March 2016

The First Cactus Flower of Spring

Beavertail Cactus Flower

In what is getting to be an annual tradition, here is the post recognizing the first spring cactus flower in our xeriscape garden. Of course, this is a Beavertail Cactus Flower (opuntia basilaris) growing just behind the wall out front by the road. The pink flower bud we saw this morning opened into this nice flower this afternoon and it already has attracted bees and other pollinators.

This is the last year for this cactus since it is one of those that developed a fungus or something that gives the paddles a circular depressed area that is discolored. We have other beavertail cacti, including one we imported from California, that are planted in the rock and cactus garden, so there will undoubtedly be more of these brilliant pink flowers next spring as well. Click on the image to enlarge.

Ducks Along The Colorado

A White Duck Ducks Dunking

I took my Canon SL1 and the telephoto lens down to the Colorado river where we camped last night to see if I could get some photo ops of whatever the river and its occupants might have to offer. I was fortunate enough to have a pair of ducks floating near the California side shoreline that were dunking for whatever goodies the river bottom might contain.

The white duck and her mate were about two or three feet from the riverbank when I snapped these shots. They let me approach them without retreating to a range of about fifteen feet so I could get these images of them doing their thing. There were also several other ducks and a number of coots or “mud hens” in the area. Click on either image to enlarge.

A White Egret

White Egret

This weekend, we are camped in Palm Desert, California on the latest of our several recent visits to visit our grandson. This campground is really more of a desert oasis and resort that features golf putting greens, a driving range and the usual things found on golf courses, including water features (hazards?). We were walking the dogs yesterday when I spotted an egret in the pond near the front gate. I had my camera handy and managed to get this photo just as this magnificent bird was taking off from where it was wading. Click on the image to enlarge.

Wildflowers in Bloom

Arizona Poppy Desert Marigold Orange Mallow

Thanks to an El Niño shortened winter, spring wildflowers are already popping up everywhere in the desert. Last week, during our visit to the West Valley (Bob had a doctor appointment), we noticed a lot of wildflowers along the roadside and in the median on US 60 between Wickenburg and the outer loop (Loop 303) of the Phoenix Metro Area, which is where the desert ends and the urbs begin.

We took the dogs for a walk today after dinner and I remembered to bring my camera since we see wildflowers along our walk. All three of these photos above were taken within a quarter mile of our house and are completely uncultivated desert wildflowers.

From left to right above, we have an Arizona Poppy, a Desert Marigold and an Orange Mallow. I used my usual Canon Rebel T3 to capture all three images. Click on any of the images to enlarge.

Creek Bed Bank Line Reinforcement

Creek Bed

This is one of the projects that Damsel and I have undertaken to modify her rock and cactus garden on the west side of the property. This is to account for the effects of having built a retention wall adjacent to the RV drive that now diverts runoff from the hills to the north. After we built the wall last year, water now flows to the west of the property rather than across the RV drive as it has in the past.

In the image above, the west end of the wall can be seen at the right edge. We have started lining the edge of the little creek that formed last summer when we had a great monsoon rainfall last summer. The idea is to line the banks with rocks to confine the flow to within the creek bed near where the water comes out from behind the wall.

Further down the creek, the banks are less defined. We decided to use some very large boulders (seen at the left of the photo) to keep the flow going down the natural creek wash that was there before, rather than spilling toward the west where there are some decorations and the trash bins are over there too.

As you can see in the photo, we have partially completed the bank lining up near the end of the wall. Next, we will continue to bring more of the rocks and complete the lining from where the rocks end upstream to the boulders that are on the left. After that, we will dig down to where the original landscapers put the creek rocks five years ago.

We hope that we can complete this project a little at a time (rocks are heavy!) over the spring before the next monsoon season. Click on the image to enlarge.

Bed ProgressUPDATE: March 04, 2016 – Damsel and I spent an hour or so finishing the west bank of our little runoff creek today. We gathered small boulders and round rocks from other areas on the property and continued to line the far side of the creek with reinforcements for the runoff that we expect this coming monsoon season.

The top panel is the work we completed when we posted the picture above; the bottom panel is the work we completed this afternoon. Click on the image to enlarge.