Backyard Blooms

Second day of self-inflicted back pain. Simply put, I’m an idiot who thought moving an awkward and heavy piece of furniture from one room to another - by myself - was a good idea. I would say I learned a valuable lesson but don’t rule out me doing it again when I forget how painful it is.

This was taken with my phone in the late afternoon from my patio. It’s a wide shot of the grizzly prickly pear cactus I started growing in 2007 by sticking a single cactus pad into the ground. It’s already been cut back significantly twice. I love this cactus. It must be the same feeling people get when they plant a seed and watch it prosper. It feels like a piece of you.

Since I am on my phone I don’t know what it’s going to look like once I see it on my laptop. A few things to look for: firstly, it was taken at 4 pm so the flowers are pretty much closed for the day and by morning will have completed shriveled and died. Secondly, there are dozens of still green buds that will bloom over the next two weeks. Many are in clusters. Lastly, there’s a female Gambel’s quail walking calmly across the wall. When I opened the sliding glass door, the quail munching in the yard either flew off or scurried for cover under the cactus. This one ignored me and went on about her business.