Saguaros

I remember those old Western movies showing the cowboys and Indians as they rode through a valley, up over a mountain, playing hide-and-seek among the majestic Saguaro cactus in the deserts of the Wild West.  Those scenes were imprinted in my mind knowing that the big cactus were part of the great west and important to that movie genre.

Ah, but low-and-behold, the Saguaro Cactus is only unique to the great Sonora Desert, with its six biotic climate areas, ranging from Tucson, AZ in the north to down into Mexico; it is Mexico’s hottest desert!  The cactus has been depicted on many of a movie set in locations where they can’t grow.  But seeing that huge cactus in cowboy movies helped the directors give the viewer an instant connection to the “Westerns.”

The Sonoran Desert is home to the unique Saguaro Cactus, tall with stubby and branching arms and covered with prickly needles, or spines.  The climate in the desert is perfect for its life cycle, and for the health and preservation of the species and the Saguaro is only native to and exclusively found in the Sonora Desert.

The Saguaro is the largest cactus in the United States, it grows very slowly but it can ultimately grow to sixty feet tall!  The plant can live to as much as 200 years old and the plant receives most of its moisture during the rainy season.   As the cactus absorbs rainwater, it visibly expands, using the stored water as needed. 

One unique aspect of the saguaro is the development of graceful arms which protrude out and upward.  If a saguaro doesn’t have side arms it is called a “spear.”   The arms are developed to increase the plant’s reproductive capacity as they lead to more flowers and fruit per plant.

The Saguaro National Park (US National Park) is located just outside of Tucson, AZ and it offers visitors a chance to get up and close to these marvelous and unusual plants.  The park has an eight-mile winding road through the desert where these spectacular cactus live; pull over and get out and view the cactus up close and personal (be careful).  Look around and take in the other desert plants like the Fishhook Barrel Cactus, the Teddy Bear Cholla Cactus, the Jumping Cholla, and the Pricklypear Cactus.   

Although the cactus isn’t on the endangered species list, it is never-the-less protected by law, so leave it alone. 

Photo of John Wayne courtesy of WWW.

All other photos shown, photographed by ©2019 James David Phenicie;  www.jamesdavidphotos.com

Carlsbad, CA 

#cactus #saguaro #photograph #National Park #Saguaro Cactus #Tucson #Arizona

3D Printing

War Bird: B-17 Boeing Fortress

10/02/2019:  

For those who love aviation and enjoy seeing the old WWII “war birds” at various flyovers, static displays, or at airshows, the inherent danger involved with these marvelous but aging aircraft came true today at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.   

The B-17 Boeing Fortress, tail number 231909, sponsored by "Wings of Freedom Tour," had an inflight emergency, while carrying paying enthusiasts on a thirty-minute flight, which resulted in a crash at Bradley International Airport.  Unfortunately, at least seven passengers and aircrew were killed and another seven were injured. 

    

Over the past several years I had the pleasure of photographing the old war bird at Palomar Airport, Carlsbad, CA while on display.  To hear the deep-throated roar of the four reciprocating engines as the big blades cut through the air as the B-17 passed overhead was thrilling.   Seeing this aircraft and knowing that men and women of the greatest generation designed, manufactured and then flew these machines during World War II gave me a great amount of respect and reverence for the aircraft and those who made it happen.  

And now, like the passing of many old vets, this veteran aircraft is now history.  What caused the crash, who knows?  Mechanical, of course; fatigue? Loss of power?  Something didn’t go right and listening to the pilot’s radio transmission just before the crash didn’t betray anything unusual... total professionalism to the end.   Sad day for those who perished and were injured doing what they loved.

Here are some of my images from the visits to Palomar Airport.

The Babies

There it was, such a tiny nest precariously perched on a small decorative light cord covered above only with the cross-stitched sunscreen on a pergola in the back yard.  The tiny darting bird, wings furiously slapping air, is building a crude but perfectly engineered bed using spider silk and dull green lichen in which to lay two jelly bean-sized eggs.  

Within 3 weeks, little nestlings, their heads with spike-like hair on naked bodies bob and weave above the rim of the nest with beaks wide open and eyes clamped shut.

 

The feeding frenzy begins as the mother, an Anna Hummingbird, spends much of her time looking and foraging for insects and insect eggs found in local trees and on the ground.  Trip after trip, she makes, as she dutifully feeds her two babies the nectar and insects which she has ingested, only to regurgitate it deep into their crops. 

 

They grow quickly, new feathers appear and their beaks sharpen.  And they share the same small space, moving in unison for a comfortable spot.  The mother continues without hesitation to continue her sole purpose, and that is the constant feeding of her babies.

 

Eventually, it is time to leave the nest and face their world.  One at a time they each spend time flapping their wings, building up the muscles and tendons which will transform them into darting, hovering, zipping hummingbird.     

One is left and for another day she works her wings, practicing hard for the moment of lift off!.  After a long period of flapping, she lays down across the nest, pooped.  Eventually, she recovers and the next morning, she has left the nest.