May 25, 2009

Cactus Beauty


Claret cup is my favorite cactus, and it's blooming in the high Utah desert (about 6000 feet).
Above is a prickly pear, very abundant in the Cedars near our home. The buds are out, but no blossoms yet. If you enlarge the photo, you'll see a bug (squash bug?) nestled within the spines. Not a bad location for safety from predators, don't you think? Primrose were abundant.
This purple plant is of the pea family.
Boss is lapping a lip over green Indian rice grass, a native bunch grass that provides great natural forage.
The mountain gods looked angry, but the weather stayed warm and dry for our ride.
To view many beautiful worlds, click here.

28 comments:

  1. Glad you had a great ride, Janie.. I love seeing those cactus (and other) colors from your area. Gorgeous!

    Have a great day.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. What a wonderful cactus, Gorgeous, that's the word!
    That last picture with those clouds is also overwhelming :)
    Have a great day! Hugs, Maria

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  3. Glad you had a dry ride. The Claret cups are my favorite cactus bloom also.

    Happy Memorial Day!

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  4. So beautiful! I have yet to make a springtime visit to the desert, but some mountain springtime blooms will appear in the next couple of days at 365 no themes no memes

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  5. I can see why Claret cup is your favorite cactus. That's so beautiful and you captured it so well in your photograph. I enjoy so much the way you focus on both the wider landscape shots as well as individual plants. I may have mentioned that before but my memory isn't what it used to be.

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  6. I always enjoy seeing your wonderful world and all its beauty. Thanks for the journey.

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  7. I can't believe you didn't get rained on! If it stops raining long enough, I'll have to go in search of cactus blooms.

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  8. love that first red cactus shot...have not seen one of those here..

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  9. Thanks for taking us along on your ride. I enjoyed seeing the cactus and decided the squash bug was pretty smart. I'm glad the weather stayed good for you.

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  10. It's nice seeing the cactus flowers. We missed most of ours this year, being away.

    Another pleasant view into your world.

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  11. Oh my I wouldn't want to land on that cactus.

    BTW, I love your ABC post. Your sons are adorable.

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  12. Beautiful flowers and great photos and it is just not fair that you get to do this almost every day!!!!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Smiles

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  13. what fantastic photos. you should join us on cactus mondays. xxx

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  14. Such beutiful wildflowers, I love the red flowering cactus - wouldn't want to sit on one.

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  15. The desert is certainly at its most beautiful this time of year - great photos.

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  16. Wonderful flowers! How bright and vibrant the color is! Can't imagine one can find such bright blooms in deserts!

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  17. That claret cups cactus is beautiful!

    I think the purple flower picture is of Crownvetch. Then again, maybe not.

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  18. love the cactus and wild flowers... love the last photo!

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  19. Those cactus are gorgeous! I love the peacefulness of the expand of land, sky and nature. And best experienced on horseback!

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  20. Claret cup is gorgeous. It is another new and wonderful plant for me to long to see.

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  21. Nice! I love the desert's beauty as well as your grassland prairie.

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  22. Thank you so much for sharing all those lovely pictures. I enjoyed them very much.

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  23. Janie, I am very amazed how cacti blooms beautifully. I have never seen the flowers until I went to one of the Gardens here. Boss is gorgeous.

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  24. All the flower pics are gorgeous, I love the red flowers on the cactus. And that bug looks like it's pretty big?! The last pic is stunning.

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  25. Ah, a great lot of photos from Your World...thanks

    Annie

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  26. Such color and clarity. Wonderful!

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  27. There are so many beautiful flowers on your rides. So different than what I see...

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  28. Last Picture IS Great...Amazing Blog

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