We planted a new cactus the other day, and last evening a flower opened up on it. To our surprise, this flower did not have the delicate fragrance of our California cereus cacti which are a different variety. Click on the image to enlarge.
UPDATE: the two buds seen in the image above opened the next evening:
We were on the patio this afternoon when this colorful bird perched on a mesquite tree on the hill behind the patio. I took several pictures with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera through the telephoto lens and this one came out the best.
We didn’t recognize the species, so we looked it up in our “Birds of Arizona” pamphlet. It is an adult male Gila Woodpecker – note the little red patch on the top of his head. Immature and female birds do not have the red patch. Click on the image to enlarge.
Wikipedia describes this bird’s habitat and some other interesting facts:
The Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States. They range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
This woodpecker’s habitat consists of low desert scrub typical of the Sonoran desert. They build nests in holes made in saguaro cacti or mesquite trees. Cavities excavated by these woodpeckers in saguaro cacti are later used by a variety of other species, including the Elf Owl. There, they typically lay 3-5 white eggs.
For tactical reasons, we’re unable to have this beautiful rib roast on Easter Sunday, so we prepared it a week early on Palm Sunday. My Mom’s 91st birthday is next week which requires a trip to California, and we can’t miss that. We had this great rib roast with garlic/cauliflower mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus and horseradish sauce. Yummers. 😀
A week ago we bought a cereus cactus and brought it home. Today, we finally got it in the ground in front of the house. We are really looking forward to seeing the flowers bloom. Click on the blue play button for a slideshow of getting it into the ground.
99 years ago today, the RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea. The current administration and the massive debt threaten to sink America as well.
RMS Titanic was a passenger liner that struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, and sank on 15 April 1912. She struck the iceberg four days into the crossing, at 23:40 on 14 April 1912, and sank at 2:20 the following morning, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
This is the newest addition to the landscaping in front of the house. We will be planting this cactus within the next couple of days. We think it’s a cereus, but we’re not sure of the variety. I wanted to get it here right away since it will be getting three new flowers real soon now. Click on the image to enlarge.
Here is a cardinal couple on the seed bell in the mesquite tree behind the RV pull-through. The bright red male and his colorful mate appear to be smooching in this picture but in reality, they are merely sharing snacks on the bell. Click on the image to enlarge.
