Thursday, September 27, 2012

If a Saguaro falls in the desert, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?


Last October, when we vacationed in the Desert SW, our final stop before getting on the plane was the Pueblo Grande Museum in Phoenix, conveniently located right by the airport. For Andrew it was a chance to have one more look at the historic cultures of the area. And for me, one last look at the desert flora.

Doesn’t this Opuntia look thirsty?

Something unfortunate appears to have happened here…

Doesn’t seem to have slowed it down much though.

If I lived in the desert I would definitely have an Ocotillo fence…

A Saguaro with reconstructed Hohokam structures in the background.

Which brings me to the title of this post…

We were surprised to see a Saguaro lying on its side. Due to the crusty looking; burnt-out end we thought maybe lighting had hit it (there had been a lightening storm just the night before, cancelling my nephews little league game)

Turns out the folks running the museum didn’t even know it had fallen over until a visitor went into tell them. They figure it must happened during the night.

They think it had been diseased for quite some time and just finally couldn’t stand up any longer, it was interesting to see.

Chainfruit Cholla…

Can you see the chains?

Brittle bush, Encelia farinose

And my last Agave of the two week vacation, I’m getting all misty eyed just thinking about it…

Luckily there’s a trip to Phoenix in the works sometime early in the New Year so I’ll be able to stock up on my desert plant energy, and who knows…maybe find a few new friends to bring home!

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