Leafing Ocotillo

The ocotillo in my front yard, which was planted "bare" - no leaves on the stalks at all, is going green.

Not so long ago, at the peak of the ocotillo blooming season, I actually had some flowers blooming at the tips of mine. They got a little bigger and brighter after that blip was taken. But as you can see, if you look back, the stalks were totally bare.

I have to go out and spray the stalks down for about fifteen or twenty minutes once a week because it's still a baby (the stalks absorb the water). This is to prevent it from drying out in this heat. But it looks like it's now on it's way to becoming a productive member of (flora) society.

The temps for the rest of the week will finally be under 100F but the wind is ferocious. It was so bad yesterday that I couldn't get my car door open. When I finally did, I had to struggle to get in it before the darn thing slammed shut on me. The dust is horrible. I drove through clouds of brown all the way home from Tucson and by evening the mountains were completely obliterated by it.