Their secret lives have been secret long enough.
P & B, that's true! I felt awe, but didn't realize it's because they know so much.
It's true, Berg. It's teeming.
Ha! Mary.
Very lucky, Betty. Very, very lucky.
Thanks, Rob! Interesting site. I followed a link that promised to take me to an Arizona BLM cadastral page, but it reneged. I've gotten the impression that it's more of a legal marker, as opposed to an informational USGS benchmark.
That sounds unique, Geri. My walking stick grew up in China.
You can repeat that, Nickie!
Blars, I'm wondering why people don't camp on it. They definitely motor around out there. I suppose it's worth an ask.
Thanks, Sandie. It was definitely the sky that pulled us back out here. It's the first thing I look at in the morning, and the last thing at night.
C'mon out, Lisa! I mean, how long can you enjoy that perfect weather and beach, besides all your life up 'till now?
Molly, even people who have seen it in person remain unimpressed. BUT, there's a difference between deserts, and the Sonoran is the most beautiful. IMO, of course.
Aw, thank you, Nancy! Happy New Year!
I've never named them, Sue. You may THINK that reveals a shallow imagination, but I don't like to confuse them. Next time I see them, I will have forgotten their earlier name, and that's just insulting.
Right, Kim? You'll be enjoying it soon enough!
Thank you, Sharon!
Sherry and Rebecca, you caught me. I love her. She should be Poet Laureate to the world. Sherry, we do like Tucson, just because it's easy to be here. I suppose there are worse reasons to like a place!
Haha, Grace. I just surmised. I'm glad I got the cactus stuff right - it would be embarrassing to advise people to lean against a saguaro for shade, or something.
Don't we, KCG? Extraordinary.
Thanks, John! It is. Extraordinary.
Your photos can make great post cards. I want to go out and take some pictures, Maybe I will do that tomorrow.
Beautiful photos - Tucson is a nice place to visit! If you really want to "waste some time" go to the Goodwill thrift store that weighs everything by the pound. I've found some amazing things there - but don't go if you're in a hurry...
I love Mary Oliver.
But I hate cholla, having been attacked by it, as well as my dogs. Mean stuff.
So I'm guessing you're not missing New York?
Enjoyed your pictures and your post, wish we were back where you are right now. Hopefully, next year.
Aren't you amazed at how many saguaros there are considering how challenging it is for them to get started? I loved seeing those when we were in Tucson area. You are right, no ordinary life here, just ordinary things that have to get done amidst the extraordinary thnigs we get to see and do. :)
Janie, I'm also amazed at how many live to such an old age.
Marti, I DO miss people back in New York, but I prefer they all be here.
Where are you guys now? It rained last night, so the situation may not be better at the moment.
Oh Chinle. I'll bet the dog attack was the worst. You have to hurt them to help them.
Cheryl, that sounds awesome! We passed a Goodwill yesterday - is there more than one? We also (finally) stopped for a picture of your boutique. The one on Campbell - you know.
Thanks, Jo. I'll look for yours.
Happy New Year, Quackers!
Lol! Happy New Year, Cyn!
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