This is a portion of my rock garden alongside the RV drive. A boulder, several rocks and an old piece of desert deadwood (probably mesquite). The row of river rocks in the foreground marks the edge of the RV drive. Rendered in sepia, the image looks pretty artsy-fartsy.
You can view the non-sepia version here. Click on the image to enlarge.
I took this photo from the courtyard of one of our beavertail cacti. This one is along the side of the RV drive west of the house. At the time I took the picture, there was only one flower open. If you look, however, at the many buds on the many paddles, there will be a time soon when the flowers will be overwhelmingly the predominant feature on the cactus. Click on the image to enlarge.
Some of the bulbs I keep in the courtyard planter are starting to have flowers. Today. this freesia opened up. I expect to have paperwhites and daffodils soon. I will also have amaryllis and hyacinth flowers to post soon. Click on the image to enlarge.
The flowering plum tree has been in our courtyard for three seasons now. This year, it seems that the flowers have arrived about a week earlier than last year. Maybe we can have some plum fruit this season. That would be nice. Click on the image to enlarge.
We thought that the hummingbirds would migrate away from here for the winter, but they did not. I filled up the feeders with nectar which the hummers would drain away within a matter of a couple of days. I guess they are hardier than they look. This little guy was feasting on one of the two feeders hanging just outside of the screened-in patio just a couple of days ago. Click on the image to enlarge.
This is one of several beavertail cacti that we transplanted from the hill behind our house to various places around the landscape. This one, the largest of the cacti, has sprouted new flower buds and cactus paddle buds. We should be getting some flowers on this one pretty soon, maybe in less than a month from now.
The desert weather has been just gorgeous here for the past several days and is forecast to stay nice until the next rain or cool air comes through. For the time being, we’ll take the 80 degree days and mild nights. Click on the image to enlarge.
