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Where does a bobcat hide out from a menacing mountain lion? Atop a 40-foot tall Saguaro cactus, of course. As uncomfortable as his thorny perch may be, it’s gotta hurt less than being eaten by a bigger cat.
The photos were captured in Gold Canyon, on the foot of the Superstition Mountains.
The bobcat was trying to get away from a mountain lion that was stalking it, explains the photographer Curt Fonger. He darted up a 40-foot saguaro, and there he stayed for the remainder of the day.
Curt Fonger and his wife Marta are living out their golden years on wilderness’ edge in Gold Canyon. With over 40 years of photography experience, Curt recently had a career-defining moment.
“I’ve never had the luxury of seeing a bobcat on top of a saguaro,” he says. “Just a beautiful creature, he was displaying himself proudly, kind of looking around, probably trying to see if mister mountain lion was still around… it was almost if he was posing!”
Curt says the golden cat with amber eyes stared back at him, perched on top of the cactus for hours.
“He was pretty relaxed, he kind of laid on top of the saguaro, shut his eyes, almost as if he was sleeping.”
The bobcat eventually came down, but Curt and Marta are still riding high.
“It was that Kodak moment I think every photographer lives for.”
There are some nice close-up shots by Fonger on MyFOX Phoenix. Link
via Laughing Squid | Image: Curt Fonger
Have you ever seen a saguaro cactus like this? This is a cristate (“crested”) cactus, a result of fasciation, which is explained at TYWKIWDBI. The cactus somehow leads to an explanation of the Stevie Nicks song “Edge of Seventeen”. Link
They say that cacti are for people who can’t keep plants alive, but what do you do if your black thumbs kill even the hardiest cactus? Artist Shannon Gerard has the answer: crocheted cacti called Plants You Can’t Kill.
Like my other crochet projects, Plants You Can’t Kill are attractive on the surface while also speaking to our human insecurities. These pretty little cacti, aloe plants, flowering pots, ferns and other botanicals look darling on the windowsill but are particularly resonant with those of us who can’t keep the real thing alive.
After dozens of failed attempts at indoor gardening, I just decided to crochet plants my own damn self.
How do you like them avocados?
Link – via thank you, ok
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Yes, a cactus is a playable instrument. This video shows a person playing a jazzy tune on one while accompanied by a piano. Google Translate is having trouble with the website, but apparently the cactus died in 2009 or 2010, so the project is on hiatus.
Link (Google Translate) via The Presurfer
UPDATE 1/12/11: GearFuse has a lot more information about the project and the man behind it.
The Saguaro – now there is one big cactus. A native of Mexico and Arizona (with some in California too) it attracts a number of visitors – especially when it flowers. Not all of them are desirable however, with a number of birds – notably the Flicker, making their homes inside the motionless giants.
The amount of life that the saguaro attracts is quite amazing. As well as the discovery of the unexpected – such as a woodpecker variety, you will even get to see hummingbirds in action as they hover over the enormous, candelabra-shaped cacti. It was many generations ago of hummingbird that this example first started its slow reach for the sky. Although they will sometimes reach fifteen meters in height, the saguaro does not bloom until it is around fifty years old. The hummingbird can be weighed in grams while the saguaro itself might weigh up to nine thousand kilograms. That’s some difference.
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Image: Fedrus
Artists and designers get inspiration from a lot of things – even plants. Take cactus for instance. Here’s a round-up of succulent designs inspired by cact (this one above is fit for your house guests that won’t leave!): Link – via Cribcandy
