Final exam is tomorrow so I started studying very early this morning almost forgetting my photo of the day. I go outside; take several photos and then come back to this scene. Everything is a game to Cleo 🙂
rock retaining walls
A quail checks out the rock work I did yesterday. I love this kind of work so, as usual, I worked too hard and could hardly get out of bed this morning 🙂
Penstemon parryii
Frost this morning! It’s light but I’m feeling guilty that I didn’t cover the few cold sensitive plants I have. This photo of Parry’s Penstemon was taken two days ago. They’re just on the verge of blooming so I sure hope they weren’t hit too hard. The inset photo is of the blooms it had last year.
Echinocereus huascha
Tiny fuzzy balls are appearing on my Echinopsis huascha. Reminiscent of Cousin It from the Adams Family show, these are the beginnings of flower buds. Below is a photo from last year. Note the beginning stage at the front tip.
Hectia montana
Hectia montana, aka False Agave, is a Bromeliad and a member of the pineapple family. Described as strongly toothed, you don’t want to get your hand too close! Our instructor’s tip for remembering the name is….it’s so tough, you could kick the heck to montana 🙂
Opuntia engelmannii
Happy Valentine’s Day! This heart is courtesy of a Javelina (Collared Peccary). They love chomping on fresh new pads of the Prickly Pear cactus. If they take a little nip in just the right place, sometimes we’re treated to a pad or two in the shape of a heart. It’s hard to get upset with these animals even when they overturn every one of my Cactus looking for fresh roots!
http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/nov_pap/du_collpecc.html
Echinocereus engelmannii
Echinocereus engelmannii….rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?! And yet, I can remember this one because it has the most striking flowers of all the cactus, I think. Many are near fuchsia, a color which Wikipedia describes as Electric Magenta. This is especially fitting when they’re backlit.
Encelia farinosa
Brittlebush is beginning to bloom around the house….a sign of Spring. A pretty name for a pretty flower. It’s also easy to pronounce so I think I have this one down 🙂
Carnegiea gigantea
Saguaro cactus seen from our guest room window.
Echinocactus grusonii
Commonly called Golden Barrel, these cactus have yellow spines that when viewed from a distance, make them look gold. If you haven’t guessed, I’m trying to learn botanical names for an upcoming exam. Posting them each day gets the name in my head 🙂