Cactus in the Morning

As I was out and about my Maryland yard early this morning, I thought about the most pleasant time of day in Tucson back in June - the early morning. We got up for sunrise twice. The sunrise is spectacular but the morning light on the plants of the desert is even better. There is color and clarity that is dimmed in the blaring late of the more direct sunlight of other parts of the day.

Legumes are probably as prevalent as cactus in the Sonoran Desert. The seeds inside the pods in the above image are clearly bulging. The curling pods are a contrast to the pale green of the leaves - highlighted with red. Would they have been as noticeable at mid-day? Probably not.

There was a grouping of plants near the pool that drew my attention again and again; on the last day we found out that a gila monster den was just to the right of the yellow cactus in this image! I took pictures of the grouping from many different angles but my favorites are the close up shots of the two types of cactus in the morning light.

The colors seem to glow. I have tried to decide whether the yellow or red are my favorite…and I can’t. The yellow one seems so robust and perfect…it has the smaller cactus growing with it.

The red on looks tough and the spines have a delicate variation in their color along the spines.

Today - I am savoring the June time in Tucson - again.

Tucson Botanical Gardens

I am just now finding a day to post about my visit to the Tucson Botanical Gardens in June. In looking back through my photographs, I found it very difficult to select a small enough number for this post.

The Gardens are an oasis in a heavily populated part of Tucson. It is obvious that they have been getting better and better as the many years of their existence have gone by. One of my favorite features was a water fountain that had water coming out of a yucca pod shaped sculpture.

There was a dinosaur garden complete with dinosaur figures and types of plants that existed during that time period.

I’ve never seen so many art bird houses. I took many pictures of the creations. The one to the left is one of my favorites.

The Japanese rock garden looks right at home in Tucson. It works well in a desert and looks as soothing as it would in a totally different climate.

There were plenty of lizards - doing pushups and eying the people in their space too. This one looks quite haughty.  

Decorative tile is used on benches and for some signage. It too fits the desert - durable even in high heat. 

The best of the rest are in the slide show below. I realize now that these gardens will be on my list of ‘things to do’ every time I go back to Tucson.

Madera Canyon

Madera Canyon is about 30 miles south of Tucson and 30 miles north of Nogales in the Santa Rita Mountains. It is in the Coronado National Forest - a pleasant addition of trees to the cactus and scrub of the Sonoran Desert. We took an easy hike and ate a picnic - with almost no one else around - when we visited Tucson a few weeks ago. There was no water in Madera Creek; nonetheless, the birds were plentiful as we had anticipated. They were so quick that we didn’t get many pictures until we stopped at a gift shop and found benches overlooking bird feeders. It was a great finale to the outing. 

Arizona Sunrise - June 2013

Getting up for an Arizona sunrise in June is for early risers. We did it twice the week we were in Tucson. The first morning was the best because there were a few clouds to provide the canvas for the colors of the sunrise. The saguaro cactus that looks that a Gumby with a wild headdress and round nose provides a sync point for the sequence of photographs below. There is a cactus wren - in silhouette - on top of the tallest branch in the last picture.

I’ll post some morning light photos in a few days. The first hour after sunrise is the best for outdoor photography. 

Desert Collages - March 2013

Today is a savoring of the vacation I had back in March in Arizona. I’ve made some collages of desert images.

Barrel cactus, lizards, cholla fruit, the edges of aloe, lichen. The eye searches for anything that is not the color of sand. The very sparseness of the desert highlights the shapes and colors.

The sky seems bluer in the desert. The tall spires of the desert spoon are not colorful but their shapes are classics of the desert.

And what about the saguaros and aloes. All the shades of green are there. One even has leaves outlined in white.

So - hear I am more than a month after the vacation - still enjoying the time in this place very different from the lushness of Maryland.

Plants at the Desert Museum

There were only a few things blooming at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum when we went a few weeks ago. The dried out blossoms of century plants and dormant ocotillos were everywhere.

The bright yellow of the Arizona poppies stood out among the more subtle colors of cactus spines and edges of agave leaves. Soon there will be many flowers in the desert but for now enjoy the slide show of the situation in March!

Tohono Chul Gardens

The gardens at Tohono Chul in Tucson are one of my favorite places. I notice something different every time I go. This time was in the early spring. The desert poppies that I posted about a few days ago were one of the few flowers already blooming. The cactus spines added some color.

But the odd saguaros were what caught my attention. My mind jumps to name them: the one on the left is ‘crying Pinocchio’ and the one on the right is ‘Gumby (with lots of extra arms).’ What do they look like to you?

Last but not least - the sculpture of the horned toad caught my attention. It is many times larger than the actual animal but quite realistic looking. I remember seeing them frequently when I was a child in Texas.

Arizona Living

Living in Tucson is somewhat different than living in Maryland. As a visitor - these are the ones I noticed. 

• The houses and apartments tend to be stucco with flat or tile roofs. Many houses have courtyards or walled gardens. There are small, carefully tended areas of greenery clustered close to housing: oleanders, palms, eucalyptus, cactus, and orange trees. A fountain with round river stones in its base graces an apartment complex courtyard. In a dry place, water noise is the sound of luxury…maybe decadence as well. The most practical yards are sand and pebbles. The surface is sometimes raked to arrange the pebbles uniformly - or create a pattern; there is nothing to mow. The temperature changes between day and night mean that windows are opened or closed at various times almost every day; opened in the early morning to let the cool are into the house before the day warms or in the warm afternoon to let warm air in if the nights have been cold. There is not as much temperature variation during a single day in Maryland.

• The Tucson water has a lot more minerals than the water in Maryland. Most people filter their drinking water in some way and take steps to keep their kitchenware (and anything exposed to water) from developing deposits. The water pipes must be encrusted on the inside too.
• Tucson is a city but the traffic is very light compared to the Washington DC and Baltimore traffic. What a luxury!
• In Tucson, the lighting around houses and along residential streets seems more localized. The sky is darker at night. Even in the city, stars can be seen. Being able to see the stars on clear nights should be a long term goal even for major metropolitan areas.
• Last but not least - the traffic lights have different timing for left turns. In Tucson it is after the straight ahead traffic and in Maryland it is before.