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Tagged With "Cactus Wren"

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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

DrFumblefinger ·
Glad to see you didn't get too close, PHeymont! The needles on most cholla are barbed, like a fish hook. Very painful and difficult to get out once embedded in your skin.
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

Paul Heymont ·
My local friend, who warned me about them, also told me how to get the barbs out...
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

DrFumblefinger ·
I bet your friend said to use "fish nose" plyers. The same kind you use to get a deeply swallowed hook out of a fish.
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

Former Member ·
Always worth trying a little tape or dried Elmer's glue over the area. Gently pull and hope for the best. What you really do not want to do is sit on the cacti. Ask me how I know.
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

PortMoresby ·
Or backing into nettles, bare-skinned in an emergency. Ask me how I know.
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

DrFumblefinger ·
Originally Posted by PortMoresby: Or backing into nettles, bare-skinned in an emergency. Ask me how I know. How do you know?
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Re: It's not snow: silvery cholla cactus, backlit, Christmas Day in Green Valley, AZ

PortMoresby ·
On a hike once, far from the nearest facilities...well, you get the picture. The trouble with nettles is, unlike cholla, the inflictors of the stings are small and not noticeable if one isn't familiar with the plant. Despite the painful meeting of nether parts with plant parts, it took another encounter or 2 before I finally got that those innocuous-looking plants were the ones. Cholla, with which I'm also personally familiar, cannot hold a candle in the pain department to nettles.
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert

Paul Heymont ·
Great color and variety! Thanks...I'm going to have to get to the desert in spring, sometime. I visited the Sonora desert in December, and recognize some of these from seeing them without their brilliant display (click HERE for that blog) This is certainly a reminder of how little we know a place when we only know it "in season."
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert

GarryRF ·
How many times do folks say "Why did you go there ? There's nothing to see !" That's why I love going the opposite way from the crowd. Beautiful selection of photo's ! Any little beasties on the loose ?
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Re: A Springtime Walk in the Desert

DrFumblefinger ·
There were a lot of these little lizards around, GarryRF. Generally a good sign because if there's rattlesnakes about they hide. Except for birds, everything else was well hidden.
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

DrFumblefinger ·
As it snows and storms outside, a welcome diversion! I find all cacti interesting but there's something captivating about the saguaro forest around Tucson. While visiting Saguaro National Park (years ago, before it was a national park), I remember a newspaper clipping tacked onto the park's information board. The headline read something like "Saguaro cactus involved in double homocide". Seems a drunk yahoo with a shotgun drove out to the desert to kill himself a giant saguaro. He did, the...
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

GarryRF ·
I love to travel in the winter to hot countries - who doesn't ? But apart from the obvious reasons you get access to rare and strange fruit that just doesn't travel well. Star fruit, Custard apples, Salak and Prickly pears ! PRICKLY PEARS Delicious !!
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

Former Member ·
You actually can eat those fruits?
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

Paul Heymont ·
It may seem a little surprising, but yes…it’s food! I always wonder about things like this: Who was the first human desperate enough to try eating a spiny thistle (the one we call an artichoike!)
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

Travel Rob ·
Spending time in the Tucson area, I've learned to appreciate cacti even more. What amazes me is how many tall saguaro there are because it takes so long for them to grow.
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Re: A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

DrFumblefinger ·
I love the Saguaro forest around Tucson. Especially in the spring when the cacti are in bloom!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 31, 2014: Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Jean ·
Just visited this park on the advice of our daughter and Dr. Fumblefinger. Enjoyed it immensly. Beautiful photos taken on the trip. Maybe see some of my daughters photos soon.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 31, 2014: Saguaro National Park, Arizona

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks for your nice note, Jean, and I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. We'll be starting to see some of your daughter's photos next month, and then onward in a regular basis. She's a very talented photographer, as I'm sure everyone will be seeing shortly.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 31, 2014: Saguaro National Park, Arizona

Dr.Y ·
Wonderful place! Must see someday.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 31, 2014: Saguaro National Park, Arizona

DrFumblefinger ·
You would enjoy it, DrY! It is a great spring break destination to visit with the kids. Nice weather -- not too hot -- with great scenery and lots of things to do. We can talk about it offline sometime.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 11, 2015: Cactus Wren, Arizona

PortMoresby ·
Very nice! Also love the ocotillo.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 11, 2015: Cactus Wren, Arizona

Marilyn Jones ·
So beautiful; excellent photos!!
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, February 9, 2015: "Teddy Bear" Cholla

DrFumblefinger ·
  When you see a group of them at a distance in the "Cholla Cactus Garden" (Joshua Tree National Park), they're a memorable site.  With their arms outstretched, these cacti seem rather fuzzy, almost soft, and hence the name "teddy...
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More Merger News: AA to get"single certificate" next week

Paul Heymont ·
The Federal Aviation Administration is allowing the merged American/USAir to take the next step on its merger path; it announced Monday that it will issue the "single operating certificate (SOC)" that will remove the last barriers to the company...
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A California Gallery: The Ruth Bancroft Garden

PortMoresby ·
PortMoresby ends her current line-up of Northern California gardens with a visit to the dry world created of one lady’s passion.
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, October 23, 2015: St George's church, Portland UK

Mac ·
Drawing much inspiration from London's St. Paul's cathedral is St. George's church in Portland, England. Designed with obvious enthusiasm by an apprentice of Sir Christopher Wren, it appeared to jumble together a disparate number of design ideas. This...
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A Visit to the “Spine Garden:”Cactus in Arizona’s Sonora Desert

Paul Heymont ·
 Even a non-artist like me can make you think of the desert with just a few squiggles of a felt-tip marker. See above? I did it already…and what does the trick is that everyone has seen the image forever, even though the cactus in the...
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A Day in Oxford

PortMoresby ·
On her way to the Cotswolds from London, PortMoresby makes an overnight stop In Oxford.
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Isle of Portland, Dorset, England (Where Gumbo Was #176)

Paul Heymont ·
The Isle of Portland has a long history as a naval base, as a port and more, but more than anything else, it's known for its prized white limestone.
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 11, 2015: Cactus Wren, Arizona

DrFumblefinger ·
  One of the prettiest songs you'll hear in the desert of the Southwestern United States and central Mexico is that of the cactus wren, the state bird of Arizona.  It's the largest American wren and  frequently nests within a cactus...
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A Springtime Walk in the Desert

DrFumblefinger ·
  I've been intrigued by deserts ever since I first visited one as a teenager.  The first impression I remember having is of a lifeless, hostile and barren place.  It's certainly a hostile environment but I couldn't have been more wrong...
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Gumbo's Pic of the Day, March 31, 2014: Saguaro National Park, Arizona

DrFumblefinger ·
I love visiting the saguaro cactus forest of southern Arizona almost as much as any of this state's great landmarks, including Petrified Forest National Park and Grand Canyon National Park .  The landscape intrigues me and no where is it better...
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Hampton Court Palace

Paul Heymont ·
PHeymont re-visits the huge palace associated with Henry VIII, although much altered by his successors.
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Re: A California Gallery: The Ruth Bancroft Garden

Amateuremigrant ·
Fabulous pictures ! I love plants in general - they have to find a way to live where they land. Spent many years in cold Arctic desert (AK, Scandi), and also hot deserts from Morocco all the way across to the Thar. Adaptations are a delight for anyone into environmental science but also for insight into how humans used, copied and survived thanks to the plant life
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Re: A California Gallery: The Ruth Bancroft Garden

DrFumblefinger ·
The cacti especially are beautifully captured in this post. Didn't see the port-a-potties, but what you shared of the garden is lovely!
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London: Always more to see

Paul Heymont ·
PHeymont loves wandering cities, and catching glimpses of the ordinary as well as the extraordinary and the sometimes unseen extraordinary.
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A Change of Scenery at Maryland's Beautiful and Historic Eastern Shore

Stephanie Kalina-Metzger ·
Stephanie unwinds and enjoys a visit to the peaceful environs of Maryland's eastern shore.
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Exploring Henderson, Texas

Marilyn Jones ·
Marilyn Jones shares another slice of East Texas, this time an antiquing trip with her granddaughter.
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Magic of Christmas, Henderson, Texas

Marilyn Jones ·
Marilyn Jones shares a bit of early celebration for the upcoming Christmas season with her granddaughter
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Spring Training at Salt River Fields

Samantha ·
Samantha loves baseball and enjoyed her visit to the Rockies' spring training field in Arizona, Salt River Field. Share her game day experience!
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Phoenix in the Distance: Amazing South Mountain Park

Samantha ·
Join Samantha on a visit to a Phoenix Point of Pride: the nation's largest municipal park.
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The Falkland Islands

Barry Barford ·
With a rich maritime history, abundant wildlife and immensely hospitable locals, this slice of Britain in the South Atlantic has a lot going for it.
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Towers of London

Paul Heymont ·
A reminder from Paul Heymont that the famous and infamous Tower of London is far from the only tower of London!
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Tempe Diablo Stadium - Angels Spring Training Field

Samantha ·
Since 1993 the Angels have played their spring training games at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Samantha was lucky enough to catch a game there!
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