Sonoran Desert Part 2... SAGUAROS!
Finally and as promised, here are the Sonoran Desert Cactus photos. It was hard work, I hiked in the hot desert in over 100 degree weather (Fahrenheits), I wrestled rattle snakes, battled coyotes, and fenced with cactus (not really, I did none of that, but it sounds awesome so lets pretend I did ;) .
I did sweat a ton, that's about the only thing I did do, that was remotely close to me having a hard time while taking these photos. The only predator I actually encountered was a cute little fluffy bunny (cottontail hare) pictured below, and the only thing he eats is plants (phew). I also saw a couple of birds, including a roadrunner (one of my favorite birds ever thanks to bugs bunny) but they were in too much of a rush, and took off before I could take the shots (shoot! :( ). I will make a new post dedicated to the Sonoran Desert Fauna but first I need to chase down some coyotes and rattlers to get some pics :)
I hope you enjoy this set of saguaro cactus photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my photos and for reading my posts. :)
I love how saguaros grow uniquely different from each other. Some have branches and some don't. Some are straight, some twist or curve. Here are a few that I thought to be a bit comic in the way they are shaped.
Meet the Swan Lake prima ballerina! :)
The Mike Tyson... (the branches on the side look like it has it's hands up ready to fight) pow!
Lastly, the put your hands in the air Saguaro Criminale :)
I love how beautiful nature is even in death. I added some photos of decaying saguaros. I also added few fun facts about the saguaro. I hope to show you more than what you are usually able to see about these plants. Not just the classical beautiful side (although in my eyes, all these stages are beautiful in their own way), but the more rough side as well.
This is a young saguaro, I say young, but me saying that it's relative to the saguaros around it. This saguaro could easily be around 40 years old! Saguaros grow very slooooooooowly, about 2 to 1 1/2" each decade, depending on how much water it gets and other environmental factors. Saguaros can live to become two hundred years old!
This is what I would consider to be a juvenile saguaro. It's almost twice the size of the young saguaro above and it could be around 70 years old (hardly a juvenile but hey, they do live 200 years!).
This saguaro is one of the tallest ones I saw during my hike. I estimate it could be 100 to 150 years old!
These besties have been bffs for well over 10 decades! <3 :)
This photo shows what I meant by "rough" which again, it's relative.
This image shows an injury on an old saguaro.
This is the outside layer of a dead saguaro.
The Fallen!
This photo shows the saguaro cactus' woody "ribs".
These "ribs" are hard and sturdy like wood from a tree and have been used to make furniture or as part of home decor. Who knew?!
This photo shows a black goo-like substance resulting from the melting flesh of the fallen saguaro.
Beautiful saguaro flowers.
As always, thank you so much for reading my posts. My goal was to share with you my love for desert plants. I will be making my last post on Sonoran Desert Flora in the next few days and I hope that you take the time to check it out. Again, THANK YOU for reading my post.