Desert Bloom

April 7, 2013 by 5 Comments
Claret Cup Bloom

Claret Cup Bloom © 2013 Bo Mackison

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. ~ John Muir

The claret cup hedgehog cactus has one of my favorite early blooms – a deep orange cup that attracts hummingbirds as pollinators. Every time I see the claret cup in bloom, with a hummer dances at its edges, I laugh in delight.

It is the only cactus in Arizona pollinated by hummingbirds. The hummingbirds stick their entire heads into the cup to get a drink of nectar, and get their heads dusted with yellow pollen for their efforts. I love to see the hummers with foreheads of pecks of pollen after they’ve gotten their fill from a few claret cups.

Unlike many cacti whose blossoms close in the evening and last only a day or two, the claret cup flowers stay open day and night and can last three to five days. It’s a cactus that isn’t stingy with its beauty.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She continues to discover beauty and inspiration while exploring the Sonoran Desert.

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Cactus Flower in Pink and White

May 8, 2012 by 10 Comments
Torch Cactus - Pink Flower

Torch Cactus in Pink and White © 2012 Bo Mackison

We all walk in mysteries. We do not know what is stirring in the atmosphere that surrounds us. ~ Goethe

I am starting to understand this. I am a slow changer.

I packed my bags with a small amount of trepidation and drive from Madison to Tucson last January. I looked forward to the change in weather, to the sunshine and warm days.

I arrived, expecting to slide right in to a new life, and instead struggled for weeks to acclimate to a new place, a new routine, the newness of solitary living.

And, eventually, I slide into the routines of Arizona, and I feel I am where I belong. (Except when I get lonely and long for companionship.)

Three months and a few extra days pass, and I again pack a few bags and with a small amount of trepidation I leave my space in Tucson and drive to Madison. I look forward to again being immersed in the greens of spring and my circle of family.

Again, I arrive. And again I struggle as I adapt to the old familiar place, the old routine with a few new twists, and the change from living a solitary, very quiet life with a lightly filled calendar to days that are not solitary, quiet, nor lightly demanding.

I am giving myself time and space to re-orient myself. And that is good.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She is also a slow changer – she requires time to adjust to new places and new routines. And that is an OK thing.

p.s. The sun is shining this morning.

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Parting Gifts from the Desert

April 25, 2012 by 9 Comments
Macro Torch Cactus

Torch Cactus © 2012 Bo Mackison

My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth. ~ Lady Bird Johnson

I am on the home stretch — literally. In 36 hours, I will point my car towards the east, and then north, to begin the long drive home. Happily, Sherpa is flying in tomorrow, so no one has to drive alone for three and a half days.

I had today and tomorrow scheduled with packing, returning library books, changing addresses, saying good byes with neighbors and arranging for the many things that need arranging before a long trip.

And then I received an email from the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. They were sending a short note to all their members  to let us now that the dazzling “Fireworks Cacti” were now in full bloom, and would be for only a few days.

So instead of following my original plans, I made room in my schedule for a three-hour photo shoot of some of the most unusual cactus flowers I have ever seen.  The flowers are in all the warm colors one associates with desert and heat — yellows, hot pinks, oranges, reds. Once I saw the cacti all in bloom, I had a very difficult time leaving. (I finally left after I’d taken over 600 photos, but only because I had filled my 16 gig memory card — and that’s a huge card!)

So — the cactus are called Torch Cactus, and they bloom for only a few days each year. They are not a native plant to the Sonoran desert, but they thrive here, and have become a landscape favorite because of their hardiness and beautiful color displays.

I promise. There are many more amazing photographs of these very photogenic flowers to come.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She traveled to Arizona to live and photograph the desert’s beauty for one hundred days. Getting ready for a drive.

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