So many varieties of palm trees in the desert - Who knew?

PALMS
Since I moved to the Valley of the Sun, I've discovered the many, many kinds of palm trees and palm shrubs that live in this desert.  I'm baffled that I have lived this long and not known this.  I truly thought that there were maybe 3 kinds of palms, but NO... There are Royal palms, Queen palms, Christmas palms, Lady palms, Palmettos (but not in AZ, I think), Pygmy palms, Date palms, Coconut palms, and a whole lot more, I'm sure.

Although I usually couldn't pick out most of these varieties, my favorites are the Royal,  the Christmas, and the one I call the Dr. Seuss palm.  I still don't know the Dr. Seuss palm's actual name for sure, but you'd recognize it.  It is very, very tall; has a proportionately skinny trunk and a little bunch of fronds at the top, like a shaggy head of hair.  It doesn't actually grow straight up, but sort of curves to one side and then tries to head up again.  Dr. Seuss (a native of California) drew them in almost every one of his books.  They added perfectly to the atmosphere of fantasy and silliness that he was trying to create because these palms look silly.

Dr. Seuss palms - probably actually called Mexican  Fan Palms

Selection of palms outside my apt - Royal Palm, Mexican Fan Palm, Queen Palm... ?

Short, stumpy palms - are they babies?  I don't know

This could be the Christmas Palm.  The photos I've seen show them low to the ground, looks like no more than 6 feet high, and clumped like this.  They flower around Christmas with red blossoms, hence the name.

If you look closely at this Royal Palm, you can see the seed pods that have started to form.  Eventually, they will be hanging down, all brown and dry ready for the seeds to fly away in the wind as they wave.  All that has to be trimmed toward the end of summer so they look their best for the tourists, I think.

Of course, there is also the Fake Palm, a recent arrival to this area.

CACTI

I've discovered that the desert seems to bring out my Dr. Seuss silly side, especially with the local flora.  There is one cactus that I've posted photos of before.  My husband and I call it the Psycho cactus.  It has spiny arms reaching out with these globs of spines at the ends that look eerily like claws. They have a threatening look that I find creepy.   Apparently, this cactus is some sort of Cholla, but we can think of it only as Psycho.  It's not pretty in the classic sense, but it does have a sort of "fatal attraction".

There are more cacti in the Valley of the Sun than one can count; thousands of different cacti.  So many that I don't plan to present them all because...  well, these (below) are the only cacti that I actually like and frankly I only like them a little.  Sorry cacti.

Giant Sahuaro cactus (in flower)

Close-up of the white flowers with yellow centers

This is one form of Prickly Pear cactus [We saw these all over Spain and Malta.  They would grow more than 6 feet high.  The Maltese use them as hedges between farms and they eat the pears as a delicacy.]

Red Prickly Pear, my favorite

This is some sort of Agave (with my handsome husband sitting in front for perspective).  Some of these Agaves grow really HUGE.

And some Agaves stay small. But, all of them seem to have impressive shoots that come out when they flower.

Barrel Cactus?  This one is dressed for Christmas in someone's front yard.  See the little red ball Christmas ornaments?

Don't worry there will be no more posts about the desert palms and cacti, unless there is something spectacular at the Desert Botanical Gardens when I go again in the Fall or Winter.  My curiosity is leading me elsewhere.  In fact, I think the Heard Museum of Native American arts is calling.  Until next time...

Arizona is growing on me... up, up, and away

One thing Arizona has that many other states do not is wide open sky that is uncluttered by forests and other obstructions.  Seriously, most places that you go here are all one story, maybe 2 story tops, buildings.  Except for the downtown Phoenix areas, the palm trees tend to be the only tall things.  When you get to the outskirts of the cities, there is nothing but dirt and cactus.

So, what do you do out in the "dirt and cactus", you ask?  Well, I don't go out into the desert on foot.  There are hiking, biking, and motorcycling adventures, but I prefer to watch.  (My hiking tends to be from apartment to restaurant to errand shopping, or strolling through museums and other venues.)

Here's what I watch.

In the mornings and evenings, while driving to and from the school libraries that I service, I watch hot air balloons.  I've never lived anywhere that provided this sight.  There is something relaxing about watching hot air balloons rise slowly, bold colors against the blue sky, shining in the sunlight.  Sometimes they are far away and I find myself counting them and squinting to see if I can find them all.  Once I saw eight all in a row.  They were in various stages of ascent as the sun was coming up and they seemed to be heading up into the canyons between the mountains that surround Phoenix.

They kind of tease your imagination; what would it be like (if I wasn't terrified of heights), how far can the occupants see, does your breathing become labored, is it a lot colder than here on the ground, and of course, can you just cower on the floor until they finally relent to your screams of hysteria and land?

My current belief is that it is much more pleasant to watch these graceful fliers from the ground.  And, I wanted to show you some of them, but these "creatures" are extremely difficult to photograph because they tend to be sooo far away.  But, here's what I have for you.

In preparation, imagine you are going down the highway at 70 mph and suddenly see these beauties after rounding a curve.  Or, as happened to me, you stop at a stoplight in an outlying town and happen to look to the left.  There is a huge balloon, decorated in rich primary colors coming toward you, as if it is following the road and about to cross in front of you - 100 feet in the air.

I wish that I could provide more photos that really showed more of what you experience when you come upon these floating beauties while you are driving, but my phone is not able to capture what I see and, frankly, it's illegal.  [No drivers or vehicles were hurt in the photographing of these balloons.]

I was stopped at a stoplight as I drove back up Carefree Highway to the Interstate..  No sign warned me to yield to balloons.

The balloon had almost crossed the road before the light turned green and I had to head out again.

I pulled off before I got on to Highway 303 to take these photos.  The balloon was coming down and would have landed across the road at the Balloon flight school.  This is very near to the largest body of water in the area - Lake Pleasant.  The view must have been incredible and you could see for miles in this clear air.  If you look closely, you'll see another balloon to the right in three of these pictures.