A late night, a high pollen count, and a heavy cooked lunch, with too much ice in the drink, followed by half an hour wandering around in the hot sun failing to get any really satisfactory pictures, did not make for a productive afternoon, or leave me with any interest in dinner. I saw an unusual little bird, though; I suspect a female goldfinch. The cactus garden was alive with thrashers and cactus wrens. This morning, there was a hummingbird zipping along the conifer planting at the side of the building where I work, occasionally darting in at right angles to check that yes, there were no flowers on that bit either. Finding a bit of shrubbery that isn't in bloom, at the moment, is actually quite an achievement.
I wandered out around 6pm, to take advantage of the gentler evening light, but all the cactus flowers had shut. I did catch some ocotillo flowers, at least. Ocotillos are one of the weirder local things; most of the time they look like bundles of bare thorny sticks, but in spring they sprout tassels of red-orange flowers at their tips, and after a wet season they cover themselves in leaves that spring straight out of the stems.
I really need to get up early, one of these mornings, and see what I can find while the light is low and the day's flowers are fresh.
( A couple of ocotillo pictures )
I wandered out around 6pm, to take advantage of the gentler evening light, but all the cactus flowers had shut. I did catch some ocotillo flowers, at least. Ocotillos are one of the weirder local things; most of the time they look like bundles of bare thorny sticks, but in spring they sprout tassels of red-orange flowers at their tips, and after a wet season they cover themselves in leaves that spring straight out of the stems.
I really need to get up early, one of these mornings, and see what I can find while the light is low and the day's flowers are fresh.
( A couple of ocotillo pictures )
