I have no doubt my neighbors think I’m nutty but I call it passion. Yes…I could have hired someone and in fact I did get a couple of bids but, nut that I am, I want to do it myself! So I’m out almost every morning for a few hours working on my landscaping and yes….it’s hot at the moment! Above is a shot of progress on my current project; flagstone steps. Below you can see a before view.
herding cats
Each cat has a different agenda when we open the door. Cleo is a hunter and will sit in the same spot until he spots something move and then he goes into stalking mode. It takes patience which is Chris’ forte so he takes charge of Cleo. On the other hand, Cloe has a route that circles the house so she keeps moving which is more to my liking.
vintage
Something about this image reminded me of a vintage post card. I gave it a little antique look and will follow up with text on that one of these days!
harvest time
Jojoba nuts (Simmondsia chinensis) are ready for harvesting and I picked a bagful last night. They look and taste a little like filberts. They’re described as being a little bitter which I noticed with the first few I ate but now I think they’re delicious! They have a very long shelf life and won’t go rancid like the many tree nuts we know. Click here for an excellent description.
bee
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)
Echinopsis candicans
We were treated to two more blooms yesterday. This time from our Argentine Giant (Echinopsis candicans).
I just relocated our specimen because it didn’t seem happy where it was. So far so good and we’re hoping it becomes a monster bloomer like the one next door. It took our breath away the first time we saw it!
pink
So far our Mammillaria grahammii have been blooming twice a year (July and October) so I’ve learned to hunt for them at those times. This shot was late yesterday so they are right on time. The tiny cactus typically grows at the base of other shrubs and since the flowers only last one day, they are very easy to miss.
soaked
The red spines of this Barrel Cactus are an indication of the great soaking rain we had last night.
red sky at morning
This may be a warning for sailors but a morning red sky is good news for the desert!
promise of rain
Some cool clouds this morning and a promise of rain. We can hope!
(Canon 5D-IR, Canon 50mm 1.8 lens)