In the spirit of my Late Summer Cactus Blooms Post I wanted to highlight another example of nature’s beauty among danger. After a wonderfully rainy winter in Arizona, USA, the desert plants are showing off as we prepare for the Summer to set in.
I came across my Hedgehog Cactus giving a full display of its many reddish pink flowers. If all goes well, and I find the right implements to work around the spines, I’ll have quite a few cacti fruits to enjoy soon.
A symbol of Arizona, and the Desert Southwest, is the mighty Saguaro Cactus. These cactus grow to be 40ft tall, and their ‘crown’ of flowers/fruit are used by many Indigenous Communities throughout the area. Every plant in the desert is resilient, but this fallen Saguaro made sure to put on one last display before it eventually had to be removed. Without a well balanced ladder or by disturbing the plant, I would not have had such an opportunity to view this up close.
Less dangerous looking or daunting are Pleated Cereus. The flowers these plants produce are massive and very much a favorite of bees. They do produce a fruit, but I have yet to find one that has been passed up by the birds. Maybe one day they’ll share with me!
Not many people realize that the desert can be quite beautiful. You just need to be willing to brave nature’s defenses to get an up close view. A few warning pokes is enough to remind you to be respectful of the plant and animals that rely on it. I feel fortunate to be a bystander.
How about you, are there any dangerous displays of natural beauty where you’re from?
Great photos of beautiful Cacti @JustJake and having been to several deserts around the world, I couldn’t agree with you more, “the desert can be quite beautiful”…and indeed…“a few warning pokes is enough to remind you to be respectful of the plant and animals that rely on it”. I was hoping to share a photo of colorful plants in a desert with you but I’m away at the moment from home and this is the is the best photo I have on Google Photos of a desert…well there are plants in the scene LOL.
However, here are a couple of much more exciting and beautiful photos of cacti, taken by my friend’s niece in Arizona and Texas while on the Southern Tier Route. For those that do not know of this route, the Southern Tier route is a bicycling route that crosses the southern United States from west to east (or east to west). It took Jaime Lee 67 days to bicycle from the start of this route in San Diego CA to the end in St Augustine FL, some 3,092 miles. Jaime Lee only recently completed this bicycle journey and has taken hundreds of amazing photos and videos.
Love seeing other’s photos of Arizona. Nature’s beauty amongst danger is pretty apt. I never really take the time to photograph cactus but I sure can appreciate the beauty.
Also came across a fallen mesquite tree that I thought was pretty spectacular. It contorted itself enough to give itself a brace on the ground and kept growing.
@photoslinger Thank you so much for jumping in with these awesome photos. That magic time when there’s snow on the Four Peaks is the best. I’ve lived here my whole life, and it still seems like such a wonderful gift to see. You got your shot at just the right time.
I’m not surprised about the mesquite continuing on growing after falling. These desert plants are very resilient. I have one that was crushed by a Palo Verde and it, basically, started over out of the few branches that remained in tact.
I just saw your response to the April Introduction post, sorry for missing that. There are a few Arizona LGs around here. The most prolific of us being @AZ_2021 . The raddest Cactus Flower shot here belongs to fellow AZ LG @RLisciarelli . And, @Summersbutterfly1 caught a magic moment that you can almost see from home. @AnithaM makes amazing posts about AZ when not beautifully highlighting her travels (not 100% sure she didn’t fall in love with Oregon and just stay ). I’m proud to see AZ getting some action around here, we have so much to show off and offer.
Those plants in the Sahara are incredible, @AdamGT . Great shot.
Jamie’s highlights though her Arizona leg of the ride are incredible. I’d say she’s as tough as those Saharan plants for surviving everything she encountered on that trip. Kudos to her, and thank you for sharing her story & journey!
While not as colorful and beautiful as that of Jaime, I’m tickled pink that you loved, loved, loved my photo of the plants in theSahara Desert @JustJake . Well now you know I have a good eye for taking colorful photos of plants. I’ve just got to get out there more and take more shots to show everyone
Yes Jaime is certainly a tough young lady and has lots and lots of stories as well as amazing photos and videos taken on her unbelievable 67 days bicycle ride across 3,092 miles of the Southern Tier Route!
Wow those are some amazing photos @JustJake . The cactus bloom looks amazing and beautiful. Very nicely taken photos. Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Yes so happy that AZ is getting lot of attention because of @JustJake and @AZ_2021 and i know there is another person from AZ that i am forgetting (pardon me for that) . I always look forward to reading posts from you guys. I agree desert landscapes can be very beautiful and it is beautiful. I love Arizona and it is my state.
Thank you, @AnithaM , I appreciate the compliments coming from such a prolific photographer. And, I’m glad you decided to come back to AZ after the last adventure
It was a busy week so just catching up on all the new posts and always happy to see when my neighbor posts. Love how you cheer everyone on and your humor about @AnithaM returning to AZ from her travels.
The photos are so beautiful. It’s amazing to see how the saguaro buckled but just kept growing. The pollinator party analogy just make me smile. Normally I get a bit scared when I hear a bee buzzing close to me, but imagining the bees raving around the pollen makes me giggle.
I love that first photo of the mountains coated in snow. That’s one of my favorite parts of the winters here- is seeing those peaks in the distance brushed with white. My first time seeing it years ago, I was kind of surprised since I didn’t expect snow anywhere in a desert.
). I’m proud to see AZ getting some action around here, we have so much to show off and offer.
Love how you cheer everyone on and your humor about 
