Green Strawberry Hedgehog

Cactus Flower Macro, Tohono Chul Park in Tucson Arizona

Cactus Flower Macro © 2011 Bo Mackison

I have a back log of photographs that I took earlier this year in Arizona. Of course, I intended to have them all sorted and processed by now, but life got in the way. Funny how that happens!

We’ve had another spell of windy weather, which makes taking outdoor photos a bit difficult, so I resurrected sunny Arizona for you.

This macro is of the inner part of the green strawberry hedgehog cactus. This hedgehog can be differentiated from the more common strawberry hedgehog by examining its concentration of spines. So many golden spines cover the strawberry hedgehog, it looks almost like a heaping pile of straw.

Green Strawberry Hedgehog, Tohono Chul Park in Tucson Arizona

Green Strawberry Hedgehog © 2011 Bo Mackison

The green strawberry hedgehog is “green” because there are only a few clusters of spines, though they are long and sharp. Nothing that looks like a pile of straw on this hedgehog!

I can personally attest to the sharpness of its long spines. In the months I was in Arizona, I never learned the lesson that if you lean in just a bit more for “one more” slightly different angle, inevitably one of those photographs will cost you a spiny stick in the hand.

It was always worth it though!

Just a reminder that I will be at the Barrington Art Festival in Barrington, Illinois this weekend, Saturday May 28 and Sunday May 29 from 10 a. m. to 5 p.m. with the portable version of Seeded Earth Studio. There will be a good selection of botanical photographs from both the Midwest and the Southwest — quite a contrast in plants, but it’s fun to see them side by side.

If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by Booth #36 and say hello!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is looking forward to the start of the summer of art festivals. Yay, summer!

 

About Bo Mackison

I'm a photographer, book-artist, traveler, naturalist, and creator of the Contemplative Creatives Journey, An Online Workshop and Community and Desert Wisdom Cards and Workshops. Though often not well known, I find the desert a welcoming place - a healing space. Its mysteries and gifts transformed me several years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. I'd love to share my desert discoveries and wisdom with you. Please subscribe to receive my five part mini email course The Gifts of the Desert. It's my gift to you.

Comments

  1. Wow! Those photos are absolutely gorgeous!

  2. What an exquisitely beautiful macro. Those colors – WOW!! And – good luck this weekend. Hope the sun shines!!!

  3. Hope the days are as bright as the flower and just as filled with color and joy!

  4. Beautiful photo. The plant doesn’t look all that friendly, but it’s blossom is beguiling.

    • Bo Mackison says

      As it typical when I photograph these spiny botanicals, I did get stuck a time or two. Always worth it! 🙂

  5. Glorious!

  6. Stunning macro, Bo. You nailed it!

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