When I see the cats in this position, I know they see either an animal or birds.
This time they see a male and female House Finch enjoying something on the Golden Barrels.
If it were Spring, I’d say they were gathering wool for their nests but there must be
some insects or something else yummy in the wool because the seeds are in the fruit.
The blooms of the Golden Barrel (Echinocactus grusonii) cactus are very small and because of their color, most people probably never notice them. I make it a habit, though, to look for new growth and blooms every morning before I start working in my yard. (yes…it’s hot right now!)
These blooms are on one of the 3 Golden Barrels I bought not long after moving to Arizona. Since then, I’ve added more in various sizes. I just read that they don’t bloom until they are about 20 years old so we have a little time to go on the newer ones. The best part about Goldens is no maintenance is needed. They are practically indestructible! In the link above, I read that it also has the nickname “mother in law’s cushion”. Ouch 🙂
Wool is not something most people think of when they see a cactus but that is what this fuzzy stuff is called. This is a Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) that I planted last week. Very slow but extremely drought tolerant.
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 🙂