Saguaro Cactus

Since I was five years old I have thought that the Saguaro cactus was the coolest plant on the planet.  Doesn't he look like someone waving good-bye?  or a teddy-bear-kinda-something waving?

Though it is totally unique to the American Southwest, how one should pronounce the word, Saguaro, is not unique:  sa·gua·ro (s -gwär , -wär ) also sa·hua·ro (s -wär ). n. pl. sa·gua·ros also sa·hua·ros.  And none of those seems to be the way I say it:  su-wa-ro.  If you want to speak it, pick any and give it a try.  If it doesn't "work" for you, try another!

These guys are amazing.  After growing for 30 years, they begin to flower at the top of its "head" at night only, for about four weeks in late April into May.  (Saguaro don't begin to grow "arms" until its 75 years old.  Then it will flower at the tip of the arms, too.)  There is a cluster of large, really pretty, creamy-white flowers that only last until the next afternoon.  The flowering continues until each cactus has produced about a hundred blossoms.  Those blossoms are cross-pollinated with the help of white-winged dove, long-nosed bats, honey bees and moths.  Then a fruit (fruit? in the desert?) is produced by June or July which Native Americans used to make jam and syrup and even wine for their religious ceremonies.  It was so important to the Tohono O'odham Indians that they would use the ripening of the fruit to mark the beginning of their new year.

The seeds from the fruit survived best if they found themselves dropped under some of the other desert plants because those plants would shade them from the excessive desert heat and shelter them from "predators" like coyotes and javelina (not a wild pig like most folks think, but a hoofed mammal about the size of a small coyote.)  

My avocado tree!

If a seed managed to take root it would grow about 1/4 of an inch in the first year.  After fifteen years that lil' feller would be about 12" tall!  Woo-hoo!  (I planted an avocado seed that sprouted a couple of weeks ago.  It's already 20" tall.  I have no clue how I'm gonna get that puppy home to Texas, but Granpa says it's goin' no matter what.)  If the Saguaro only grows 1/4" a year, we are talkin' slo-o-o-w growin' on the Saguaro!

The Saguaro does live to be about 150 years old though - if the lightening doesn't get it before that.  It's the tallest thing in the desert, so it is a lightening rod!  The desert birds like to drill holes in the cactus to nest in.  Two species, the Gila woodpecker and the gilded flicker, may drill several holes before settling down into one to lay their eggs  - but that's okay, because there is always a bunch of other species that are delighted to move into the unoccupied spaces!  The Saguaro's structure makes those nests 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature in the summertime!  

American kestrel, Lucy's warblers, cactus wrens, western kingbirds, phainopeplas, elf owls screech owls, purple martins and honeybees make their nests in those spare holes, but red-tailed hawks and Harris hawks build their big ol' nests in the crook of the Saguaro's arms.  (That's a lot of critters roaming around the desert!!)

Nighttime not only brings out the flowers, but that's when the animals come out, too.  If you visit during the day you'll think, "How devoid of life the desert is - let's go home."  Not so.  What you need to do is spend the night!  The critters are just smarter than you and I, and they sleep through the heat of the day!  At night in the desert the cactus mouse goes a-stirring, along with the Western diamondback rattlesnake, Gambel's quail, roadrunners (two of my favorite birds of all time), desert tortoise's and Gila monsters.  During the day you might see a jackrabbit because it's huge ears act as air conditioners and release body heat so that it doesn't have a heat stroke.  Or maybe you'll see a kangaroo rat because it NEVER needs to drink water, ever!  It gets all its moisture from eating seeds.

The cacti (plural form of cactus) have spines instead of leaves so they don't loose much water to evaporative cooling, but the Saguaro goes a couple of steps further:  it has a waxy outer coating that traps the moisture inside and the sides of the cactus are accordion-like pleats which easily expand to store water as does the sponge-like meat of the cactus.  That meat combines with the water to form a gelatin-like substance that makes evaporation a really slow process, too.  

The Saguaro's root system is very shallow, but spreads all around to a distance equal to the height of the plant it feeds.  When it rains - and it usually rains less than 12" a year - the Saguaro can soak up as much as 200 gallons of water!  (Texas usually gets about 42" a year, Atlanta gets about 50" a year.)

So after 150 years, the Saguaro can get as tall as 50 feet and weigh up to 16,000 pounds or more!!!  A strong but surprisingly flexible cylinder-shaped frame of long woody ribs at the center manages to support that monster.  All in all, I'd say the Saguaro cactus is about as creative a plant as there is anywhere!



 

Today

Happy thanksgiving, everyone!  I do hope the Lord has blessed you this year, but remember to always give thanks regardless, because He is worthy!  God always hears the prayers of a righteous man.

James 5:16  The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (NASB)

When reading a Bible verse, consider each word.  What is a righteous man?  Someone who has accepted Christ as the Risen Son of God, and who has therefore been set apart from others.  Righteous does not mean a Christian (means little Christ) is "right," it means he/she has been set apart from all others for eternity.

Matthew 10:33  "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven."

Whoa!  That's heavy!  Christ will deny he ever knew you if you do not publicly acknowledge Him to your fellow man!  If Christ doesn't know you, that's an eternal ticket to Hades!

So, for God to receive your prayer you have to first receive His Son, accept God's gift of salvation through Christ.  And that begins with the first prayer God will receive from you:  

Lord, thank you for sending Your Son to save me for eternity.  I confess my sins to you, and I will acknowledge Christ as my Savior before all men always.  Please forgive me by trespasses.  In the name of Your Son, Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

If you meant that from the heart - and God is omnipotent and KNOWS your heart, there is no hiding anything from Him - if you meant that from your heart, you are forever righteous and God will receive your every prayer (so be very careful what you pray for!)  Now comes maybe the hardest part that one who calls himself a Christian in today's world suffers:


Not forsaking the assembling ourselves - In public or private worship. As the manner of some is - Either through fear of persecution, or from a vain imagination that they (you) were above external ordinances. But exhorting one another - To faith, love, and good works. And so much the more, as ye see the day approaching - The great day is ever in your eye.  

--Wesley's Notes on the Bible on Hebrews 10:25

Unfortunately, people today think they go to church or Bible study to learn something.  Not!  You should go there every single Sunday to worship God - not the preacher, not your new clothing, not to show off a new car, or to be seen by others.  You should go to worship God.  If the preacher makes you mad, so what?  You're not there for the preacher you are there to publicly proclaim that Christ died for you and no human is going to tick you off enough to keep you from coming to HIS altar.  Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, is the Lord's Prayer.  Forgive those humans who habit your church, and worship God!

And so, as a righteous man, on the day of Thanksgiving, lift your prayers of Thanksgiving to the heavens and know that your prayers will be answered - in God's time, in God's way, in every circumstance!  Praise be to God, Amen! 

Thanksgiving 2013

I've written about the very, very first Thanksgiving celebration and the fact that it WASN'T in New England: http://thetravelerstwo.blogspot.com/2011/11/very-first-thanksgiving-was-in-texas.html, and the way that post ends should you lead you to another:  http://thetravelerstwo.blogspot.com/2012/04/dogwood-virginias-state-tree-and-flower.html .  Those two should pretty much explain the American tradition of Thanksgiving.

For the third year in a row, Granpa and I won't be home for Thanksgiving, but that certainly does not mean that we don't have a million things to thank the Lord for - like our wonderful family back in Texas (all over Texas!) our job, America, and yes, even the internet that keeps us connected across miles and miles, and even oceans when we're contracted in Hawaii.  Granpa will be on-call Thanksgiving Day, so it's possible that even he and I will spend the day apart from each other and alone.  Truth be told, if we can't be with our families, it's fine with me that he takes on-call or actually works the whole holiday because it lets the locals stay with their families.  I like that.

I am thankful for in-laws that make the day a joyful, food-filled memory for our sons and their families.  (I'm a bit jealous though ... in a kind way!)  I will try to make some memories for Granpa and I, but this year we don't even have a dining room or kitchen table to sit at.  We've about decided a frozen pizza with extra toppings lovingly added may be our meal this year - but the idea is to give thanks to the Lord for His providence.

We have negotiated our current contract to allow us to go home for Christmas - for the first time in three years - and that trip is going to be very much on our Thanksgiving thoughts!

Our prayers are for each of you that read our blog all across the world (we're in 55 countries now that someone has joined us from the Congo!!)  Our hopes and dreams are that each of you have a day of Thanksgiving where you stop the world and just focus on blessings you have received over the previous twelve months.

As for Granpa and I, thank you, Jesus.  You are the best!

If you like our blog, you can "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!  On your iPhone, you can create an app by "adding to home screen," bookmark it, or add it to your Reading List, share it on Twitter or Facebook.  Any way you do it, it's free!

The Dogwood - Virginia's State Tree and Flower

Yes, it is both a flower AND a tree.  I don't understand the biology of that, but it's a fact.  The Dogwood also used to be tall and straight and strong - but after its wood was used  to make a cross to  crucified Jesus on, God made it small and crooked and weak so it could never again be used for such a horrific thing,

and the petals of the Dogwood's flower show the scars of the rusty nails and the stains of Christ's blood.

Come Fall, the leaves turn red representing the blood of Christ, the blood that was sacrificed in atonement for the sins of man - that is, IF a man (woman or child) accepts His sacrifice.  In the Old Testament, especially in the book of Leviticus, it spells out what sacrifices a priest could accept to pay for a person's trespasses:

Leviticus 1:1-3

Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,  "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of animals from the herd or the flock.

'If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer it, a male without defect..."

With Christ, there are no more blood sacrifices necessary - only the acceptance of Christ's blood as the last, ultimate sacrifice made to cover OUR sins in the sight of God.

There were offerings to:
atone for sin (a burnt offering),
as an expression of thanksgiving and dedication to God (a grain offering),
as an expression of gratitude and desire for fellowship with God (a peace offering),
for unintentional sins of weakness or carelessness (a sin offering),
or atonement for specific sins (guilt or trespass offering.)

A burnt offering would be an unblemished bull, male sheep or goat, a male or female dove/pigeon (based on a persons wealth);

A grain offering would be your best flour or grain;

A peace offering would be an unblemished bull / male or female goat;

A sin offering would also be an unblemished bull / male or female goat;

A guilt or trespass offering would be an unblemished ram.

There were incredibly specific, time-consuming ritual things that one had to do in order for a sacrifice to be acceptable to the priest.  Today, all that "stuff" is called religion.  But the truth is, all that you need in order to be accepted into an eternal life in heaven is to believe that Jesus is (not "was," IS) the Son of God, that He lived, died (sacrificed Himself for you and for me, His blood to atone for Our sin) and was resurrected, shared a meal with His disciples, walked on the earth for days, was seen by hundreds, and was watched as He ascended into heaven to be with God.  Watched by EYEWITNESSES! 

Christmas is big because that's when Christ was born.  But Easter!  EASTER is what Christianity is all about!!  Easter is when God allowed the sacrifice of His only Son - totally perfect-in-every-way Son - because not a day goes by when each of us doesn't sin in some way, and God can't look on our sin without great grief and sadness.  (Well, He WON'T look at sin, period.)  Even saying your sinless is a sin because it shows pride.  And the only way to cover our sin so that God CAN look on us is by the blood of Christ covering our sin.

Easter is about coming to life free and clean.  Oh, sure, I'm gonna sin again, but God knows my heart.  He knows I try as hard as I can to be more Christ-like every minute of every day.  Believe me, it takes a LOT of Christ to cover this ol' girl.  But I won't give up trying because to give up trying is to give up loving, loving Christ, loving me, loving you...

Christianity is about LIFE.  Other religions are based on cruelty, submission, revenge, rejection, death even.  But Christianity is about freedom - the freedom to choose Christ and His ways.  Trying to follow His way is proof that you really DID accept Him and what He has done for you.

Wanna learn more?  Go to church.  Not just one church, though.  Shop around!  Preachers are just men, and all men are sinners.  Just because he's standing in a pulpit doesn't mean he's a Christian!  Listen to what he says, but then VERIFY what you hear by going to the BIBLE.  Watch the preacher when he's out of the pulpit.  Does he practice what he preaches?  If you like what you hear and what you see, STAY.  If not, shop around.  And always remember to worship God - not the preacher!!!!  Sooner or later you will see or hear something about a preacher that upsets you.  You might be tempted to stop going to church.  HELLO!  It's not about the preacher!!  It's about YOUR relationship with God!  It's not about religion or ritual.  It's about Christ.

Am I preaching?  Heavens no!  I'm sharing my heart with you.  If I had a box full of chocolates or a bowl full of the finest fruit, or a yummy steak and baked potato, I would be wanting to share it with you (or at least the recipe or store that I got it at :-)  That's all I'm doing.  I'm trying to tell you about this marvelous, wonderful person I met, who's become my best friend (along with John), and I want you to meet Him and become His best friend, too. 

Mining Around Tombstone

I did a post about mining in the Grand Canyon in northeastern Arizona:
http://thetravelerstwo.blogspot.com/2013/09/mining-at-grand-canyon.html

I did a post on mining in the Mojave Desert in northwestern Arizona: http://thetravelerstwo.blogspot.com/2013/09/mining-in-mohave-desert.html

This one is about mining in southeastern Arizona around Tombstone.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like inside and silver mine in the 1800's?  Mighty tough on the knees and the back and the hands...

Notice the candles at the head or hand of each of the miners.

Notice the miner on the bottom right.  He's sitting on a crate of some kind and has four candles in his back pocket.  I'm thinkin' he must be a top dog because it was MY understanding that they only got THREE candles each and no "comforts."

The above conditions were heavenly compared to what was found in the Tombstone Consolidated Mines around 1905:

Who would have thought flooding would be THE major problem with mining in the Tombstone Territory desert!?!  But that is exactly what forced the mining operations to close permanently.  In this particular instance, at the 1,000 foot level, even with giant pumps sucking seven MILLION gallons of water a day out of the mine, these miners were still working in knee deep water.  They never thirsted, however.  Notice the guy on the right is reaching out with his cup to catch a stream of water literally flooding into the mine.    In 1909, bad fuel ruined the boilers that operated the pumps and they along with the silver are still down in the mine somewhere under water.

By 1900, miners had transitioned from candles to carbide lanterns. Within the canister, water mixed with calcium carbide to produce acetylene gas.  The gas was ignited as it escaped out of the tiny hole in front creating a higher intensity light than candles could give off.  Small lamps were used on helmets, larger ones would light a whole area.

Electric lighting replaced candles and carbide by the 1930's in mines across the country - but by then mining was done for in the Tombstone area.

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The Hunters

Yes, sir.  Every frontier town needed a hunter.  What?  You thought someone was gonna show up in a semi labeled "Wal-Mart?"

E. L. Water and his son were what was known as "market" hunters, supplying the butcher and townsfolk with meat.  Grizzly bears were a big problem, though.  (Well, grizzlies and Apache!)  The historic range for the grizzly was from the Pacific Coast to the center of Mexico, up to what is now Big Bend National Park on the Mexico/south Texas border, cattywampus through what is now Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas to the Missouri River, straight from there up into Canada pert-near to the North Pole!  Historically.

Today's range barely puts grizzlies in the U.S. at all (excluding Alaska.)  Granpa and I have seen them in the U.S. - but only on the U.S./Canadian in Glacier International Peace Park where one was moseying down the middle of the Going To The Sun Road like he owned the place - which he probably did! - and in Yellowstone National Park.

But in the boom days of Tombstone, Arizona, grizzlies were comfortably within the borders of their range, hanging out in the mountains all over what is now Arizona and New Mexico and down into  the country of Mexico.  And, yes, bear meat is good to eat - but you just don't really want to meet up with one on the trail very often!  Hunters would be perfectly happy bringing back elk and deer instead.  (Buffalo only ranged as far west as New Mexico.)

E.L. Water's son, John, encountered about an 800 pound grizzly on one of his "market" hunts.  He made it back all well and good.  Unfortunately, on a different hunt, his dad wasn't so lucky.  The newspaper article you see in the photo above is about Water's last hunt.  Even though he was only a couple of miles west of Tombstone, all the searchers found was his Marlin rifle, shown in the above photo.  No other trace was ever discovered.

The other necessity of life is water.  Tombstone got its water through twenty-one miles of 7" wrought iron pipe.  In 1882, the Huachuca Water Company installed this first reliable source of water to carry it from a reservoir in the Huachuca Mountains, across the desert floor, above and below ground - and it STILL supplies water to Tombstone to this very day!!  (I'm impressed!  That's 131 years!)

If you like our blog, you can "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!  On your iPhone, you can create an app by "adding to home screen," bookmark it, or add it to your Reading List, share it on Twitter or Facebook.  Any way you do it, it's free!

Stagecoach to Tombstone

They say that this Modoc coach could carry as many as 25 passengers at a time!

Lordy, lordy.  Tucson to Tombstone, 1880.  70 miles.  We could do that today in an hour or less; in 1880?  It took seventeen hours!!  The cost for a one-way trip was $10 - the equivalent of $225 in today's money!  One always walked the horses back then for several reasons:  so they'd be somewhat rested if they had to outrun the Apaches would probably be the number one reason, but also the lack of water in the Arizona desert.  Also, even at a walk, the alkaline dust thrown up by the hooves and wheels made it almost impossible to breathe.  So, even after paying the $10, it was more comfortable for the passengers to just get out and walk most of the way!

It would be a stunning feat for anyone, but a lady's clothing wasn't the most conducive the "roughing" it:

This gorgeous satin dress was worn by a Tombstone school teacher, Mrs. Estel Maxon, around 1884.  I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out that the lady ran out of that soft green satin and pieced in the bronze.  Style.  Ladies had style back then...

If you like our blog, you can "subscribe" for free by clicking on the broadcast icon at the top right corner or by bringing out the right hand toolbar and clicking on that icon at the bottom of the list.  It will put that icon on your toolbar at the top of your browser screen.  I try to post every day - it'd be a shame for you to miss one!  On your iPhone, you can create an app by "adding to home screen," bookmark it, or add it to your Reading List, share it on Twitter or Facebook.  Any way you do it, it's free!