Grandmother Mesquite
© Atala Dorothy Toy
Grandmother Mesquite
This smiling Grandmother lives in a mesquite tree in Tucson’s Saguaro National Park. She benignly watches over the comings and goings at Signal Hill, an ancient petroglyph site of the Hohokam people.
More Information
Desert Spirits
Grandmother trees are nourishing, protective, all-encompassing. They often have the detached good humor that comes with wise old age. This grandmother contains inside herself images of many of the beings she protects. They are of the dark and the light sides of creation. (right)
Signal Hill was occupied for centuries and was probably used for ceremonies as well as a military signal site, being the highest location for many miles around.
