Tag: cactus

Thrash Song

A curve-billed thrasher sings atop a saguaro early on a spring morning along Brown's Ranch Road in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

After a hike up to Inspiration Viewpoint this morning when it was too windy for my liking, the day turned lovely and I’ve spent the rest of the morning and afternoon relaxing on the back porch. At the moment there are house finches and sparrows atop the feeder while below are Gambel’s quail, mourning doves, and Eurasian collared doves. A pair of curve-billed thrashers have been drifting in and out throughout the day, making their presence known with loud whistles. This one I saw singing atop a saguaro six months ago while hiking early one morning on Brown’s Ranch Road in McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

One of Three

A canyon towhee looks directly at me as it perches atop a saguaro along Brown's Ranch Road in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

We see a lot of overlap between the birds of our backyard and the birds of the desert but not with towhees. I’ve seen three species of towhees in Arizona, Abert’s towhees all summer in our yard and just recently a spotted towhee, but the canyon towhee shown here I only see on the trails.

Humility

A cactus wren holds a twig in its mouth as it builds a nest in the arms of a saguaro at the Brown's Ranch Trailhead in McDowell Sonoran Preserve in Scottsdale, Arizona

On April 28th I arrived at my first visit to Brown’s Ranch in McDowell Sonoran Preserve, my fifth hike and fourth hiking location since moving to Arizona a month prior. I was pleased that even though I arrived mentally and physically exhausted I was forcing myself to go out and explore some area parks, even though it meant getting up a while before sunrise. As soon as I stepped past the welcome center I was reminded that while I should be proud of all I had accomplished the past six months, my struggles had been minor compared to what many face every day. There in the arms of a saguaro, the light just cresting the distant hills, stood a cactus wren with a twig in its mouth, building a nest in such a seemingly inhospitable host in a seemingly inhospitable land. Brown’s Ranch became an immediate favorite as did the plucky wrens that in the coming weeks I got to watch not just build their nests but raise their families in them.

Follow Me Home

A broken saguaro still grows with one outstretched arm and two smaller arms below along the Janue Rau Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

After all the changes in our lives this past year I feel a special sympathy for when we adopted terrified little Boo five years ago. He worked so hard to conquer his fears and embrace his new home, you could see the struggle in his face and I suppose for months I wore that expression too. I took this picture of a broken saguaro within a month of arriving in the desert when so little in our lives seemed familiar yet we were excited about our new home. It seems to me a guide, waving with one arm held high to attract the attention of the lost, another arm pointing the way home. Shattered, surviving, standing, strong.

Who Am I?

A close-up view of the top of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am not broccoli.

A close-up view of one of the crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am tall, taller than you.

A close-up view a gap between the two crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am rare, doubly so.

The two crests of a double crested saguaro along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I am a double crested saguaro. While most saguaros have tips of the familiar shape, some grow into fan-like shapes know as crests. Crested saguaros are rare, this one has two crests. This is the only one I’ve seen so far, a reader pointed out its location near Granite Mountain where the Coyote Canyon Trail meets the Desperado Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A double crested saguaro grows along the Coyote Canyon Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

Let Me Hold You in My Arms

My Tom Bihn Guide's Pack sits next to an old saguaro with a large number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve

I love this old saguaro with a seemingly endless number of arms along the Whiskey Bottle Trail in McDowell Sonoran Preserve. I put my backpack beside it for scale (this is my Tom Bihn Guide’s Pack). The pack probably misses the Pacific Northwest where I didn’t sweat all over it but if so it hasn’t said a word and has faithfully carried all my water and other hiking essentials every time I go out.