Saguaro 2

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This morning we drove to a restaurant called the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We didn't know the chain had moved this far west! Then we followed the same dirt road into the park that we had found on the map yesterday. We were early enough to see lots of wide open, beautiful blooms! We looked for cactus "ribs" and "boots". No luck on the boots, but we found plenty of ribs. The Saguaro actually has a woody support about three inches in from the skin. When they die, the woody parts are long and thin and look like ribs. The boot is so interesting. When the woodpeckers make a hole inside the cactus, it goes in and then down. The cactus adds a woody layer as a type of "scar" tissue to cover over the damage made by the woodpecker. When the cactus dies, this woody part falls to the ground. It looks like a boot! We went to the visitor center on the west side and got to pick up a "boot" that was on display. We asked if there was any possibility of seeing an elf owl. The ranger said, mysteriously, "I don't know where they are, and if I did I couldn't tell you!" Fine! Nancy saw a bird perched on a cactus that looked like a small hawk. She took a picture of it and showed it to the ranger. She said she thought it was a peregrine falcon. There were also white-winged doves with their heads plunged deep into the cactus flower to reach the nectar. They are important pollinators.
On the way back to the camper, we discovered why the road and the signs were so bad to the park. We had taken the back way. The signs and the roads were great on the other end of the park. That's okay. We liked our own tour. After dinner, we went back out to try to capture a sunset behind the saguaros. We also parked until dark, hoping to see a fruit bat or an owl. No luck. 😞
Today, the temperature was in the eighties. Much better.

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Photos

Blooms
The buds remind me of Shrek's ears.