Photo Of The Day: Saguaro Sky
The saguaro (pronounced suh-gwahr-oh, [or] suh-wahr-oh) is a large, tree-sized species of cactus native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, and small areas of California.
The first time I saw a saguaro cactus – several in fact – was on leaving the Tucson, Arizona airport terminal in the company of my cousin Mary and her husband George. I had flown to Tucson to spend a week with them towards the end of a three month stay in America over the summer of 2010.
My attention was immediately drawn to these strange, yet magnificent plants that can survive more than 150 years, and grow up to 50 feet (15.25 metres) in height. That they do so, despite the harsh, dry conditions that characterize life in southern Arizona – especially over long, blazingly hot summers, is even more impressive.
The photo here was taken during a visit to the San Xavier Mission (Mission San Xavier del Bac), a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson. The two birds of prey seen in the top left of the photograph (yes, there are two), are probably hawks of some type, but given the height of even the lowest one, only a keen bird watcher could say with any degree of certainty exactly what species they might be.
During my brief stay, I never tired of examining the saguaro as closely as possible, and remain fascinated by them even now. They are definitely among the most photogenic plants I have ever had the pleasure of photographing.
