Blossoms on a Saguaro

April 12, 2012 by 6 Comments
Three Blooms on a Saguaro

Three Blooms on a Saguaro © 2012 Bo Mackison

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth. ~ Chinese Proverb

These are the first blooms on a saguaro cactus I have ever seen. What a thrill!

As I drive and walk through the Saguaro forests in the Sonoran Desert I am on the look out for saguaro blooms. I’ve seen a few cactus with their heads covered with a few buds, and a couple that have a mop of buds like the saguaro in the photograph.  But I have only seen two that actually had a flower in bloom — and this one had three!

These three blossoms will start to shrivel and fade as evening approaches. Other blossoms will bloom in the night and those flowers will last for much of tomorrow. A saguaro flower only lives one day – but what beauty it offers in that single day!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC, living and photographing in southern Arizona until the end of April. She is so happy that the flowering season for cacti — hedgehogs, prickly pear, cholla, and finally saguaro — is showing peeks of color in the desert.

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Four Views of the Desert Brittlebush

February 25, 2012 by 6 Comments
Desert Marigold, OrganPipe NM

Desert Brittlebush © 2012 Bo Mackison

I walked in the desert often these last days, preferably alone, and looked lovingly at my brittle-bush, my fine beds of desert holly, my border of paper daisies and desert marigolds. Here, tended by unseen hands, are plants equal to any in a botanical garden. They seemed to flourish for me alone, just as the birds seemed to sing for me alone. There was no one else to see them, just as there was no one else to hear the birds sing. 

~ Olga Wright Smith in Gold on the Desert

Desert Marigold II

Leaning towards the Sun © 2012 Bo Mackison

Brittlebush is one of the old standbys in the Sonoran Desert. It is drought resistant and blooms when there has been little rainy weather. But it is even more spectacular when Mother Nature sends rain. Brittlebush is common and easy to find wherever one looks in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. At the foot of an organ pipe or saguaro cactus, spreading upwards to add mounds of yellow color on mountain sides road sides and along the dry arroyas.

Ajo Mountain in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Ajo Mountain, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument © 2012 Bo Mackison

The brittlebush is now a popular plant even in the city, as its characteristics lend themselves well to the xeriscaped (natural) landscapes in the arid Southwest. But it looks might fine to me, adding splashes of yellow to the green desert.

It is used in rites and rituals throughout the region and was once was burned as incense in many churches across the border in Mexico. The substance exuded from the stems were used as a chewing gum, and at one time it was even exported to Europe, sent by the Spanish mission priests. The Tohono O’odham continue to use the brittlebush as a source of gum.

Saguaro and Organ Pipes

Saguaro and Organ Pipes Cacti © 2012 Bo Mackison

The brittlebush has an interesting defense system. It exudes a compound from its leaves and when these chemicals are washed onto the surrounding gravelly soil, it lessens other plants’ abilities to germinate. This gives the brittlebush less competition and more resources for survival.

Brittlebush has a long history of names since it was a common plant used by the Tohono O’odham, the Spanish priests, and the (mostly English) pioneers. Besides the common name of Brittlebush, it has been called Golden Hills, rama blanca (white branch), incienso (incense), hierba de las animas (herb of the souls), hierba del bazo (spleen-herb), and hierba ceniza (gray herb).

I rather like the name hierba de las animas. Has a mystical sound to it — these yellow flowers charged with the care of souls.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She photographed these flowers at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and there are still many more photographs of other desert flowers to share.

 

 

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Spring in the Sonoran

February 16, 2012 by 7 Comments
Spring in the Sonoran

Spring in the Sonoran © 2012 Bo Mackison

An ordinary desert supports a much greater variety of plants than does either a forest or a prairie. ~ Elsworth Huntington

The last weeks of February mark the beginning of Spring in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson. Fewer nights will see below freezing weather, although it did snow in the higher elevations of the mountains a couple of days ago. I can still see remnants of the snow in the mountain saddles of the Santa Rita Mountains. But in the lower elevations, the average high temperatures for the days are nearing 70˚ F (about 21˚ C) and only a few nights get chilly.

The desert marigolds are out in force, especially on the south-facing slopes in the Tucson Mountains. I took the above photo featuring the marigolds plus a variety of greening desert plants at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum just west of Tucson, one of my favorite nature haunts. I’ve talked to museum staff and park rangers at nearby Saguaro National Park, and everyone is expecting a good year for the desert wildflowers.

I find my lack of experience living in the desert amusing. Last year, when I was so taken with the desert landscape, truly falling in love with the desert, I didn’t have enough experience to know that the desert was exceptionally barren. A prolonged drought plus severe cold and a hard frost in early February of 2011 kept the desert bloom to a minimum. This year, by comparison, the desert in coming alive before my eyes – trees in the riparian corridors are dressed in spring green, desert flowers are blooming, even the small shrubs and plants in the desert are leafing out.

The desert is alive with green and the flowers are blooming. And this is just the beginning. Yay!

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is admiring the beginning of spring in the desert. Perhaps the word “admiring” is a bit weak. Bo is in the throes of a love affair with Spring in the Sonoran Desert. There. That’s better.

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Three Views of a Saguaro

November 30, 2011 by 9 Comments
Saguaro Spines

Saguaro Spines © 2011 Bo Mackison

Lately I’ve picked one subject to photograph in many ways, exploring it up close and far away. Exploring it from different views – from the top, all sides, from low while lying upon the earth. The desert has made me adapt to her ways, as I haven’t yet found a way to lie comfortably on her floor. I do not trust even a small area that looks gravel-y and clear of sharp objects.

Cactus spines, tree thorns, cholla stickers – my eyesight will never be acute enough to judge a space safe enough to lie upon.

It is making me explore alternative methods, for I have a strong connection to photographing earth’s living creatures while lying on my back, feeling fully connected to the earth itself.

Not a problem is Wisconsin, but a definite concern in Arizona.

Cactus Catch

Cactus Catch © 2011 Bo Mackison

Sherpa and I did a running count yesterday as we walked in the Sonoran Desert. We counted the number of “cartoon” cacti that we actually saw. Remember those “Beep, beep!” road runner cartoons? The desert would be a huge void, the ground sandy, much like a beach or a child’s sandbox, and at repetitive intervals a saguaro cactus would drift in and out of view. The cactus was always a one-armed or two-armed version of a Saguaro.

Obviously the cartoonists simplified the desert for the children, or perhaps they’d never seen the living desert themselves. Although there is space in the desert — most plants are not crowded together, but stand at respectful distances from each other, giving most plants enough space to provide the needed moisture — there are no large, open spaces of sandy terrain. Various cacti, bushes, trees and other vegetative species occupy a good amount of the land.

So I need to figure out a solution to my “lying on the earth” dilemma. Lightweight so I can carry it, impervious to sharp, sticky things, non-destructive to the desert floor. Hmm…

Cactus Portal

Cactus Portal © 2011 Bo Mackison

I am always amazed at the unusual things I see in the desert. In the above photo, there is a hole in the saguaro allowing me a peek at the saguaro standing behind it. Not only was I able to show this secret space, but the sunlight cast lovely shadows of the saguaro spines upon the cactus surface which gave the added treat of diagonal shadow/light.

See? The desert gives many gifts to those who wander there, observing the obvious and the not so obvious. I am very grateful that I am able to have another desert experience this year.

Desert Redux.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is thrilled beyond words as she can again explore southern Arizona, especially the Sonoran desert.

 

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Solo in the Desert

March 17, 2011 by 14 Comments
Spiny Saguaro

Spiny Saguaro © 2011 Bo Mackison

It seems I wasn’t paying close enough attention, and I’ve plunged into a sticky situation. Figuratively. It’s not that I’ve literally run into the sharp spines on this giant cactus. No, but today has been more of a challenge than I had hoped to deal with. I had family visitors for a few days, and I enjoyed showing them the local sights. Now they are back to the Midwest and I’m on my own again. So today I struggled with the “living solo” part of my Arizona plan.

I also learned a valuable lesson. When I was first on my own, in early February, I kept to a routine. I visited new places, went on lots of hikes, took photographs and processed them, and spent time reading, journaling, and exercising. It worked well for me, but I’m having difficulty getting back to my routine.

I know all the proper things to do when unexpected “blues” show up. Deep breathing, relaxation exercises, lots of distractions – reading, writing, listening to music. But I’m still struggling.

What I would really like is a big dose of chocolate, but unfortunately there isn’t any in the casita. Maybe tonight is a good night to get some extra sleep. The sun will be up bright and early tomorrow – and I’ll be up early, too. Ready to say hello to a new day.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is living in Tucson for two months, exhibiting her photography in art shows, taking photographs, and blogging about photography, art fairs, and living life “solo.”

Filed Under: Art of Healing Tagged With: , ,
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