Caught in Flight

I only catch hummingbirds with my camera once and while. Most of the images are so blurred as to be unrecognizable. This was an exception. But the flower was so white, that the detail was lost. Oh well, not all photos are the perfect ones you see highly manipulated online. Even on a bright, sunny day, the camera speed was not enough to stop the movement of the hummingbird's wings.

Succulents

Some people seem to classify all desert plants as "cactus" but that is not at all correct. Cactus are one kind of very specialized plant. The general category of plants that are adapted to harsh, dry conditions are succulents, that is, plants that store some of their water in their leaves or other modified plant parts. I found these particularly interesting succulents at the Thanksgiving Point Garden, far from a traditional desert looking setting. Not all succulents are suited for hot, dry climates. Some require much cooler weather. There are about 60 different plant families that contain succulents. Here are some resources for finding out about these amazing plants:

Andersohn, Günter. Cacti and Succulents. East Ardsley, Wakefield, England; New York, N.Y.: EP Pub. ; Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co., 1983.

Baldwin, Debra Lee. Designing with Succulents. Portland, Or.: Timber Press, 2007.

Cutak, Ladislaus. Succulents. [St. Louis], 1959.

Hall, H. Common Succulents. London; New York: Longmans, Green, 1955.

Hecht, Hans. Cacti & Succulents. New York: Sterling Pub. Co., 1994.

Hewitt, Terry. Cacti & Succulents. New York, NY: DK Pub., 1996.

———. Succulents. London: Southwater, 2002.

———. The Complete Book of Cacti & Succulents. London; New York; Boston: Dorling Kindersley ; Distributed by Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

Hewitt, Terry, and Royal Horticultural Society (Great Britain). Garden Succulents. London: Cassell Illustrated : The Royal Horticultural Society, 2003.

Innes, Clive. Succulents. London; New York, N.Y.: Cassell : Royal Horticultural Society ; Distributed by Sterling Pub. Co., 1989.

Kelaidis, Gwen Moore, and Saxon Holt. Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate. North Adams, MA: Storey Pub., 2008.

Kramer, Jack. Cacti and Other Succulents. New York: Abrams, 1977.

———. Succulents and Cactus. Menlo Park, Calif.: Lane Books, 1970.

Lamb, Edgar, and Brian Michael Lamb. The Illustrated Reference on Cacti & Other Succulents. London: Blandford Press, 1955.

Loves, June. Succulents. Philadelphia: Chelsea Club House, 2005.

Perl, Philip, Enrico Ferorelli, and Time-Life Books. Cacti and Succulents. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1978.

Rowley, Gordon D. Flowering Succulents. Farnham, Surrey: Living Colour Publications, 1959.

———. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Succulents. New York: Crown Publishers, 1978.

Sajeva, Maurizio, and Mariangela Costanzo. Succulents: The Illustrated Dictionary. Portland, Or.: Timber Press, 1994.

“Snapshot.” Accessed September 5, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Succulent_plant&oldid=673347553.

“Succulent Plant.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, July 27, 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Succulent_plant&oldid=673347553.

Sunset, and Linda Brandt. Cactus and Succulents. Menlo Park, Ca.: Lane Pub. Co., 1978.

Garden of the Gods

There seem to be few areas in the United States outside of the Colorado Plateau where there are large quantities of vertical sandstone. The Garden of the Gods in Colorado is one of the more prominent areas, although each time I visit it, I am surprised at how small an area is included. It is also right at the edge of the city and so it sort-of reminds me of Papago Park in Phoenix. Of course, it is not desert, but mountains. I have not really had much of a desire to travel to exotic places outside of the Southwest because there is so much to see right here in my own backyard.

Water Strider

Some of my early memories are of water striders on the water in the irrigation ditches. It always seemed amazing that these creatures could walk on the surface of the water. This particular water strider is joined by some tiny flies, although they might be mosquitoes. This particular insect is a member of the Gerridae family. There are over 1,700 species of gerrids and 10% of those are marine and 90% are fresh water bugs. They are true bugs in the Hemiptera order. Water striders use the high surface tension of water and long, hydrophobic legs to help them stay above water. See Wikipedia: Gerridae. If you are interested, you can read about how they manage to walk on the water by clicking on the link.

The Heart of the Wasatch

The Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains in the eastern edge of the Great Basin. This impressive mountain ranges most popularly known as the "Wasatch Front" because the majority of the population of Utah lives along its western flank in a series of valleys. Since I presently live about 200 yards from the steep mountain face of the Wasatch Front, it is pretty much part of my daily life. In fact, as I look out my window I am looking at the steep hillside of the Lake Bonneville shoreline. In less than half an hour, I can be driving on the Alpine Loop with use like that one shown in today's photo.

The Flowers of Late Summer

We can see that the weather is starting to change. It is late summer and Fall is fast approaching. We took the opportunity to take a walk around the huge Thanksgiving Point flower garden. The flowers were gorgeous and profuse. I am really thankful for flowers.

Roses at the end of Summer

Roses are Summer flowers and they have a first and then a second blooming cycle. These are about the last of the blooms. Many of the roses have already stopped blooming and are covered with "rose hips," or the fruit of the rose bush. I have not tried to eat one, but I know they are edible. They are very high in Vitamin A. I used to grow quite a few roses, but now we live in a condo and the landscaping is all provided by the association. We have been planting a few flowers, but I haven't gotten into the roses again yet.