It was another beautiful summer day in the desert today! I went out to the courtyard this morning and noticed that the Bishop’s Cap Barrel cactus was literally crowned with uncountable flower buds. This afternoon, I took this photo of them mostly open. I think this cactus likes its native Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.
We shopped a day earlier than usual today because of the holiday falling on our normal Thursday shopping day. I was looking for some red-white-blue floral displays and was a little disappointed that they had none. I settled for these nice sunflowers to serve as a colorful and festive centerpiece for our Fourth of July celebrations this long weekend. Click on the image to enlarge.
One of the guys that installed our satellite TV dish proclaimed that “Nothing lasts in Arizona.” While the TV dish is doing fine, our magnetic mailbox cover that we installed shortly after the mailbox post went in the ground did not faire so well. The colors faded and parts of it started to peel away, so we ordered a couple of new covers. The old cover was basically an American Flag pattern and the new covers (we ordered a spare) have the images of the US Constitution and an American Bald Eagle in addition to the red, white and blue. I think it looks great! Click on the image to enlarge.
I added an additional hummingbird feeder at the other end of the patio last week. Now there are two feeders, but the little hummers still seem to bicker over who gets to feed where. No matter, though, we have seen as many as four at a time perched or hovering at the feeders. The fact that they go dry every few days says someone must be getting fed! Click on the image to enlarge.
We have had this gymnocalycium friedrichii cactus since before we retired in 2009. We brought it from California and, as far as I know, it has had flowers every summer since we brought it here. As I watered our plants today, I was greeted by this lovely flower. Click on the image to enlarge.
There are a couple of these unusual-looking cacti around the area. The weird thing is that there is a woody stem at the bottom of the fleshy part of the cactus that goes into the ground. I tried looking up “cactus on a stick” in an internet search, but came up with nothing that resembles this guy.
Image: purplish cactus with three flower stalks and one small branch. Click on the image to enlarge.
There is another of these located just across the east property line. That cactus is greener in color than the one depicted at right, but it has no fuzzy flower stalks like the three on the darker, more purplish cactus.
We have been watching the flower stems on the purple cactus to see if they bloom. We noticed the flower stems over a week ago and have been checking almost daily to see what kind of flowers our cactus on a stick will give us. Damsel will undoubtedly get some nice close-up images of them when and if they open.
Ever since our relocation to the desert, we have enjoyed finding out about all the critters and vegetation here. If anyone (Crotalus?) can shed light on what this thing might be, we would really appreciate knowing. We just love our desert environment, heat and all (109° today).
UPDATE: Crotalus, our honored cactus and desert expert, came through with the following information:
Those are the Arizona Queen of the Night, or Night-Blooming Cereus cacti! Known as Peniocereus greggii, they have a large tuberous root, the thin stems, and big white flowers that open at night, and they smell wonderful!
Thanks Crotalus!
I bought several stems of these beautiful Gerbera Daisies at the supermarket flower concession today. I put them in my crystal vase on the sofa table in the great room. The color mix is quite pleasant to my eye – how about yours? Click on the image to enlarge.
