Arizona

Ocotillo in Bloom

Ocotillo in Bloom

One of our favorite desert wildflowers blooms on the ocotillos. This one is just down the road from our house in a neighbor’s yard. I love the bright red flowers against the green leaves on the ocotillo canes. Click on the image to enlarge.

Visiting Mom at the Ranch

Visiting Mom

Verna took this photo of me and Mom today at the ranch. We stopped in for a short visit and to take her a T-shirt that came from her California collection of stuff. Click on the image to enlarge.

Saguaro Flower

Saguaro Flower

This is the third saguaro flower to open on our big cactus out front. The pollinators are anxiously swarming about to collect the nectar and to spread the pollen. I took this with the telephoto lens since the flowers are so high above the ground. Did you know that the Saguaro Flower is the State Flower of Arizona? Click on the image to enlarge.

Scavengers

Scavengers

Verna puts most food scraps in the compost, but when it comes to citrus scraps, these orange peels are too acidic for the compost worms. Not to worry, though, the critters in the wash will take care of the leftovers.

Here, a white-tailed antelope squirrel and a curve billed thrasher try to extract the goodness from the peels. Click on the image to enlarge.