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As many of you already know (from a previous entry), years ago I had quite a run-in with Cholla (also known as a jumping Cholla for its tendency to drop pods that blow in the wind). They’re barbed needles are very sharp and very sturdy so when they penetrate the skin they’re like a fishing hook they’re there to stay. I have deep respect for this cacti; good luck removing them painlessly! This photo was taken within Brown’s Desert Ranch; a public land use area (parkland), just outside of North Scottsdale. I arrived well before sunrise so that I had enough time to find “the” perfect composition of Pinnacle Peak (a famous mountain), but walked away empty handed, until I spotted this on the way back to my car. The Cholla grows in a higley piggly fashion. With its random branches of various heights and widths, they usually grow in clusters (which often block the way!). This one caught my eye because it was just so symmetrical and balanced; an anomaly!
The "Desert Agave" grows in the lower elevations of the Sonoran and Majavi deserts where it is hot and dry. The leaves have a distinct cyan/bluish tinge and are quite thick, and can grow up to 27 inches in length. The pronounced teeth along leaf edges are dark-tipped, a third of an inch long, and like most agave the underside of each leaf bears a permanent imprint of the teeth from the once underlying leaf (created when the two were growing together). The black tips are really sharp so you don’t want to back into one by accident (!), as I found out not long ago when I recently transplanted one ....ouch! I cropped this photo so that it leans (if you will) towards an abstract view; notice how I’m only showing part of agave. I love the flow (the diagonal and horizontal lines), the “teeth” and subtle colors. This photo would look great as a stand alone statement piece or blend well with a busier desert photo.
