The summer heat is so stifling here, and the winter is so dry here. I bought a house with a lawn front & back – small lawns, but lawns nonetheless – but now I see the wisdom of having the front & back yards in a “natural” state. The sun is so hot, the air so dry (most of the time – but more about that another day), that you must dump copious amounts of water onto the lawn, just so it will survive.
The sun is so strong that it works as a bleaching agent – colours get washed out here, plants die unless watered – well, except of course for the weeds – weeds seem to flourish everywhere – and the cacti.
So, it’s amazing and wonderful when, all of the sudden, the desert blooms. Here are a few pictures of the desert plants in bloom. The first couple are in my yard.
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| In my backyard. I just missed catching a hummingbird that was sipping at some of the nice flowers in the creeping vines… |
| In my front yard. Since this picture, the whole tree has opened up in huge blossoms of red! |
| Landscaped area around water treatment plant along my cycling route to work. Look at those gorgeous red flowers! |
| More along my cycling route. Different colours for each type of cactus? |
| Catching other cacti along my cycling route. |
| Zoomed back shot along my cycling route. |
| More cactus along my cycling route. |
| In a front yard along my cycling route. Look carefully at the top of the cacti. I saw birds sitting on top as I rode up! |