What image does “desert” bring to mind?
The endlessly shifting sand dunes of the Sahara?
The seemingly changeless rocky landscape of the central and eastern Canadian Arctic?
The seemingly featureless high desert of southern Wyoming?
Well, although I’ve been spending winters in Arizona for several years, “desert” still doesn’t bring to mind this image, characteristic of the Sonoran desert for a few weeks every spring.
Prickly Pear Cactus Flower
Veterans’ Oasis Park, Mar 2015
Nicely captured.
Reminds me of a week long visit (many years ago) to Anza Borrego Park, a little west of Phoenix. I hit it just at peak flowering time.
Jim R – Thanks, Jim! We usually leave Arizona before the big cacti-flowering season starts, so I’m always happy to see the prickly pear (and sometimes one or two others whose names elude me) in bloom in March. A reliable performer, and this year they were even better (i.e. more prolific) than usual. Maybe because there’d been more rain.