There are several of these yellow prickly pear cactus flowers in bloom along the road near our house. This one was about three inches across which is a little larger than most we see. The Sonora and her flowers is very beautiful from March through November. Click on the image to enlarge.
Damsel and I hiked up the hill behind our house today to look for any cactus flowers up there. We can’t see all of the vegetation on the hill from the patio, so we had to go up to look around. We also wanted to collect a few rocks for the expanded rock and cactus garden on the west side of the lot.
Image – view from the hill – click to enlarge.
While we were up there, Damsel took this photo looking toward the southeast. In the distance, above the garage vent, you can see Vulture Peak, which is one of the Hassayampa River Valley’s most recognizable landmarks. In the foreground,you can see our native desert vegetation which includes creosote, mesquite, cat’s-paw, cholla and palo verde. We have no plans to clear any of this since it is home to our desert critters that we enjoy watching.
We finished a lot of pending chores today, including installing our new area rug in the great room. We moved the furniture out of the way, laid down the carpet and moved the furniture back (whew). But it’s now done and looks great.
We also picked up our custom mirrors for the bathrooms to be installed next week. It’s all coming together. Click on the image to enlarge, but do it quietly so you won’t wake Cabela, who is taking a nap on the love seat.
We went to the home improvement center today to get a few supplies to take Home. While we were in the garden shop I saw these nice pink columbines blooming. Click on the image to enlarge.
Happy Easter! This is a repeat of an Easter lily photo I posted back in 2007 . . .
This photo of an Easter Lily is unretouched other than cropping and resizing. A sunbeam coming through the window over the staircase hit this flower at just the right angle and place to make it look as though the inside of the flower was producing the light.
I have several gorgeous amaryllis flowers opening this weekend. This one is brilliant red and white. I have another one that is pure red that will be opening very soon. Click on the image to enlarge.
We’re back at Casa Grande* for Easter weekend. When we arrived yesterday, we were surprised at how well the garden was doing with virtually no attention for over a month. The poppies were going crazy with their bright orange flowers and the artichoke had produced these wonderful flower buds, one of which we’re going to steam early next week and eat it for lunch. Click on the image to enlarge.
* We’re now in to referring to the 2700 square foot two story house in California as Casa Grande (Big House) as opposed to the little Arizona home which we now call Casa Bonita (Pretty House).