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[cool][size 2]When I was a kid in Idaho, a big event of the year was going into the hills and getting the family Christmas tree. Down here in Arizona, most of our pine trees have either been burned up or killed by bark beetles in the last couple of years...due to drought conditions.[/size]
[size 2]So, to preserve the remaining pines, and to give an Arizona flavor to our season, we went forth into the desert to harvest a cholla skeleton. In pictures one and two, you will see living members of the species known as the "chain fruit cholla". Unlike other members of the family, they bloom, produce a seed pod which does not fall off...and then the next year's bloom pops out of the previous year's seed pod. They sometimes look like chandeliers of the desert.[/size]
[size 2]Cholla wood is widely used for making artsy craftsy things, and is attractive with its swiss cheese skeleton. Once a plant dies, the outer covering dries up and you can easily scrape it away, revealing the "holy" wood beneath.[/size]
[size 2]TubeBabe is my assistant in the picture, and did the final decorating in our back yard...after I dug a hole and replanted it. Don't expect it to grow, but the wintering hummingbirds in our back yard have already decided it makes a handy perch between trips to the feeders.[/size]
[size 2]By the way, the owl in the final picture is not real. It is a molded plastic owl a lot of folks use to deter pigeons and other unwelcome birds. Mine has a lot of bird droppings on it. Shows how effective it is.[/size]
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Bark Beetles are doing what mother nature wants. Good idea with the tree but you have plenty of trees that work just as well. I'd go get a Pinion or Juniper if you don't want to cut down a "Good tree".
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Very appropriate AZ Christmas tree. A few years back, I happened to end up in the Phoenix area just before Christmas. We drove around and visited many of the residential areas that were decorated for Christmas. Many of the homes were beautifully decorated, but I had a hard time getting used to lights all over the the ceramic roofs, and the temperatures being in the 70's.
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[cool] I think it's a cool idea, TD! Very original. When are you making the next tube-catfishing trip at Saguoro(sp?) again? Those Arizona scenery pic's are cool.
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Raindeer antlers!!! very cool way to be festive for the environment for which you live.
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[cool][size 2]Hey O4T, glad you liked the tree, and that you appreciate our local landscape. A lot of folks who have never been in this part of the country envision it as like the Sahara Desert. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a lot of natural beauty and fascinating flora and fauna.[/size]
[size 2]I used to shoot a lot of slides of desert plants in bloom...and there are a lot of blooming plants, besides cactus. About every eight to ten years there is a lot of rain over the winter and the desert becomes a carpet of mulitcolored flowers.[/size]
[size 2]For several years, I put on free slide shows for the winter visitors (snowbirds) down here. They are only here for a short while and miss all the bloom activity. They were usually freaked out when they saw all the bloom pics.[/size]
[size 2]Of course there are lots of famous sunsets in the clear air of Arizona too. And when the monsoon storms hit in the summer, there are some spectacular cloud formations, lightning displays and rainbows...many doubles.[/size]
[size 2]Not sure if I will get out fishing this next weekend. Both TubeBabe and myself are recovering from our obligatory seasonal colds. But, as soon as possible.[/size]
[size 2]Thanks to all for the kind comments. I wasn't sure if I would be lynched or not by posting such a "sacriligious" tree.[/size]
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wild stuff, never knew thats whats inside of a "choya" ! ! ! !
sm
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Very cool! Correct you are about the desert bloom after a moist winter! I lived in El Paso for 4 years and the spring desert is something to behold. I really appreciated the landscaping there also, natural settings in some areas and manmade settings which were quite beautiful also. Before the mass expansion into the desert in El Paso, we lived right at its edge and regularly escaped to hunt down new plants for the front yard. At that time it was legal to pull stuff out of the desert. He hauled out 200lb barrel cactus, yucca, octotilla, prickly pear and various other desert plants to transplant into the front and create our own little desert setting. Hard work but well worth the effort. Now days its not legal to do what we did.
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You got to do what ya got to do. That is a great christmas tree.
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[cool][size 2]So, you were a desert rat too? By the way, there are laws over most of the southwest about removing any desert plants...living or dead. Without a state permit or permission from private landowners you cannot dig up stuff and put it in your yard. There are actually "cactus cops" that patrol the deserts in ATV's and helicopters. And, if you have a new big cactus in your yard, you better have proof of proper acquisition.[/size]
[size 2]By the way, our tree came from a private ranch.[/size]
[size 2]Just to show that I am not the only wacko Arizonan to "make do" in the desert, here is a pic of the Chandler tumbleweed tree, which goes up every year in the town square. It is 40 feet high, and the tumbleweeds are secured with wire mesh. Then there is 150 gallons of white paint and 150 gallons of flame retardant sprayed over all. After that, a whole bunch of glitter and thousands of lights.[/size]
[size 2]Chandler has been doing this every year for 46 years. People come from all over the greater Phoenix area to include it in their light tours.[/size]
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Not a bad looking "tree". Do they start a fresh tree each year, or do they recycle the old tree?
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[cool][size 2]Hey, Kent, it's all new every year. A couple of the local service clubs are in charge of rounding up the weeds, and a whole bunch folks chip in with time and materials. It really is a point of pride with the community. They have a little Santa House next to the tree and Mr. Clause is available for consultation most evenings. Want me to put in a good word for you?[/size]
[size 2]Oh yeah, before they began using a heavy dose of fire retardant on the tree each year, vandals would sometimes set it on fire. Usually kid gangs. The whole town felt violated whenever it happened.[/size]
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Back in 1975 I lived in El Paso, there were no laws prohibiting removal of desert plants, but a few years later they jumped on it and now its the law of the land.
I like the tumbleweed xmas tree.
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The retardant was a great idea. Besides vandals, if it accidentaly caught fire it could be extremely dangerous not only to onlookers but to surrounding businesses as well. A cool idea for sure.
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