The Arizona Desert (pictures for Mercedes)

This is called an Apache Boot. It's the clay home built by birds on the inside of saguaro cacti. When the cacti die, and fall over, if you pull it apart these nests can be found. The bird enters through the little hole you see in this shot, but this boot is fairly well decayed already. Many of the more expensive tourist shops sell these after they've been sealed and varnished. When it's only 60 degrees outside, this is a wondrous place to be. But when it's 110, this is a different world entirely. It seems so much more like the stereotypical 'western' landscape when in black and white. My favorite shot today. An intoxicating, ever-changing sky. The desert vista, strangely green. The space really is this endless. Unusually green, due to rain the day and night before I shot this photograph. Cacti habitat. The desert can be heart-breakingly beautiful. Silhouettes of trees, and what appears to be a large nest. As beautiful as this may appear, this big nest-looking shape is actually a parasite, strangling/killing it's host tree. When a large cactus dies, it falls over and breaks off. This is a picture of one in advance decay. It's like a rope skeleton. Close-up on dead cactus strands. My Lovely Mother pointed out that it's very strange to see such a linear silhouette in the desert.
The sky, changing after a storm blew over. Lots of people go target shooting in the desert. I like to pick up the shells and line them up on my desk, put a feather or a small flower in them. Targeted-out. Just watch your step. Cow patties, and all!