July 28, 2025
Saguaros can often live for several centuries and I sometimes imagine Al Sieber and Wyatt Earp riding by these sentinels on their Arizona treks.
Yes, we all loved the Leaner.
I have been walking by this sagging big guy daily for several years now and I must admit to speeding up slightly when I pass under him both going up and coming down the hill. On the other hand, given their tenacity for survival, I sometimes wondered if perhaps he would outlive me, teetering at a 45 degree angle for another century, or more. Here he is last week.
Defiant to the end. Well, that was not to be.
I knew if he did fall, he would block the entire road and apparently someone who lives up the hill came down with a chain saw and cut him up into pieces to clear the road.
On a related note, Kathy and I have been married for 46 years, today.
(and we're still standing!)
"Long may we lean."
—Old Vaquero Saying