The Saguaro in Bloom (Saguaro National Park, AZ)

Well, as I said earlier, last Sunday I managed to make it to Saguaro National Park, near Tucson, and finally snap some photos of the saguaro in bloom.  Years ago, when I first moved to Arizona, I had no idea that the saguaro cactus bloomed, and when I first saw it the flowers seemed unreal to me, like oversized artificial flowers someone would purchase as a home accent.  Since then, I vowed to get a few good photos of them.  These photos are as good as I got last Sunday.

Even though this is only a partial profile, this photo, above, is my favorite, as I managed to capture significant detail of the saguaro's immaculate white blossoms.

This bird took me by surprise.  Snapping the photo above, I was unaware that it was flapping its way to this saguaro cactus, not until...

I found it chirping its song at the summit, and I couldn't resist photographing its serenade.

Photos from a Beautiful Saturday

Okay, granted, the monsoon season has just begun, and the humidity, at least by Arizona standards, has been obnoxious, but today was a beautiful day, all the same. I made a morning excursion to the Desert Botanical Garden, which I haven't visited since last October. It was a real pleasure to see all the cactus and native desert plants, even though I visited too late to capture the saguaro in bloom, which was a goal of mine for the spring. Oh well, maybe next year. At least the beauty of the saguaro itself, as seen in the photo above, served as consolation.

Here is the flowering stalk of a "century plant," or agave. The height of these stalks is just amazing, as they rise to tower just above many single-floor buildings. There is a certain minimalist grace to these stalks.

Purple prickly pear, above and below.  I love the unusual color of this cactus' foliage. If I recall correctly, their blooms are a pale yellow, which is a bit of a disappointment to me, as I would prefer red as a bright offset, but the coloring as seen here is beautiful enough to suffice.

This is part of the Desert Botanical Garden's grand cactus entrance, with one of the red buttes of Papago Park in the background.

I believe the cactus above is a type of barrel cactus about to bloom. This is the type of festive, fruity red I was talking about, a colorful relief from the dusty color of desert rock and parched earth.

I believe the above is also a type of prickly pear, or at least a relative.

Above, New Mexico cholla, which blooms a refreshing shade of magenta.

Not a native plant, but the Desert Botanical Garden also has a vegetable and herb garden. Above, the pom-pom purple of blooming artichoke.

Above, and in the next three photographs, close-ups of the towering native Sonoran saguaro.  I am learning that sometimes the best way to capture the beauty of cacti in photography is by zooming in on the details.

Deep verdant prickly pear, above. Just beautiful. This was one of my final photos of the morning, after I had about enough of the flies that were engaged in a biting frenzy today.  No matter.  Afterwards, I made it to the cinema and saw Man of Steel.  What a powerful, fantastic film!!

At the Beginning

This is a photo that I took a couple of weeks ago, on the way home from a trip to Prescott, but which I forgot all about. This is on the way to Phoenix, as the road dips and heads towards Black Canyon, and the saguaro's habitat begins. I have always marveled at how, with just one turn or dip in the road, the saguaro announce their presence, seemingly out of nowhere. Just striking and beautiful.

Spring Fling

Yep, spring comes to Arizona...the wildflowers are in bloom! I love it.

Desert Afternoon

Another cool, autumnal day in the Valley, and this afternoon I made a return visit to the Superstition Mountains. Wanting to test my zoom lens one more time, I couldn't resist taking a close-up of the mountain. I wanted to see the level of detail my camera would capture, and I wasn't disappointed. Below, classic desert scenes of saguaro and ocotillo. It was a beautiful day here in Arizona and worth capturing in photography.

Desert Views Outside Apache Junction, AZ

Saguaro and ocotillo, outside Apache Junction, AZ

The above photo was taken along a walking trail at the visitor center near the Superstition Mountains, outside of Apache Junction. I love ocotillos, as many readers of this blog might already know all too well. One of the challenges, though, of taking photographs of ocotillos lies in their spindly, crooked branches, a feature that I find to be very beautiful, but which sometimes makes an ocotillo appear to look insubstantial in a photograph. To be sure, there are some very tall, fully grown ocotillos that enjoy dense growth of a vast number of branches, giving the plant a more solid appearance, but that is not always the case, especially with specimens of young or moderate age. Here, the ocotillo on the right is visually anchored by a palo verde tree present behind it and a large saguaro on the left. Very nice.

Saguaro outside Apache Junction, AZ

I love the saguaro, too. Here, I am looking up at a mature saguaro. The saguaro, like many desert plants, are slow-growers. If I recall correctly, it takes a saguaro about 60 years before they start to grow an arm. It's incredible to imagine such slow and steady growth spanning across decades. We live in a society that stresses immediacy. Quick results, instant satisfaction. There is something to be said for the slow, tenacious pace of a saguaro's growth. It's growth with the long view in mind. Now, of course I realize that saguaros don't possess a human mind. But their rate of growth can serve as a great metaphor for those of us living in a society obsessed with immediate gratification, but yet cannot find contentment. Maybe slow and steady wins the race, after all.

Desert outside Apache Junction, AZ

There is nothing special about this view. Buildings in the foreground, power lines stretching distances. But the background of desert and mountains is simply stunning. This is the reason why I wanted to move back out West. Don't get me wrong: I am a born-and-bred Chicagoan, and I love my hometown in a way I could love no other place, but there is something powerful about the wide open spaces of the American West, the profound quiet of the wilderness, and yet the moodiness of the rocky, mountainous terrain. There is something poetic to the landscape, something potent that borders on the spiritual.

Saguaro skeleton, outside Apache Junction, AZ

I love saguaro skeletons, and so I could not resist taking this photo. It always amazes me that this vertical ribcage is what lies beneath the verdant surface of the saguaro. Somehow, I have an almost cartoonish image in my mind of the interior of a saguaro, due to the liquid the cactus stores. I imagine a cartoon character poking a saguaro and enjoying a tap pouring forth like water from a faucet. It's incredible to see what lies underneath what is to me a botanical mystery.

Superstition Mountains, AZ

I just thought this was a cool idea for a photo. The visitor center has an Old Western style stable that now serves as part of its Western-themed exhibit. Inside now, among other things, are photos of old movie stars that once used the Old Western buildings on this site for making Western films. I thought it would be kind of cool to snap a photo of the Superstition Mountains from inside the doorway of the stable, giving the sense of someone emerging from a darkened interior into the wide open space of the desert and the bright light of the sun. By the way, that snake alert sign on the left, advising everyone to stay on the paved paths and be on the lookout for snakes, was unnecessary, as far as I was concerned. Trust me, I had no intention of straying off the beaten path!

Superstition Mountains, AZ

I posted a photo similar to this one early on in this blog, but today was such a beautiful, sunny day that I couldn't resist including another such photo of the Superstition Mountains. I love the jagged quality of the peaks and the interplay of shadow and light. I love the path bordered on each side by teddy bear cholla cactus. The whole scene looks almost surreal.

Dead tree, outside Apache Junction, AZ

And yes, at least one dead tree had to grace this post of desert photos with its presence. There is something about the juxtaposition of dead trees with living trees that adds dimension to the desert scene. I think I mentioned this before. It is very much an image of the Great American Southwest. Tomorrow, I will post the photos of the ghost town of Goldfield.

Saguaro Seen through Branches

Saguaro as seen through an ocotillo's branches

Today, I didn't travel far. I made a visit to Goldfield, another Western ghost town that has been converted into a tourist destination with a frontier theme. This is in the area of the Superstition Mountains and the visitor center I took photos at and posted on this blog a few weeks ago. The visitor center actually has a few desert walking trails, and so, trying to get all artsy, I took this photo of a saguaro framed by an ocotillo's bare branches. By the way, this ocotillo, while seeming to be dead, is actually very much alive, just dormant. A closer look would reveal a slight verdant shade to the branches, betraying a solid sign of life. I have other photos I took from today, many of the town of Goldfield, and I will share those later. Enjoy!

Saguaro Skeleton

Saguaro National Park, AZ

I am a little surprised that I never shared this photo before. I took it last April when I visited Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona. That figure with the sprayed shreds is actually a saguaro skeleton. The skeleton of a saguaro never ceases to amaze me. We love the saguaro when it is alive. We love the beauty of its verdant coloring, its shape that is plump with moisture stored over time. What is left when the saguaro dies are these desiccated remains. I love taking photos of dead trees and cactus in the desert, especially when they are left standing in the midst of present desert life. It makes for a dramatic juxtaposition. Hauntingly beautiful.

More Photos from Saguaro National Park

Here are some other photos I took last April at Saguaro National Park near Tucson, AZ. Enjoy!

Cholla

There are many different types of cholla. This one is indigenous to Arizona. The one native to northern New Mexico is not as fuzzy-looking and bears beautiful magenta blooms.

Ocotillo in a field of saguaro

Hands down, the ocotillo is my all-time favorite desert plant. What looks like a confused array of dead bramble is actually very much alive and thriving under the desert sun.

A gathering of saguaro

Nothing is more of a symbol of the American West than the saguaro. Fans of the spaghetti western movie readily recognize the saguaro and identify it with Arizona.

Saguaro multitude

Banded together, the saguaro look like a gathering, like sentinels on guard.

Saguaro with desert and town in the distance

What's more beautiful, the foreground or the background? For me, it's simply a tie.

More Botanical Details

By happenstance, I found these photos I took a couple of years ago at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. Just for the sake of adding another something beautiful to the blog, I thought I would include them here.

Aloe vera blooming

Unknown to many people, aloe vera, when matured, bear beautiful blooms like these. The typical household plant variety usually gets yellow blooms, shaped like these flowers, but there are actually a wide variety of aloe vera to choose from, including a type with tiger striped foliage. Very. Cool. Stuff.

Agave and yucca thriving together

What I love about desert flora is its knack for creating drama. Both agave and yucca grow to be quite large and their spiky foliage really makes a statement.

Chihuly blue orb

Chihuly's glass artwork is beautiful to see, by day and by night. This blue orb is simply amazing and brings a refreshing sense of coolness to the desert heat.

A hill of saguaro

The iconic cactus of the American Southwest, the saguaro is beautiful and slow-growing. I have yet to have the opportunity to photograph them in spring bloom. They get these incredibly large, impressively surreal white flowers.

Cactus detail

To be honest, I have no idea what type of cactus this large specimen is; I was just amazed by its great abundance of limbs. Simply beautiful to see.