Tag: cactus

The Elephant & Bear & I

The shadows of Bear and I fall next to the saguaro I call The Elephant in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on September 15, 2024. Original: _Z720733.NEF

It’s been another dry summer so The Elephant is a shadow of her normal self. I suppose the same could be said of Bear and I. Even with long shadows from the rising sun I couldn’t get his to pop up high enough, I need to get him some stilts. I always try to sneak in some wildlife into my shots, there’s a red-tailed hawk perched atop one of the distant saguaros.

📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 24-70 f/4
🗓️: September 15, 2024

The Woodpecker Hotel

A Harris's hawk perches on a large saguaro pocked with woodpecker nests on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 15, 2024. Original: _ZFC1322.NEF

The Woodpecker Hotel is one of my favorite saguaros, quite the survivor to get this old and this big. I wonder how many animals owe their lives in part to the giant, from what must be hundreds of woodpeckers who were born in its arms to countless creatures who fed on its flowers and fruit. I hadn’t planned on photographing it on this occasion as Bear and I headed back to the car but I couldn’t resist when I saw the hawk perched on top.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: February 15, 2024

Christmas Presence

A woman in a red jacket walks on the trails in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on December 25, 2021. Original: _ZFC1111.NEF

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is to get up early and go out for a hike, you have the park mostly to yourself until families are done opening presents and the trails get busy. On this Christmas a few years ago I saw a kindred spirit as I looked back to the mountain behind me.

📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 24-200
🗓️: December 25, 2021

A Little Hope

New growth grows out of a saguaro arm on the Latigo Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 6, 2021. Original: _RAC6047.ARW

A few summers ago I noticed the park was closing after sunset so I went out for a late afternoon hike, not expecting much, just wanting to be out in the desert. It was still plenty hot so I took my favorite trail as it’s an easy hike, stopping for a water break at my favorite saguaro. She seems the worse for wear every time I see her, damage spreading further down her arms. After we exchanged pleasantries I continued down the trail but stopped after a few steps, my brain telling me it saw something but couldn’t tell me what. I stepped backwards until I was in my original spot and stared for the longest time before I realized what first caught my attention: she was pushing out new growth from one of her arms.

She never gives up, this one.

📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: August 6, 2021

Sonoran Gothic

A crucifixion thorn grows next to a saguaro skeleton on the 118th Street Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 8, 2021. Original: _CAM3378.ARW

A nod to Grant Wood’s “American Gothic“, even if only the saguaro skeleton keeps to the long vertical lines of the iconic duo in the painting. The crucifixion thorn is not to be contained and confined, it is an explosion of life, a dancer in the desert, the beauty of being true to yourself.

📷: Sony A6500 | Sony 16-50mm f/2.8 G
🗓️: August 8, 2021