Tag Archives: cactus

A different perspective

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“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” ― Aldous Huxley

My Christmas present from my husband was a macro lens. Above is my first photo using my new lens. It’s of the Christmas candle my children gave me.

I wanted this lens because of my mom, who passed January 1, 2023. She was an avid photographer and this was the lens she used most. She loved to take close-ups of nature like mushrooms, wild flowers and sea creatures. Our house was decorated with her amazing photos. I wonder where they are now?

Instead of buying the lens for myself, after dusting off my Nikon after 10 years of unuse, I decided to sign up for a photography class. My class starts later this month and runs through May. I thought by the end of the class, if I had mastered the basics of photography, I’d be worthy of owning the lens.

But with the Christmas gift, I have been trying out the lens. I’m enjoying different close-ups to distance shots.

Here are some of my photos from this week:

A barrel cactus

Barrel cactus close-up.

Elephant feed next to our garage. Quail laid eggs in the planter while we were out of town. They abandoned the eggs after we returned with our car.

Close-up of Elephant feed.

Poinsettia

Close-up

Moroccan Mound is the succulent in the foreground. The purple beavertail cactus is behind the Moroccan Mound — and is the purple plant. 😉

Now for the close-ups:

Moroccan Mound close-up

Purple beavertail close-up, complete with a cobweb I couldn’t see with my own eyes.

After trying out my new lens, I thought about how a different perspective can help us through our days and challenges. Sometimes it’s useful to take a step back, or to take a closer look.

“Look at everything as though you are seeing it either for the first or last time, then your time on earth will be filled with glory.” ― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

When have you changed your point of view or perspective?

Do you prefer a close up view — or looking at the big picture?

Happy Friday!

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I have never seen this cactus bloom before, let alone in August! Must have been our recent monsoon.

I’m wondering what happened with the week? It rushed by. Usually the dog days of summer in the desert are slow to pass. But not this week.

What was I up to this week?

On the weekend, we made dinner for newish friends of ours. We cooked an all American meal of ribs (my husband), potato salad, corn on the cob and cherry pie (me.) We met these friends at the funeral of our friend who introduced me to my husband 40 years ago. He died suddenly from Valley Fever after we moved to Arizona. Our friends we had over for dinner were his brother and wife who moved to Arizona from Seattle. A circle of new friends all bought homes in Arizona, including us and another couple from Kirkland, because of this one friend. We’ve all pledged to keep his memory alive and get together several times a year.

The next busy moments came Monday morning meeting to brainstorm with my newsletter co-hort to write and layout the quarterly HOA newsletter. I’m proud to say that after 30-plus years of “newslettering,” I returned to my roots. We initiated a new process this issue that worked and the President of the HOA approved.

I compiled all the copy in a word document and sent it to the board to approve — prior to spending hours laying it out. This was similar to my early PR days, before desktop publishing and Mac computers. I would drive copy to the typesetter and then get it approved before giving copy to graphic designers to layout. Or, do the layout myself.

This is saved me countless revisions. It was annoying to have the newsletter all ready to go, and then have five board members give their two cents worth on what to change — one by one.

Other than the newsletter, which took up most of Monday and Tuesday, I had my first hair appointment since April. My hairdresser, who I love, went on maternity leave and it wasn’t worth it to me to try someone new for a one off appointment. It was fun to learn how my hairdresser is totally amazed and feels blessed with motherhood. She wasn’t expecting the dramatic love and emotions she’s experiencing now.

Thursday was a doctor’s appointment for my husband that I drove to. It was his final cataract appointment. He has new-fangled lenses that can be adjusted post-surgery with a laser light. It meant four or five extra appointments, but it’s supposed to make vision sharper.

Now that it’s Friday, we’re meeting friends who moved here from Palm Springs for dinner. But I have the day free to relax, read and comment on posts. I might visit the library, too.

I feel like one of my husband’s older clients from decades ago. My husband would call them to come into his office for an appointment. Often they’d respond, “Oh I can’t make it Wednesday. I have a doctor’s appointment.” Those were the days I was volunteering at school, taking kids to piano lessons, packing lunches, making dinners and volunteering at swim meets. I always wondered why people thought they were busy doing one “main thing” a day. Now I know!

How did your week go? Did it flash by quickly or seem slow?

What were some highlights of the week?

A special time of year

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The past week, cacti bloomed. The beauty is fleeting, because the flowers only last a day or two.

This beauty is next to our driveway. Leaving for a walk, my husband and I stopped to admire it. He said, “I feel so much pride in this cactus, which is funny, because I had nothing to do with it.” I felt the same way, proud of our blooming plant.

This was our cactus two days after the photo taken above.

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. —Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright made his home in our desert. He appreciated the beauty surrounding us. I’ve visited Frank Lloyd Wright’s desert home and school called Taliesin West. I wrote about my visit HERE.

From Wikipedia:

Wright believed Scottsdale to be the perfect spot for such a building: a place of residence, a place of business and a place to learn. Wright described it like this, “Finally I learned of a site twenty-six miles from Phoenix, across the desert of the vast Paradise Valley. On up to a great mesa in the mountains. On the mesa just below McDowell Peak we stopped, turned, and looked around. The top of the world.”

More photos of cacti blooms from our neighborhood:

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

—Albert Einstein

I feel like a kid in a candy store. I see everything around me with fresh eyes although this is my fourth Spring here. I’m in awe and surprised by the prickly cacti producing such eye catching flowers.

If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.

—Laura Ingalls Wilder

What are your favorite sights this time of year?

Wordless Wednesday

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Not completely wordless Wednesday. These are photos from the McDowell Sonoran Preserve from our Sunday hike. We’ve had rainy weather which means lots of green grass and plants.

I liked this hawk watching us from atop a saguaro. Here’s more info about Saguaros. I’m trying to guess the age of the ones in my photos.

Saguaro Growth

The saguaro cactus is the largest cactus in the United States. The saguaro cactus grows as a column at a very slow rate, with all growth occurring at the tip, or top of the cactus. It can take 10 years for a saguaro cactus to reach 1 inch in height, but these mighty cacti eventually grow to reach an average height of 40 feet, and the tallest saguaro ever measured towered over 78 feet into the air! By 70 years of age, a saguaro cactus can reach 6 and a half feet tall, and will finally start to produce their first flowers. By 95-100 years in age, a saguaro cactus can reach a height of 15-16 feet, and could start to produce its first arm. By 200 years old, the saguaro cactus has reached its full height, reaching upwards of 45 feet tall. Some saguaros have been seen with dozens of arms, while other cactus never produce a single one. Why this happens remains one of the desert’s mysteries.

https://www.nps.gov/orpi/learn/nature/saguaro-cactus.htm

Where are your favorite places to takes walks or hikes?

Does anyone have a guess to the ages of these saguaros?

The joy of old friends

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Agave with blooming cactus. I learned the cactus is called Argentine Giant.

Yesterday I met an old friend for coffee. I don’t mean that she is old, but that we were friends for decades. She was a graphic designer that I worked with in Palm Springs.

When I was in my 20s and 30s I worked in public relations and advertising. A hot graphic design firm we used (when I worked in-house for a huge real estate developer) had several talented graphic designers. Something happened at the design firm and the designers I knew went independent. I think there was an issue with getting paid.

I also took the leap and went independent.

It was exciting to start my own business. The camaraderie I had with these amazing women to guide and mentor me gave me the courage. They had experience and advised me of what software to use for bookkeeping, what rates to charge. We referred each other business, too.

The friend I met for coffee yesterday was in this group of entrepreneurial women. She moved to the Scottsdale area 15 years ago. I can’t believe it’s been that long. She said she thinks the last time she saw me was 20 years ago! Also, she remembered going to my baby shower 30 years ago.

I texted her before we moved and she sent me a list of restaurants, where to grocery shop, all the good coffee shops, etc. At the time, it was during the shutdown so we didn’t get together. Then today I learned her husband had an extended illness and she was the caregiver. So another year went by.

Now that I’m over COVID we finally got together. I’m smiling the rest of the day.

What gave you joy today?

The secrets in our yard

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Half eaten cactus

We discovered where the bites of cactus that end up at our front door came from.

I wrote about a mystery in our yard with bits of plants and cactus ending up on our front door mat HERE.

I’ve had a camera on lookout to spot the creatures. I’ve caught a bunny, a chipmunk and a lizard darting by. It was mentioned by another blogger that it could be our courtyard forms a wind tunnel and it’s the wind blowing the bits and pieces to the door.

Ever since I moved the camera from the backyard to the front door, the little presents stopped. I think the problem is the camera’s light. The camera goes dark at night and when movement happens it clicks on video mode with a bright light. We caught one bunny and after that nothing. I think the light has scared away any critters.

The only videos I get of animals are in the bright daylight.

However, I did spot a half eaten cacti in another part of the courtyard in a pot next to a big rock. I believe bunnies climb the rock and help themselves to a cactus buffet.

Another exciting secret I found in our yard is hidden in this Elephant Feed succulent. Also in a pot:

Elephant Feed in a pot

Elephant Feed succulent in a pot by our garage.

quail eggs hidden in a planter

Isn’t this exciting? I believe it’s quail eggs. I noticed this because as I backed the car out of the garage close to the pot of Elephant Feed, two quails flew away. I hope they come back!

What treasures have you discovered in your back yard or home?

The desert in bloom

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Yucca in bloom

A yucca in bloom at the entrance to our neighborhood.

On my morning walks, I’ve noticed some beautiful blooms. We had a temperature swing of 30 degrees the past few days and I wonder if the flowers will wilt immediately in the heat? I decided yesterday to take photos to share the blooms while they are here.

A hedgehog cactus in bloom.

The hedgehogs have different colors of blossoms.

I hope all these buds bloom in the next day or two and it’s not too hot for them to make it.

According to my desert plant guide, these yellow flowers are Lemmon’s Ragwort.

I think Spring is my favorite season with all the wildflowers and the neighborhood coming back to life.

What is your favorite season and why?