We had a powerful storm move through last night. I didn’t get any lightening shots but did capture the morning after. Now to go out and repair the landscape.
Tag Archives: ezpixels
crucifixion thorn bloom
This morning’s hike yielded another first for my flora archives…..Crucifixion Thorn blooms. The tiny native bee was a bonus. Also shown is the mature seed pod.
(The blooms are only about 1/4 inch wide).
guarding the preserve
Cholla skeletons can be very interesting. I particularly love this chainfruit cholla skeleton because I think it looks like a Shaman and I think of him as standing guard over the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Last night we joined him in a little sunset celebration.
bee there
I could hear the bees buzzing “Pssst….Sunset at the Chainfruit Cholla….bee there!” so I drove out to Rock Knob again last night 🙂
(By the way, note the difference in coloring from yesterday’s image. Yesterday’s was shot in the shade which would make it bluer but not that blue! I did a terrible job of color correcting).
chainfruit cholla bloom
Another first for my archives…a Chainfruit Cholla bloom. It wouldn’t have taken so long to get this photo if I had checked to see when they bloom! Unlike other cactus, you’re more likely to see Chainfruit blooms during the summer and that is not a time I’m normally out hiking. It’s on my calendar now, though, so I’ll be ready for next year 🙂
wait a minute bush
You’re hiking along and barely brush the edge of this shrub and it gets you! Because of this, the Cat Claw Acacia (Acacia greggii) is also known as the “wait a minute bush”. The claws are hard to spot because they are only 1/8th to 1/4rd of and inch and they hide on the underside of the branches.
This morning I noticed some new growth and saw that the claws are red.
hanging tight
Just a grab shot this morning of two moths hanging out under a garage sconce. I then used the super macro mode of my Canon S5 to see what they looked like. It’s obvious where science fiction gets ideas for their characters!
monsoon sunrise
We had an excellent rainfall last night and heard on the news this morning that it puts us ahead of our normal rainfall for the year. This sunrise photo is from two mornings ago after another great rain.
busting out all over
There was a banner crop of Jojoba nuts this year. This shot from yesterday shows how they eventually end up on the ground. As the shell dries, it curls and the nuts literally fall out of their shells.
I really enjoy eating them and when I read they have a much longer shelf life than regular nuts, I decided to do some harvesting. Donning my big hat, Chris said I looked like Juan Valdez picking coffee beans 🙂 I found directions for roasting them which worked well and they taste even better roasted.
bobcat
We hiked earlier than usual yesterday morning and found this Bobcat in front of our house when we returned. (To be specific….Chris spotted it). Not a very good photo but at least it’s not another shot of a Bobcat butt 🙂