Tag Archives: saguaro

They’re Growing Arms!

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This was the only saguaro in our backyard that was growing an arm. We estimate this cactus is 50 to 75 years old. All our other cactus were arm free. Until this week. Now several are sprouting arms. My guess is that it has something to do with our weather. We are in our fifth or sixth consecutive week of rainy days. It’s been raining three to four days a week. FYI, the black holes on the saguaro are created by woodpeckers hollowing out nests. When they abandon their nests, other species of birds move in.

Here are a few more photos from our backyard of cactus arms and buds:

Here’s a barrel cactus growing arms on the side. They are also known as pups.

This saguaro is partially hidden by branches from a mesquite tree. There’s a small arm popping out the front, too.

This is called a Peruvian Apple Cactus (the skinny one that look like it’s growing an arm.) I learned that’s actually the fruit growing. There are several of them in our yards.

Here’s another one. The black string that hangs from the fruit is the dried up blossom.

Photos from the McDowell Sonoran Preserve:

This is a saguaro out in the wilds of the preserve across the street. It’s saguaro like this that my husband says he has cactus arm envy!

My husband and I on the trails at the nature’s preserve across the street. It takes a saguaro 50 to 75 years to grow their first arm. I wonder how old these are?

Do you have any feedback on my cactus arm info?

Are you having tons of rain, too?

Bird of the Week

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Bird of the Week: CLXVIII

Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis

  • ORDER: Piciformes
  • FAMILY: Picidae
  • SIZE: The adult is 8 to 10 inches long (20-25 cm) and weights 3.5 oz (68 gm).

We have several Gila Woodpeckers in our backyard. The males (photo above) have a patch of bright red feathers on top of their heads, while the females do not.

I had to get rid of my hummingbird feeder because the Gila Woodpeckers would attach themselves to it and drain it in an hour. The hummingbirds never got a chance.

Normally, they eat insects, berries and cactus fruit. They also like the birdseed I put out for my backyard birds.

They live in the deserts of the southwest US and Mexico. They make their nests in Saguaro cactus digging out a hole and allowing it to dry out for several months before moving in. That makes a solid casing around the nest.

This is a saguaro in our back yard with several nests made by Gila Woodpeckers. After they are done raising their young, they abandon their nest and other birds will claim the cavity nest as their own. Those birds include elf and pygmy owls, flycatchers, Cactus Wrens and other species.

Here are a male and female hanging out on a tree. Gila Woodpeckers are monogamous and mate for life. They have strong head and neck muscles so they are able to withstand the shock of pounding their bills into trees and other materials. Often we hear them pecking the metal top to our fireplace.

With their black and white zebra striped back and their loud call, they are easy to spot or hear.

Here are recordings of their call from All About Birds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gila_Woodpecker/sounds

The birds in my backyard use the pink flamingo as a perch.

Another One Bites the Dust

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I was walking out the door for my morning walk when I spotted a mighty saguaro that fell down and landed against a tree. That makes four that we’ve lost. I was afraid it was due to overwatering which can cause saguaro to rot and fall.

This one was completely dry at the base. My husband said it looked like the base rotted out. I looked it up, it’s called root rot.

Some of the saguaro are native while others are transplants:

We are thinking this one must be a transplant. It obviously didn’t have a great root system.

Transplanted saguaros often have a more damaged or less naturally formed root system, and may be tagged or have a history of being moved. Native saguaros, on the other hand, will have a more natural, established root system.

  • Root system:Transplanted Saguaros typically have their roots trimmed during the transplant process. While they can regenerate roots, a lack of extensive, naturally developed root structure might be noticeable. 
  • Damage from transplanting:Look for signs of scarring or damage to the base of the cactus, especially if it was moved recently. 
  • Lack of natural habitat features:Saguaros in their natural desert habitat often grow on slopes or in valleys. A Saguaro in a perfectly flat, manicured lawn, for example, might be an indication of transplant. –Google AI

Another thing I learned about native versus transplanted saguaro is the transplanted ones can be discolored at the base. Native saguaros stay a healthy green.

The gardener came the very next day and said he’d get it out of the tree, but it couldn’t be saved. He said he’d cut it up with his chainsaw and would let it dry out before he hauled it to the dump. It weighed more than 1,000 pounds and was too expensive for him to deal with.

Here are two photos of the saguaro in it’s new shape:

It is interesting to see the insides of our saguaro.

I took a few photos of prickly pears while I was out on the driveway taking pics of the saguaro’s demise. I hope you enjoy them.

Have a nice weekend! Any exciting plans?

Changes in Saguaro Land

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My husband took this photo of our saguaro with his iphone. It’s amazing to watch the changes the season brings to a saguaro. Here’s a growth chart that I found to guess the age of this saguaro in our backyard. It has its first arm and is taller than 15 to 16 feet, so I bet it’s 100 years old or older.

Here’s another photo my husband took:

The birds are loving the flowers! The flowers look like the inside of a pomegranate. Before the flowers turned red, the blossoms were white and looked like crowns. Here’s a photo when the saguaro began to bloom.

The saguaro with more blossoms. Unbelievable how they turned red!

Here are saguaros I took with my iphone from across the pool, while writing my morning pages. I thought this would give some perspective of how majestic and tall they are.

Did I mention birds? Yes, the birds are always landing on the saguaro and have also built nests inside. You can see the holes in the saguaro in the photo above that have had nests and baby birds. Once a bird abandons a next, another bird may move in.

A White Winged Dove enjoying the view.

A Curve-Billed thrasher on a saguaro before it bloomed.

Two much water can kill saguaros and with our last gardener we lost three. Over watering can cause root rot and collapse. Saguaros have accordion-like ribs and a stem succulent that allows them to store hundreds of gallons of water during rainfall. As more water gets stored, the skin of the saguaro starts to expand to make room for more storage.

To be fair to the gardener we had, two saguaros were over-watered and fell on their own. One was rescued and it survived, one died. Two others were infected with some sort of disease.

We hired a cactus doctor who inspected all our cacti and told us to remove the two diseased ones or it could spread to others. Then we were told before you can remove saguaros you have to get a permit from the county! We had a knock on the door and a county inspector arrived. The cactus doctor had called him. After we got the permit, we were told to hire a crew to remove the saguaro. After the entire ordeal, my husband thought he could have handled it on his own. However, there were two men taking down the saguaro. If my husband decided to do it — I would not volunteer for the chain saw — nor making sure the saguaro fell in the right place by holding a rope around it.

What an ordeal. We didn’t know much about saguaros when we moved here, but we are learning!

What are some special native plants where you live?

Sights from my backyard

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Friday I went to see my surgeon and she removed my cast! YAY! Then she put me in a heavy duty boot and told me to use my walker and walk around the house and outside with 50% weight on my right leg. The other thing she said was I could take a shower beginning Sunday with no huge plastic sleeve topped with saran wrap on my leg. WOOHOO!

It’s the little things like semi-walking and taking a shower that are making my days!

Part of my morning routine, after coffee and writing three pages, is to venture outside. I sit for about 45 minutes to an hour watching and listening to my birds. I also listen to the Hallow app on my phone. I’m listening to a podcast on it called “Bible in a Year.” I’m on day 180. I find this to be a peaceful and helpful way to approach my day. I was so over being laid up last Thursday that I didn’t want to do anything. Getting outside plus listening to this app and my birds has helped me over the hump.

Here are a few sights from my backyard:

Here’s a honeysuckle I took with my iphone while sitting outside.

Here’s a selfie of me in my sundress and boot with my walker.

Aloe in bloom next to honeysuckle.

One lone blossom on top of a saguaro.

What little things or moments in your day make it special?

Spring has sprung!

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Throughout our neighborhood, the Palos Verdes trees are in full bloom. The bright yellow flowers against the blue sky are so gorgeous.

This is how beautiful our driveway looks right now. Most of the year, the plants are brown without blossoms.

Even the saguaro in our backyard is bursting out in blossoms. A Gila Woodpecker is taking advantage of the nectar from one blossom.

I took the saguaro photos Monday. Today there are seven blossoms. I’m taking pictures each day to see how the blossoming crown progresses.

This is the walkway from our driveway to our courtyard and front door. I have never seen it look so “Springy” before.

Then there’s RED:

I decided to take a few more photos of the saguaro blossoms for this post and guess who showed up? He landed right in front of me and started singing with all his might! I think he wondered why my camera was pointed at the cactus — and not him!

Here is Red singing his heart out! None of the photos today are edited, cropped or touched. My professor’s last words of wisdom for us this week was we can start editing in Adobe Photoshop — but it has a steep learning curve. I’m thankful for the lessons I’ve had with this professor and that he didn’t let us crop or edit — we had to be aware of what our photos would look like untouched.

Even the bees are buzzing today!

Happy Spring and thanks for going on my photo journey with me.

Perhaps it’s time to get back to writing and editing my manuscripts?

Nesting time

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This past weekend, I was fascinated watching two mourning doves flying in and out of a bush in our backyard. They would fly up to the bush, sit on a branch and then disappear inside. They were carrying twigs and grass in their beaks.

I got the photo above before scaring the birds to the top of our pergola.

One of the doves kept guard from the top of the pergola before continuing the chore of building their nest.

I wanted to get a picture of the nest, but this is what I saw when I got up close:

Do you see the dove roosting in her nest? Her eye is to the left of the vertical branch. I backed off after snapping a photo. I don’t want to scare them away. That was quick work in building the nest!

Last year, I discovered quail eggs in a large planter next to our garage. The quail must have laid eggs while we were out of town. Once we were home, I noticed quail flying out of the planter whenever I opened the garage. I looked in the planter and discovered quail eggs, but mom and dad quail were scared away. The eggs never hatched.

I don’t want that to happen with the mourning doves. So, I’ll try to stop myself from taking more pictures!

A Gila woodpecker goes in an out of a saguaro nest in our backyard. All the holes were most likely made by woodpeckers. When they leave their nests, other birds move in.

I love watching birds in my empty nest.

What nests have you noticed in your neck of the woods?