Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
During my time off I’ve loved taking Bear to trails I normally avoid as they are crowded on the weekends, stepping aside to let people past is the most common way he steps on something painful. Here we’re taking a water break at the junction of the Axle Grease and Rock Tank trails, it was a Tuesday so we only encountered a few people. I’m not sure he cares but I enjoy seeing him discover new places.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50 DX
🗓️: January 16, 2024
A phainopepla and a house finch take refuge in the sprawling arms of an old ocotillo, which also nestle a young-ish saguaro as its older aunts and uncles look on from afar.
📷: Sony A6600 | Sony 100-400mm | Sony 1.4X
🗓️: October 26, 2023
A green lynx spider sets to devouring the insides of a leaf-footed cactus bug. It never left a small region high in one of our saguaros, it would spin a thread and attach it to a spine, giving it freedom to leap after prey without fear of falling. I watched its reign of terror over the course of several months, it had no qualms about going after insects larger than itself, until one day I found its lifeless body swaying in the breeze, hanging from a large spine.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: March 18, 2022
As Bear and I hiked to Balanced Rock via the easier wide path (to be kinder to his paws) we were passed by the Scottsdale Fire Department on their way to a trail rescue. On the way back we took the narrower rocky paths to stay out of their way if they needed to evacuate someone, but they must have called for air support as when we were far along this helicopter came past and hovered near the rescue site. Hope they’re OK.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: January 14, 2024
A while back I decided to not use my leave of absence as a trial retirement but instead to let my mind go quiet for a while. There’s a part of myself I’ve kept in hibernation for a very long while and I’m not ready to let him rise from slumber, as if he stirs it will be too hard to go back to work for the year or so before real retirement. I have relented a little in the weeks of leave that remain, small awakenings I don’t think I’ll regret. One that caught me by surprise was a desire to play around with black-and-white photography as usually I only shoot it in desperation. I don’t think I’ll ever shoot much of it, the point is to let my mind wander into new territory, but not only did I love this quick snap of The Muppet as Bear and I hiked in the desert, so far it’s my favorite picture I’ve taken of this saguaro.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 16-50mm DX
🗓️: November 21, 2023
We had a dry summer so the desert flora is looking pretty parched, some saguaros are pretty gaunt but visually I notice it most in chain fruit cholla. They are also known as jumping cholla due to the ease with which they attack passers by, but I like the chain fruit name since it highlights their most distinctive feature: their fruit grows in chains. Pretty shriveled up here but I like photographing nature in all its states, not just the pretty ones.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: October 30, 2023
High on a snow-covered mountain I came across this secluded retreat, only the wooden door hinting at the dwelling behind, carved into the sheer cliff face. I wondered who would answer if I approached and knocked. Perhaps a desert ascetic meditating in the highest places. Perhaps a mystic who removed themselves from the world to better understand it, waiting to answer all my questions. Perhaps this is where all the rattlesnakes go to wait out the winter.
I decided not to knock.
📷: Nikon Z fc | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: December 12, 2023
As I stared down the borehole of one of my favorite pieces of art, it felt more like I was photographing The Big Bang rather than the aftermath of a bunch of small ones. The hole was only 4 or 5 feet off the ground and the old saguaro’s skin hardened around it. I’d photograph these more but sadly I have not yet gotten my wish to be 50 feet tall and/or to have wings, but fingers crossed for 2024!
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: December 3, 2023
As someone who loved even the ubiquitous rain in Portland, rain in the desert is quite special to me. When I woke to rain last month I waited for it to slow then hurried into the backyard for some macro shots of one of our saguaros. I had to work fast, the spines dry quickly and lose the wonderful colors, a couple have already dried here. The water drops on the skin evaporate quickly and gravity is constantly tugging at the drops dripping from the spines. One day I’ll play around with a watering can to get just the right droplets on my favorite areole, perhaps a fun project for a day when my mobility is limited, but that’s not what I wanted here. I didn’t want a picture of water drops on a saguaro, I wanted a picture of the rain.
📷: Nikon Z 7II | Nikon 105mm macro
🗓️: November 18, 2023
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.
Boolie 