Tag: cactus

Just Like Heaven

A female house finch stands on a large amount of saguaro fruit on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 25, 2023. Original: _RAC7811.ARW

When the saguaros explode with fruit it must feel like heaven to birds like finches as the fruit is thick with seeds and the fruit is so large they can almost walk into them. And this was just one arm of an old saguaro in an area thick with them! Between the bees and it being too hot for Bear I haven’t been into the desert much this spring but when I did go there wasn’t much fruit to be seen, perhaps the feeding frenzy will be more muted this year.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm + 1.4X
🗓️: June 25, 2023

Copy, Desert Joy

The saguaro I call The Green Elephant has fruit at the ends of her arms as the sun rises on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 25, 2023. Original: _Z726574.NEF
The saguaro I call The Green Elephant has fruit at the ends of her arms as the sun rises on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 25, 2023. Original: _Z726574.NEF

My favorite time to be in the desert is sunrise but I haven’t managed it much the past handful of years. A few years ago I was up early and made a beeline to my favorite saguaro, catching her with arms full of fruit, before hoofing it back to the car so I could get Bear for a hike before the heat rose up.

I’m off for the week and was hoping for some early hikes with Bear but my sleep has been dreadful so I haven’t managed it yet. With retirement looming this summer, looking forward to more opportunities for hikes as a night owl in an early bird’s world.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: June 25, 2023

This is New

An array of flower buds springs from the top of our backyard saguaro in Scottsdale, Arizona on May 11, 2025. Original: _Z724047.NEF

Our backyard saguaro while likely a bit older than me is still pretty young and has never flowered. Every spring I check for signs, we live in hope, and this year my faith was rewarded. Not a full mop top like our saguaro out front but I saw woodpeckers feeding on it when the flowers opened and there is fruit ripening there now.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: May 11, 2025

Looking for the Easter Bunny

A Harris' hawk perches on a saguaro on a cloudy spring afternoon on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 13, 2025. Original: _A678444.ARW

A week ago the temperature late in the day was predicted to be right on the border of where I won’t take Bear hiking, so I took him for a long neighborhood walk in the morning and went out by myself in the afternoon. I do enjoy being able to go slowly and soak in all the details of the desert but it makes me sad to hike without my buddy, so this was only the second time this year I went alone.

📷: Sony A6700 | Sony 100-400mm+1.4X
🗓️: April 13, 2025