Cactus flowers seen on my morning walk

Mailman

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Spring time here is short, it’ll start hitting temps in the 90’s before you know it. But for a brief moment the desert comes alive with flowers. These were taken in my neighborhood on this mornings walk.
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This is for Randy who wants to see wildlife, two Javelina in my back yard.
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There have been a pack of coyotes hanging around here lately, we see four of them running together right outside our house almost daily, this morning one jumped out from behind a shrub and I’m not sure who was more startled! Us or the coyote who turned and ran away. :laugh2:
Lots of neighbors out walking, it’s funny, most of us cross the street when we see someone coming and we wave at each other from opposite sides. Strange times.
Take care everyone!
Bob
 
Interesting pics! It is quite amazing that so many different cactus species are blooming at the same time.
I don't know much about coyotes, but I do like the Javelinas in your last two pics.
 
I don't know much about coyotes, but I do like the Javelinas in your last two pics.

The coyotes are almost a daily sighting around here, the Javelinas are a rarity. We have spotted them only a few times, but we are aware of their presence much more often, they are mostly nocturnal and we find were they have been pawing the ground in the back yard and they like to snack on some of our plants. :laugh2:
Oh and we had a road runner in front of our house this morning but he was too fast for me to get a photo of!
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Beautiful flowers Bob - it is quite amazing that such vibrant plants can flourish in such a challenging climate.
 
you need an acme rocket
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Beautiful flowers Bob - it is quite amazing that such vibrant plants can flourish in such a challenging climate.

Yeah it’s really true, and the duration is very short. Two or three weeks and the show is over. These really big white flowers , which are about 6” across , are a one day flower. The buds grow for weeks, they bloom and within 24 hrs they die.
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I bet all the lawnmower mechs live in hungry heights?

I sold my lawn mower when I moved here and said “ Good riddance!” About 4 or 5 times a year I trim the shrubs and trees and blow the leaves out of the yard. Done! :D It’s wonderfully low maintenance.

are the cacti just gathered out of the wilds, or are they specially bred for good flowers?

We have a lot of specialty nurseries here that specialize in cactus and succulents. A lot of cactus in open desert is protected and you can get some hefty fines for digging them up. Saguaro cactus especially, they are crazy expensive. Occasionally they will issue permits to remove cactus from an area that is being developed, or for instance , at Lake Pleasant where I took that ride the other day, years ago they were going to raise the water level and plants around the shoreline would’ve been submerged, so they issued permits for anyone want to go and get some.
 
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Two years ago I visited TooManyXS1Bs and took two small pincushion cacti from his property. Yesterday they bloomed.

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I have identified these as either Fitch's Hedgehog Cactus or Fitch's Rainbow Cactus. The one on the left I dug up. The one on the right was a pad that I pulled off of a branching specimen. They are about the size of a baseball.
The one on the right also bloomed last year, but the blossom stalks quickly fell off after blooming, and I didn't get any fruits.

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This is just a couple of hours after the first pictures. The blossoms are already pretty degraded, and are chock full of scarab beetles, specifically Euphoria kerni. I have never seen this insect before.

Took a look this morning, and I think that some of the flowers successfully pollinated. Maybe they can't self-pollinate, but need another specimen to do their thing. Hoping to get some fruits this time.
 
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