Tag Archives: saguaro

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?

Life and Death

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Sunset saguaro
A saguaro at sunset.

Two texts arrived within minutes. One on my husband’s phone — a friend who was also a client had lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was one of very few to make it almost five years since diagnosis. His daughter texted to tell us the news and invited us to services planned this weekend. It hit me hard. It’s the fifth death of a friend in a short amount of time. I feel mortality is fleeting and I’m scared, especially with my DIL’s cancer. It’s all too real.

Then my phone pinged and there was a picture of a beautiful newborn baby boy. The mother is a swimmer from our club team and was close to my son and daughter. I talk to her mother almost every week. She’s been one of my closest friends for years. I remember the first time I met her, we were at our first swim meet with our son and I felt lost and overwhelmed. My soon to be friend was the only smiling face I saw that day. She drove our second car from Palm Springs to Arizona on the day we moved, her husband following behind in their car. Now that’s a friend. What a joy to see a photo of new life in their family at that moment…

This weekend we’ll be going to a funeral as well as celebrating my dad’s 92nd birthday. That’s life. That’s death. Sadness. Joy.

Today, in my online writing class at Gotham Writers on plots (Gotham Writers was recommended by LA from Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50) I learned about Life and Death as a theme in plots. A coincidence? I think not.

Then I began a book to read, “The Indigo Girl” by Natasha Boyd. Here’s the opening page:

“No time is ours but the present…and that so fleeting, we can hardly be said to exist.” Eliza Lucas 1722-1793

The Indigo Girl, A novel by Natasha Boyd

What are your thoughts about Life and Death? Do you think it’s unusual to learn about a death and a birth within minutes?

Saguaros in bloom

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This year is fascinating with all the blooming cacti and plants. This is my third spring in Arizona and it’s truly amazing. I’m sure it was the rainy winter we had that is encouraging all the plant life to come alive with flowers. Right now the saguaros are blooming, something I didn’t see much of the past two years.

We have a nature’s preserve across the street and it’s gorgeous to see saguaros topped with white flower crowns. They remind me of the floral crowns we swim moms ordered for my senior day for my daughter’s college swim team.

Saguaros topped with white crowns of flowers at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A saguaro in bloom at a neighbor’s house.

In our back yard.

What unusual plants, flowers or wildlife have you seen this spring? Did you have more rain or snow than in the past few years?