In part to celebrate the sunny, 70 degree weather in December, we trekked over to Phoenix the other day to the Desert Botanical Gardens and wandered around for the afternoon. In other (larger) part to see a current art installation, showcasing giant wooden bug sculptures scattered strategically throughout the park.
They were fun to see, but I mostly enjoyed wandering around the trails for a few hours and remembering how beautiful I think the desert is. Lush green trees and grass are beautiful, I know, but the desert is just so unique. Besides, the Sonoran desert in southern Arizona is actually quite lush. For a desert.
Among the oddities of plants and flowers and bugs (e.g., fairy duster, jimson weed, assassin bug, devils claw, boojum tree, ghost flower, hedgehog cactus, prickly pear...), I was amazed at how perfectly life seems to adapt to every extreme of geography and climate. Of course that seemed to mean there wasn't a plant there that didn't have thorns or spines or stickers of some sort. Well, or poison. Some were pretty creative and/or downright deceptive.
Related side note: I did end up bleeding at one point. My own fault. (Really though, you end up with a lot of cactus stories when you grow up around the desert. Occupational hazard.)
I even learned a few things. Did you know:
- There are four different and unique desert ecosystems in the US, and Arizona is the only state to contain parts of all four?
- Arizona has been called the hummingbird capital of the world?
- Daddy Long-legs aren't even spiders? Also not poisonous.
