~Nature's Tiara~

~Flowering Saguaro~


Finally found the subject that I've been searching for.
Three day now I have been prowling the canyons
and hills in my locale of the Sonoran Desert.
Learned a lot about how these desert giants bloom.
I've been looking high and low, near and far,
for a Carnegiea gigantea in full head dress.
More exhausting of a task than I had thought.
You can see my frustration in yesterdays image.
I spent three hours in the desert sun,
by noon when I was done it was 100° in the shade.
Went back to Honeybee Canyon again early today
determined to find the object of my quest.
Armed with the knowledge I had acquired yesterday,
about where to look and where not to look,
I achieved success at the end of a small box canyon.
One of the main criteria for this photograph
was to be able to look down or at least parallel
with the top of the cactus, which rises 15-30 feet.
This small canyon allowed me that perspective.
The other guideline was to find a plant whose
crown was overflowing with buds and blossoms.
Not as easy as I had first imagined and hoped.
It appears to take a really, really healthy cactus
to produce a floral display like this one.
This saguaro was a very healthy cactus.
I was successful!!!
;o))


Thanks for giving my photograph a look!