I saw a splash of color up in the wash behind our house yesterday, so I grabbed my Canon SX40 camera and hiked up there. When I got to the beavertail cactus, there was a large pink flower open. I hiked up a little higher to the prickly pear cactus and found several yellow flowers open there. I posted photos of the pink and yellow flowers above, but I also took another of a pair of prickly pear yellow flowers and uploaded it here. Click on either flower above to view full size.
Some of the best things about living in the semi-rural desert is watching the wildlife and seeing the beautiful cactus flowers. There is always something going on.
I was out in the front yard spraying for weeds when I noticed a curve-billed thrasher suddenly flush out of a nearby cholla cactus. I put down the spray bottle to investigate and discovered that the thrashers had restored their nest in the cactus from last year. I peeked in and saw three eggs in the nest. Luckily, I had my Canon SX40 still strapped around my neck and held it above the cholla to get this shot of the eggs in the nest. Click on the image to enlarge.
What may be the last of the hedgehog flowers for this year opened today. There were several pods open and I did not see any more getting ready to open. This was the prettiest one on the cactus today. We will miss them until next year. Click on the image to enlarge.
As promised, the Argentine Giant Cactus flowers. They opened last night and were still open at about 10AM before starting to fade away. This cactus isn’t done yet – there is another flower bud coming for sure and maybe more. Click on the image to enlarge.
We thought that these Argentine Giant cactus flower pods would have opened this evening, but we’re still about a day away from enjoying the flowers for a brief time. They will open and stay open overnight but they will start to fade the morning after. It’s only a brief window, but I am planning to get some good photos of them and will post them here very soon. Click on the image to enlarge.
This is my little thimble cactus with lots of tiny flowers. One of these days, I may put it in a bigger pot so it can grow some more. Click on the image to enlarge.
