Green Valleys

A close-up of a saguaro with mostly hardened skin but green skin deep in the pleats, taken on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 3, 2023. Originals: _Z728308.NEF to Z728338.NEF

I have this romantic notion of photographing every saguaro I can see from the trails, however there are a lot more of them than there are of me so until that changes I’ll have to settle for my favorites. I’ve had my eye on this saguaro for a while, in this little area the skin has hardened around the areoles but deep in the pleats the skin remains supple. While the Valley of the Sun isn’t known for being green, Portland certainly was, and for me the hardened skin looming over the soft flesh is an homage to the lush Willamette Valley nestled beneath the Cascades, the few areoles with spikes sticking out standing in for the occasionally irritable volcanoes.

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