The Mother Of Cactus Flowers

I'm all caught up, posting this and three back blips. I hope you have a chance to look at them.  I'm especially fond of the first one.

This night bloomer is about 5 inches in diameter.  It is as pure white as anything I have ever seen. And it will die by nightfall. The bud forms as a tube stretching from the rather small cactus.  It's large, but red.  When the flower opens, you can see the remnants of the red bud on the tips of the outer petals.  It's an absolutely stunning flower.  I usually get only one flower a year from this cactus but amazingly, I see two more buds forming behind this flower (I once got two blooming side-by-side which was really freaky).

Still super sick but gaining back a touch of energy, at least I did earlier in the day. Had some solid food for lunch. I came into my room to go to bed at 8:30 because I was so tired but didn't want to fall any further behind in my blips (it's now 11:20).  It's one thing to not take any pictures in a given day and have to miss posting, it's another to have the photos and not post them.  Anyway, I'm hoping for a rapid Saturday recovery so we can go out with our church friends for brunch on Easter.

Btw, hotter than Hades today.  It soared to 99°/37°. Fortunately, it was just a taste of what is to come when May rolls around. Definitely sleeping in tomorrow!