C is for Cactus

C is for Cactus

https://tvnordestevip.com/i5wxjlgffi9 C is for Cactus © 2011 Bo Mackison

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Order Valium Online From India “The spines have been used as phonograph needles, fishhooks, awls, needles, and for tattooing. The cactus was used as a cooking pot…cut off the top, scoop out the pulp, put hot stones and food in the cavity. The Cactus is https://www.mssbizsolutions.com/b5grq2o precious and has difficulty surviving with humans.” ~ Pat Holtz

https://hereisnewyorkv911.org/qtujhuloda I love the desert. I love the living things I observe in the desert. I especially love the plants in the desert, including the many cactus species.

https://www.amyglaze.com/75uqc3z I was going to write a blog about photographing cacti and other plants in the desert, but after reading the above words ascribed to an artist and ethno-botanist, I no longer felt like writing about the desert today.

Buy Valium Overnight I only want to think and ponder that last line of the quote. Valium Mastercard “The cactus is precious and has difficulty surviving with humans.”

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https://www.mckenziesportsphysicaltherapy.com/e2ces7t6g Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She misses the desert.

Garden Door in Late Autumn

Garden Door - Autumn

https://www.saiidzeidan.com/2v2kwfp Garden Door in Late Autumn © 2011 Bo Mackison

https://riverhillcurrent.com/nuyu19xy7l Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile is the source of your joy. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

https://www.rmporrua.com/xn2eawgck I am smiling at the memory of the many hours I spent in the gardens and national parks in Arizona. The waning sun often cast a golden glow before it quickly set for the evening.

see The quote that I used today is one I repeat often to myself. I found it easy to be filled with joy when I was strolling along the garden paths at Tohono Chul or the Tucson Botanical Garden. A smile came readily to me. Back in Wisconsin, I find the conditions outside are not always conducive to outside shoots. And when the temps are below freezing and the skies are gray, I have to work a bit harder to reach that feeling of joy.

http://foodsafetytrainingcertification.com/food-safety-news/7er5v2kr0lp I find that the simple act of smiling while preparing a cup of tea, or sorting through photo catalogs brings me joy. My smile can be a source of joy — for me and for the people around me.

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http://lisapriceblog.com/kcfa9x6 Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has returned to Wisconsin from the Southwest to celebrate the Holiday Season with family and friends. Bo’s first show back in Arizona will be in early February – the Tubac Festival of the Arts!

Garden Gate

Garden Gate

https://opponix.com/j7soq9jgbk Garden Gate © 2011 Bo Mackison

get link My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.  ~ Diane Arbus

https://osteopatiaamparoandres.com/zr27oeif3 Travel and blogging – a difficult pair. I always have much I could write about when I am traveling. But I never have much free time. And when I have free time, I am at the end of my day and my motivation to ready a photo and write are struggling with my needs to relax a bit or go to sleep in order to be ready for the next day.

Order Diazepam Europe I’m not in my more accustomed Tucson mode. This is trip one of two trips to Tucson in the next few months. Sherpa and I decided November was a safer time to drive the art trailer to Arizona. Less weather drama. And after last February’s travels through rain, sleet, ice and snow, we decided “no more winter travels, not if we can avoid them.”

https://thelowegroupltd.com/9fl5hmo Sherpa hooked his remaining vacation days to the long Thanksgiving holiday and so, on this first trip to Tucson, we are officially on vacation. We’ll return to Wisconsin for most of December, and then I’ll return to Tucson in January and be here for a few months to do a few winter art shows in Arizona.

enter Today I am going to do one of my favorite things – go where I have never been. (Diane and I must have a lot in common!)

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Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.

Exploring Kitt Peak

Kitt Peak

Roadside View of Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

My younger daughter flew in for a weekend visit just before it was time for me to leave Tucson. She loves science, any kind of science, and so we drove to Kitt Peak to see the National Observatories.

The white domed observatories on top of the 6,875 foot summit aren’t the only an amazing sight on the 50 mile trip west of Tucson. There is also plenty of breath taking desert and mountain scenery on the drive. We drove the  first 45 miles  on paved roads through the Tohono O’odham Reservation and the Sonoran Desert. The last 12 miles were on a maintained mountain road with patches of snow — from a mid-April storm a few days before we visited — and spectacular views of the desert floor and snow spattered, adjacent mountain ranges. (Next post!)

Kitt Peak Welcome Sign

Kitt Peak Welcome Sign © 2011 Bo Mackison

Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated by an association of universities throughout the country (including the University of Wisconsin at Madison) in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. We even saw a Bucky Badger decal on one of the scientists lab stands. My daughter is an alum of UW, so she was pleased to see the Wisconsin mascot on duty at one of the observatories.

Observatories on Kitt Peak

Observatories on Kitt Peak © 2011 Bo Mackison

This is the largest collection of optical telescopes in the world. It’s a rather amazing display of scientific buildings, all clustered on the very top of a desert mountain.

The tallest telescope in the photo is the Mayall 4 meter (158 inch), one of the world’s largest telescopes. It resides in an 18-story building. There is an elevator that provides access to the 10th-floor observation deck and panoramic views of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico, but this particular telescope was closed the day we were there.

Just one more reason for me to return to Kitt Peak at a later date. I’d also love to stay for the night show and see the stars using one of the observatory’s telescopes.

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope

McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

This is one of the more unusual buildings on the peak. It is the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope which produces a 30-inch image of the sun by using mirrors in a slanted 500-foot corridor. Only 200 feet of the tunnel are visible, the other 300 feet are below ground level. You can go inside the building and check out the long chamber and view the mirrors. Not only is this telescope a scientific wonder, it is also an architectural wonder. It even won an architectural award in 1962, rather an unusual accomplishment for an observatory.

1.3 Meter Telescope on Kitt Peak

1.3 Meter Telescope on Kitt Peak

This is one of the smaller telescopes, and one used by visitors during the nightly viewing tours. The larger telescopes are reserved for professional and student astronomers, though even they have to play a form of astronomy-roulette. They sign up for a viewing time months or years in advance and if their chosen evening’s view is obstructed by clouds, they have to sign up on the list again. Luckily there are only a few cloudy evenings  each year in this part of the Sonoran Desert.

Open 2.1 m Telescope

Open 2.1 m Telescope © 2011 Bo Mackison

The 2.1-meter (84 inch) telescope was the first large instrument on Kitt Peak for night-time observing. We were able to go inside for a close-up view of the inner workings, plus view an educational exhibit on the telescope. Astronomers use this scope to observe distant stars and galaxies in both the visible and infrared spectra.

On the day we were there, we watched as the telescope opened and closed several times.

Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona

Observatory Complex, Kitt Peak Arizona © 2011 Bo Mackison

One last photograph, proving that, yes, it does snow on the peaks of desert mountains. I thought I had escaped winter’s snow by coming to Tucson, but my daughter was delighted to see the snow, and stomp in it, and make a few snowballs to throw at me.

Seems she thinks the desert is too hot and prefers Wisconsin winters to Tucson winters. Amazing!

Reminder: I am having a drawing for one of my photographs or a set of photo art note cards in appreciation of all the support my blog readers gave me while I was on my Tucson adventure.  To enter the drawing, leave a comment on the April 13 post — check out the drawing information and directions on how to enter.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She has been living in Tucson for the last ten weeks, exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” she is now on her way back to Wisconsin, but will be posting photographs from a few more Arizona destinations.

Last Visit to Tumacacori

Tumacacori Garden

Tumacacori Garden © 2012 Bo Mackison

Can you look past the electric wires, telephone poles,
the matching but separate doors labeled MEN and WOMEN,
the coiled rubber hose, the 19th century stone wall cracked open for a water spigot?

Don’t heed the red stop sign hovering above the mission wall
or listen to the rumbling cars speeding from Nogales to the Border Patrol checkpoint.

Cover your ears with your determination for a sacred silence in this sacred space.
Block the sounds of horns blaring, ignore the heated words of the couple standing near the rose bush.

Shhh.

Can you hear rustling leaves, whistling wind? Can you see the shimmer of the cotttonwoods?

These winds were in this garden. The trees now camouflaging the sparrows’ nests, they were here.
The fountain — the garden’s heart — it was here with its rippling waters.
The dust blowing from the Tumacácori Mountain Range – that dust was here.

Those mountains? They stood in silence and watched.
Arched doorways sheltered the walkway, courtyard sheltered a painted statue of the Virgin with her Babe. They watched.

The yucca were here, the tepary beans trailed along the earth.
The nut tree saplings, freshly planted, they swayed in rhythm with the winds. They witnessed.

The che-che-chee of the sparrows joined the voices raised in song —  of protest and praise, with humiliation and elation, in mourning and in gratitude.

Tumacacori Church Entrance

Tumacacori Church © 2011 Bo Mackison

I hear their voices, I hear the choir lift their voices in song.
Harmonizing
Chanting
The rising alleluias, the longing amens.

Their voices. Do you hear them?
Che-che-cheee-ing alleluias.
Siss-siss-siss, leaves dancing, twirling along the dusty path.

Tumacacori Interior Bricks

Interior © 2011 Bo Mackison

Hearts dancing, hold your gaze on the star hunter, poised, aiming his arrow at the full moon.
Hidden voices in the whistling winds.
Hidden eyes, watching from Tumacacori.

Listen. Watch.

Hush.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She will be returning to Wisconsin later this week after living in Tucson for the last two months. She’s been exploring Arizona and living life “solo.” Occasionally she is moved to write poetry, as happened when she took a last visit to Tumacacori National Historic Site.