Saguaro Pattern, photo by Harold Davis. View this photo larger.

Way out in the desert where saguaros reach to heaven
lived a mother jackrabbit and her little jacks seven.
“Snuggle!” said the mother. “We snuggle!” said the seven,
so they snuggled all night where saguaros reach to heaven.

–from Way Out in the Desert, a book my kids enjoy.

In Arizona there are plenty of saguaros rising to heaven, and not just in the desert. I find these cacti an irresistible subject!

These saguaros are home to birds and animals:

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Up close, they are really formidable (or else look like a map of a very foreign country):

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They bear witness as construction turns the desert into gated suburbs:

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Most of all, these saguaros do their job–reaching for heaven:

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