Layers of Habitats

Galiuro Sky Islands

Galiuro Sky Islands © 2011 Bo Mackison

Desert on the earth’s floor, mountains above, bright blue skies. Arizona.

—————–

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She will soon be returning to Wisconsin after living in Tucson for two months. She’s been taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art, and living life “solo.” And falling in love with southern Arizona.

Cactus Blossoms, Cactus Blossoms

Orange Cactus Blooms

Orange Cactus Blooms © 2011 Bo Mackison

A variety of cactus were in bloom at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior Arizona.

Orange flowers.

Cactus Bouquet

Cactus Bouquet © 2011 Bo Mackison

Red flowers.

Magenta Cactus Bloom

Magenta Cactus Bloom © 2011 Bo Mackison

Pink flowers.

Yellow Hedgehog Bloom

Yellow Hedgehog Bloom © 2011 Bo Mackison

Yellow flowers.

Such lovely flowers on the cactus plants. I’m so glad I had the chance to see the different cacti in bloom before I hit the road for Wisconsin.

 

A Plant of Many Colors

Aloe in Bloom

Aloe in Bloom © 2011 Bo Mackison

I’m down to my last week in Arizona.

And, not that I’ve been procrastinating or anything like that, but I finally accomplished the second to the last goal on my list — a trip to an Arizona attraction that required an overnight stay.

Yesterday I headed to Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, Arizona. The arboretum is almost 3 hours north of where I am staying, and if I had wanted to push, I could have driven there and back in one day. But part of any trip’s appeal is being able to stop along the side of the road for that photograph…and that one…and that one. I know from experience that a three hour drive can easily turn into four or more hours, and I didn’t want to be driving unfamiliar roads through a dark desert on my way home. So I booked a motel room nearby.

I found the overnight a bit more stressful than I expected–probably because it is something I have only done once or twice in my life. I tried to figure out ways to make it easier–checking in while it was still daylight and bringing my things in from the car before I went off to explore the area. Those helped. Even so, I didn’t see everything I had on my list because I wanted to get back to the motel to “feel safer”.  I need more practice with this kind of traveling. I’ll have to return to Globe/Superior and finish the tour next time I’m in the area.

I spent several hours at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

I’ve been to here before and have always enjoyed the many areas to explore, but on this visit I concentrated mostly on the blooming perennials and a few blooming cactus. The central region of Arizona is much greener than Tucson and the areas south of Tucson, so it was a chance for me to see a bit of Arizona in bloom.

The aloes were a big surprise to me. I’ve don’t recall seeing aloe in bloom, nor did I realize that aloe blooms could be so varied. Makes sense–just something I’d never experienced before. I love these multicolored buds of the aloe in the photo. It seems as if almost every color, in some shade, is represented.

Since today is a mostly cloudy day, I’ll be processing the other photos from Boyce Thompson and the rest of my trip this afternoon. Usually I need to wait to do my photo work in the evening because the studio is too bright and the window coverings are minimal. But today I am appreciating the cloud cover!

 

Living the Miracle

Fishhook Barrel Cactus

Fishhook Cactus Patterns © 2011 Bo Mackison

There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein

I think there might be a third way that Albert didn’t mention– trying to live your life as if everything is a miracle, but only succeeding part of the time because our human tendencies get in the way.

When I step on a cactus thorn in my stocking feet…because I was only going to take a few steps on the patio…and my sandals were in the front room…and I took the chance that there wouldn’t be any wind-blown cactus spines on my patio…and the cactus spines won… Well, then it is a bit hard to focus on the miracle of cactus spines.

When I am taking a macro-photo of a yucca plant, and I’m moving closer and closer a few inches at a time, and not paying close attention to where my body is is relation to where the sharp points of the yucca are, and I jab my stomach into five yucca stabbers, and end up having to search for band-aids because my stomach has tiny, bleeding puncture wounds in several places…well, then, once more, it is hard to focus on the miracle of those heavily armored desert plants.

But, when I am looking at a fishhook barrel cactus through a macro lens, and I see the delicate overall patterns, and the overlapping stickers all aligned like dancers in a tightly choreographed arrangement, and the contrasting pinks against the cactus greens, then once again, I see the miracle of each desert plant.

The miracle of life.

 

Cactus Beauties

Cactus Blossoms

Cactus Blossoms © 2011 Bo Mackison

More cactus flowers.

I’m studying this cactus plant right now. It’s easy to do as it is blooming only a hundred feet from my front door. Today there was a cloud cover towards the end of the day, and I knew I had to go back out and re-shoot these flowers. The desert sun, even when it is low on the horizon, is wicked bright, and I didn’t have enough hands to manage camera and deflector. But today–today the clouds provided a natural deflector and the colors came out soft and even.

Hedgehog Cactus in Bloom

Hedgehog Cactus in Bloom © 2011 Bo Mackison

It was a windy day, but the nice thing about a cactus in bloom? The flowers are close to the plant, and wind doesn’t whip the flowers around, at least not the way the wind whips flowers on stems.

I’m still studying these blossoms. I brought a thick, rubber car mat with me from Wisconsin, thinking that if I had the chance, I might want to have some protection from the desert floor as I took photographs. Tomorrow, I’ll get the mat and try some different views. That’s the best part about photography–all the experimenting.

Cactus Red

Cactus Red © 2011 Bo Mackison

Sometimes I just sit and look at a plant for awhile, a long while. Try and absorb its character, its beauty.

I had another photographer approach me when I was shooting at the botanical gardens a couple of days ago. He asked me if I was done with my shoot. I said no, I was studying the angles of the flower and looking at the shades of color. He shrugged and turned to leave, then he looked over his shoulder and said, “You must be one of those art-y kind of photographers.”

That made me laugh. Actually — I just love sitting in desert botanical gardens.