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For the term ""second spring"".

Second Spring Butterfly

Second Spring Butterfly

Every year since we have been here in Arizona we have experienced what the locals (which includes us now) call “second spring.” Around the official end of summer (autumnal equinox) the temperatures become very spring-like and the flora and fauna react accordingly. Flowers open and butterflies and hummingbirds do their thing.

Late this afternoon, I saw a yellow-spotted black butterfly browsing the Red Bird of Paradise shrubs in the courtyard. I was in the great room at the time, so I grabbed my camera and headed out the front door. Luckily, the butterfly kept on doing what it was doing when I first saw it. I snapped a bunch of pictures of which this was probably the best. Click on the image to enlarge.

Second Spring

Cactus Flower

We do not know the name of this cactus variety. It is in a pot in the courtyard in front of the house. When the flower first started to open this morning, it looked like a rosebud. When it fully opened this afternoon, it was clearly typical of cactus flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.

Second Spring

Devil’s Tongue Flower

The really hot days of summer are now over, it seems, with forecast highs ONLY in the 90’s. Some of the cacti around the yard are opening flowers like spring has sprung. This is typical of this time of year which the locals (and that includes us) refer to as “second spring.”

The photo above is the last flower of many that opened on our Devil’s Tongue Barrel cactus over the summer. We brought this cactus from the old place in California, put it in the ground here and it has been happy ever since, having grown to twice the height and a significantly larger diameter than when it arrived. Click on the image to enlarge.

Purple Sage – Second Spring

Purple Sage

Bob was pumping gas and I walked over to the purple sage bushes in the landscape area to get a photo of the pretty purple sage flowers. We have noticed a lot of flowers popping out as second spring approaches in the desert. Click on the image to enlarge.

Second Spring

Second Spring

Arizona experiences a “second spring” in October. The weather is warm and the flowers bloom. Of course, my Bishop’s Cap flowers have been blooming since early spring, all summer long and now again in second spring. Click on the image to enlarge.