Palo Verdes and Saguaros

 

The green trees that look like brush are Palo Verde trees. the trunks of the trees are green hence the term palo verde in Spanish, or green stick. The cactus are all saguaros, the iconic cactus of the western United States. The hill in the background is part of the Papago Buttes. The photo was taken in the Desert Botanical Garden. 

Sefl-defense

 

Cacti are the epitome of self-defense. These spines are stiff, hard, and very sharp. Despite this formidable display of spines, cacti still have their match with a number of insects and some mammals. 

They include but are not limited to woodrats, camels, birds, iguanas, tortoises, beetles, and jackrabbits. Even human beings eat cactus. Such animals have developed certain mechanisms to ensure they don't get hurt from the thorns or toxicity from the cacti toxins.

See "What Animals Eat Cactus? 9 Animals that Feed on Cacti." 

Sunlight on the Water

 

Arizona is not all dry deserts. There are beautiful places with water, trees, and lovely cattails. This pond is in the Desert Botanical Garden in the part that fewer people visit. 

Up Close with a Peony

 

Sometimes we need to slow down and look around us. Here is an example of the beauty found by looking closely at this lovely peony. 

Another Ladybug on a Peony Bud

 

Our peonies are covered with buds and many of the buds have aphids. I think they are attracted by the sap that covers the buds. It is not true that peonies need ants to bloom. Both the ants and ladybugs benefit the peonies by killing other bugs such as aphids. 

Ladybugs on a peony bud

 These are the gardener's friend, the ladybug. There are hundreds of species and varieties of ladybugs in North America. When I was much younger, we could get them to climb onto a finger and they became very short-term pets. This peony bud is about to bloom. 

A Face in the Flame

 If you look closely, you can see a face reflected in the flame on the left. It is one of the people around the table. I have never heard of a reflection in a flame. This must be unusual. 

Spring in the Wasatch Mountains

 

We get the best of both worlds. We live on the side of a mountain, and we enjoy beautiful flowers and trees. Spring weather is just about perfect, and the grass is turning a little green despite the drought. As the years pass, our appreciation of our beautiful world increases exponentially. 

A Real Dandelion

This is a dandelion not a catsears. Yes, catsears look exactly like dandelions. I know this is a dandelion because it has only one flower on its stalk. However, that one flower is really a large number of florets. You can see the individual florets as the darker parts of the plant that have two loops at the end. Dandelions are really quite complicated plants. By the way, the leaves are also edible and quite commonly eaten in some countries.  

Downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

 

Just west of Glen Canyon Dam, there is a trail and overlook into Marble Canyon and upstream to the dam. This image was taken along the short trail, just before the overlook. You can see the power lines and the top of the dam in the distance. -

What is it? #3

 

This is what is presently showing in our family room area. Any guesses as to what it is? I have been looking around my world with the macro lens on my iPhone 13 Pro Max and finding quite a few interesting things. This new iPhone development also makes it a lot easier to read really fine print and examine other small objects. 

This is where tile has been removed from around our fireplace for installation of new tile. 

A Window Garden in Segovia Spain

 

While walking in Segovia, Spain, I spotted this beautiful window garden with lovely flowers. They look like geraniums. Imagine living on a street like this and your one view was out into the street. Would you plant flowers?