Here is my entry for the #monomad contest - "The Old Man of the Desert"
The Saguaro
Pronounced sa'vwaro. Are tree size cactus that grow throughout the Sonoran Desert in Arizona and the state of Sonora in Mexico. Their scientific name is Carnegiea gigantea and they can grow to over 12 meters tall (or 40 feet)!
Saguaros have an extremely long life of 150 years or more and are around 75 to 100 years old before they even grow their first arm.
(I know it's in color but you couldn't see just how beautiful these are in black and white.) In the spring, after the rains each arm is crowned with flowers. These blooms will fall off and some will ever so slowly become saguaros. Bees and hummingbirds can often be seen flitting about these blooms.
Sometimes they grow so densely together that they form a thick, prickly forest across the landscape.
And I do mean prickly. The last thing you want to do is fall into one of these giants, it can be a rather painful experience (I know!).
Many species of birds that are native to the Sonoran Desert like to make these titans into high rise home as you can see from the nest in the picture above. The Brewer Sparrow is the most common variety to find there and some birds will actually carve out holes in the cactus to dwell in.
Eventually they grow to a point that they can not support their own weight or long drought spells cause them to collapse. Eventually all that is left is a dry, skeletal like remains.
But don't worry these young teenagers will take their place in another 50 to 75 years.
I hope you enjoy my photos and post. Hopefully you learned something new about the strange and wonderful world we live in too.
I saw your handle on the qurator feature and had to stop by and commend it.
Great handle!
Then i saw this, I recognize that nature anywhere. I'm from LA and have more miles on the 40 to and from Lake Havasu than probably any roadway in the country. Thanks for reminding me of home.
Glad you enjoyed the photos. I too have traveled the 40 many times to my hometown in Northern Cali. I moved to Phoenix in 2001. As for the handle it actually has a bit of history, it was the name of a toon I played in World of Warcraft (an online game if your not a gamer). The character was a dwarf warrior and all my guildmates thought it comical as well! Thanks for checking out my post and have a super day!
Those are such amazing giants!
The one on the first image looks like one of those Indian Totems.
Yes! Like a spirit totem, I agree, that was my impression as well.
Thx!
I like this photo 2 🤗👌👌👌 and 12 meters it is lot 👀👀👌👌👌
I know, right! HUGE!!
Those black and whites are eerie! Fantastic. Black and white is all about emotion.
Did the cactus in that very first photo grow that way?
Yes it did, I was out walking in the desert near sunset when I ran across that one. It was eerie when I noticed the face and arms like an old Indian spirit was looking at me.