Monster action

Photos by Suzi Manthorpe 

Front end

Back end

Behind bars

Butterfly action

Photo by Ned Harris 4/2/2014

Photo by Ned Harris 4/2/2014

Red-spotted Purple - closed and open

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/2/2014

Common Buckeye 

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/6/2014

Marine Blue 

Endless Snake

Photo by Dancing Snake Nature Photography 4/9/2014

I had to miss Ned's Nature walk last week, but fortunately The Serpent Princess (of Dancing Snake Nature Photography) was there to call the snakes out. These are both Coachwhips. Yes, they come in different colors. Didn't appear to be mating and it wasn't cold (or even cool); just slithering together.

Close-up by Alan Kearney 4/9/2014

Photo by Ned Harris 4/9/2014

Hedgehogs in bloom

Photo by Ned Harris 3/28/2014

Close-ups by Marty Horowitz 4/3/2014

Hedgehog cacti (Echinocereus fasciculatus) are showing their amazing colors. You'll have to resist the temptation to dive in!

Flowers and Fruits

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/2/2014

Odora (Porophyllum gracile) flowers (on their way to being fruits) and a nice-looking fruit. Yes, that dandelion-like puff is the fruit. The black parts are the seeds. Wind dispersed, of course. Plants with this kind of fruit (like dandelions) are in the sunflower (Aster) family.

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/2/2014

Photo by Marty Horowitz 4/2/2014

You can easily miss the small yellow flowers of Desert Vine (Cottsia gracilis fka Janusia gracilis), but the fruits are fantastic. Red with three 'wings' that contain the seeds.

New Flowers (for me, anyway)

All photos by Matt Ball 3/30/2014

Pine-leaf Milkweed (Asclepias linaria), flowers and fruits, Rose 8

Abert's Buckwheat (Eriogonum abertianum), Rose 147 (fix page number on key)

Red (or Scarlet) Four O'Clock (Mirabilis coccinea), Rose 127
These were seen in Ventana Canyon, but they also bloom in Sabino Canyon.
If you don't already have Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona, by Frank S. Rose, get a copy for yourself and any flower-loving friends.

Now you know

Photos by Matt Ball

My neighbor's car got into an altercation with a 4-ft high, 1.5 ft in diameter barrel cactus that only a tow truck could remedy. After both were freed, the gardener cut up the barrel with a chain saw. I was on the scene to take a look inside, and he graciously waited for me to grab my photographer for some shots. Top photo shows a shovel poking into the surprisingly dense flesh. We sliced off some inside pieces to taste; can't say that I recommend eating this or even sucking out the juice. Not at all tasty and can cause digestive distress. If you are lost in the desert, the barrel cactus itself will not help you. The fruits, of course, are good to eat - and you don't need a chain saw to get to them.