Life in the Desert

Spring is rapidly drawing to a close here in Phx, which means that the days keeping the blinds open and willingly going outside are ending.  The weather forecast is suggesting that triple-digit temperatures will make an appearance this week.  Summer is nigh.

While, for most of the year, life in the desert can be dusty and drab, the weeks following the winter rains result in a mass greening, where all the cacti and succulents and grasses go bonkers for the hydration and ramp up their photosynthesis in anticipation of several months of dryness.  Plants that appeared to be dead and withered suddenly start sprouting leaves, the wildflowers begin to bloom, and the cactus blossoms start to sprout; also, the rivers return (albeit briefly), and the migratory birds start to appear (also briefly).  Spring in the desert is quite lovely (unless you suffer from pollen-based allergies, in which case you are in for several weeks of excessive tissue use).

However, the trials and tribulations of the past few months have made it difficult to get out and enjoy the desert winter and spring, and I was loathe to let spring turn into summer without having some adventures to tide me over until fall.  Fortunately, the weather gods were smiling this past weekend, and they deigned to give us desert dwellers one final day of pleasant temperatures before the great outdoors switches to the far side of uncomfortable.  Given that it was probably the last time I could reasonably enjoy going outside until early November, it seemed an excellent opportunity to get out and have my mini-adventure.  Last November, The Husband and I got a family membership to the Desert Botanical Garden, mostly to get a discount on their Las Noches de las Luminarias festival (strolling around a Christmas-light-and-lantern-bedecked garden, drinking mulled cider and listening to carolers, is an excellent way to get into the winter spirit when it is still 80ºF outside).  It's one of our favorite places in Phx, and an excellent place to just wander about; even though it's right smack in the city, it's easy to get lost in nature.  It's also the perfect one-stop shop for all your blooming desert needs, since pretty much every native Sonoran plant is tucked away somewhere.  And there are birds and lizards and wee mammals.  Yes. 

So, in lieu of recipes I haven't written up yet, here are some pretty pictures from the desert.

Saguaro flowers.  The hole in the shortest one is a nest for any number of birds.

Chollas in bloom.

The creosote bushes have transformed into desert pussy willows.

A female Anna's Hummingbird, a common migrant in the desert.  (I think - any armchair ornithologists out there with different opinions?)

Paperbag bush, post-flower.

A starling perched atop an agave bloom.

A Round-Tailed Ground Squirrel, hanging out near some agaves.

Now you know why I enjoy spring in the desert.

Golden Barrel Cactus with tiny blossoms.

Old Man Cactus.

Ocotillos (my favorite desert succulent) in leaf and bloom.

Chihuly and palms.

The wildflowers are bloom, too.

A Beehive Cactus flower.

Tiny Mexican cactuses with tiny red flowers.

The yuccas were in bloom, too.

As were the Prickly Pears.  You can see the flowerless fruits; when they turn the same color as the flowers, then they're ripe.