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).
Flowers are still showing up! This weekend it was the Echinopsis huascha (aka red torch cactus) and it was loaded with blooms. I took one document shot (below) and then switched to my macro lens to capture this bee. (180 macro with 500D added. ISO 400 wide open. Handheld)
A tiny native bee captured at the Desert Botanical Garden yesterday. Their bodies are a fluorescent blue green which didn’t show up at this angle. (hand held, f2.8, Canon 24-70mm at 70mm with a 25mm extension tube)
Flat-top Buckwheat is the common name for Eriogonum fasciculatum. It’s starting to bloom everywhere now and I thought I would show just how intricate the blooms are. You need really good eyes or a macro lens to see their glory.
There are a couple of varieties of Phacelia in our area. The flowers range in color from pale lavendar blue to dark purple. I’m fairly sure the one above is Phacelia distans but I’ve given up trying to identify! I just call them all Celia and then remember the “fa” part 🙂 Beautiful name for a beautiful flower.
