Saturday Snapshot: Spines? What Spines?

Stop by At Home With Books to get the links to all the other photos shared by participants in this wonderful meme. The rules are few and easy, so I hope you'll be joining us, too! (Click on any of the photos below to see them in much larger sizes.)

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A photo op at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix.

This is the time of year when thousands of people from all over the country (and the world) come here to the Sonoran Desert to escape cold, snow and cabin fever. Our mild winters filled with sunshine and plenty of strange things to see keep visitors' cameras working overtime. Some places, like the Desert Botanical Garden, provide photo ops for visitors-- even small plinths on which to place your camera while you run to get into the picture with your friends. 

But just how much thought do you give to those alien-looking things called... what? Saguaro? Prickly pear? Covered with those razor sharp spines, how can they be of any use to anyone or anything?

As I'm about to show you, it's all a matter of perspective-- and what you learned at your mama's knee!

The Arizona state bird-- the Cactus Wren

As you can see above, the Arizona state bird, the cactus wren, doesn't have any problems at all with those sharp spines. In fact, some of their favorite meals and nesting spots can be found in and around various types of cacti.

Snack time, anyone?

And even this little ground squirrel thinks that chunks of cholla cactus are among the tastiest things to eat on this planet. Spines? What spines?