Blooms, blossoms and cacti

Posted on February 11, 2026 by E.A. Wickham

I was given a Christmas Cactus by a friend four years ago. It looks pretty healthy, but until this past week, it’s never bloomed. Fellow blogger Busy Bee Suz who has a green thumb — which is something I lack — suggested that I move my Christmas Cactus. I moved it by the sliding glass door and a few weeks later it has two buds! How exciting is that?

While I switched from my 80-400 mm lens that I use to take Red and Mrs. photos to my 105mm Macro Lens, I took a few other photos. These were outside in the backyard.

We have three bougainvillea we planted a few months ago. They are thriving in the sun. In Palm Springs, we had bougainvillea that never took off. This is very encouraging!

Aren’t they beautiful?

Yesterday was my first day I managed to take a little walk post surgery. I was disappointed because my foot hurt in my tennis shoes. I had to wear flip flops with very little support. My foot is bruised and a little swollen so the tennis shoes rubbed my foot and were a no go!

It felt good to move around even though it was a short walk. My husband and I like to walk and talk. I shared a memory with him from my childhood. It was good to laugh together.

The Memory

When I was three and my brother was five, we went as a family to a church retreat camp staying in a tiny cabin in the woods of Washington. There were families from our Presbyterian church as well as ones from other parts of the state. Along with the small cabins, there was a meeting hall where we gathered as a group.

I remember sitting in the first row with my family, when the pastor asked if anyone wanted to share something with the group. My brother jumped up. He grabbed the microphone and belted out “Edelweiss” from the Sound of Music! I wonder what my parents thought? As his worshipping little sister, I was so proud.

“Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever…”

These lyrics were stuck in my head after photographing the blossoms above. That’s probably why I remembered this blast from the past.

We have lots of these cacti in our yard. They are only about three feet tall, much smaller than saguaro — although they look similar. I think they are called Cardon Cacti and they are spikier than saguaro cacti.

Do you have any silly memories to share from your childhood?

What would you have thought as my parents when my brother sang Edelweiss?

Sharing my cacti blooms

Posted on May 30, 2025 by E.A. Wickham

I took these flower pics a few weeks ago, before breaking my ankle and surgery. I remember seeing the buds and blossoms before we were leaving for our trip to the White Mountains of Arizona. I told my husband, “I hate to leave. I’d like to see these buds bloom.” The cacti blossoms only last a day or two. If I only had a crystal ball and knew that I’d fall during that trip. Yes, I’d much rather be home looking at my blossoms.

Today is a perfect day to share the photos. I’m out of pain from my fall and surgery. The photos bring me joy and hopefully to you, too!

Now that the weekend is here, I have one more week until my post-op appointment and my soft cast comes off — hopefully. Then I’ll be in a the major giant boot, but will be able to walk around. In the meantime, I’ll continue in quiet solitude writing, reading, elevating and icing!

Have a great weekend.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Week One with Waffles

Posted on May 6, 2024 by E.A. Wickham

Week one was a success. The morning strolls were perfect. I even got hubby to tag along. Waffles met Rascal, a poodle mix his size, who belongs to a neighbor. They’ve played together a few times in the park. Then Sunday morning, not only Rascal was at the park, but also a dog the same size named Ku’uipo, which means sweetheart in Hawaiian. Waffles had so much fun, he was grinning from ear to ear.

Waffles tilts his head when he wants to tell me something.

You know what else was a blessing this week? Waffles began to sleep through the night! Yay! Also, I saw my first baby quail of the year!

The week was so beautiful. I have to share a few photos I took in the neighborhood:

Palo Verde in bloom.

A Jumping Cholla with blooms. You want to keep your distance from this cactus!

Fairy Duster plant in our front yard.

A neighbor’s Aloe plant with beautiful yellow blossoms. We have Aloe, but none have flowers.

Now for a special treat for Waffles:

Waffles gets a treat, a carrot, but doesn’t know how to eat it.

What were some of your highlights this past week?

Spring is in the air

Posted on March 29, 2024 by E.A. Wickham

Walking around our yard yesterday, I noticed that flowers are peeking out around me. We’ve had a super wet winter with thundershowers most evenings. I haven’t been outside to appreciate that the rain has brought us tiny blooms. Spring is in the air!

Beautiful colors add to my daily joy.

I need to learn the names of my plants. I think these are aloes?

Sometimes it’s just a single blossom, but it still adds a pop of color.

Another favorite of mine is the beautiful Cardinal couple who hang out daily in our yard. I think they like my Birdbuddy bird feeder. I’ve learned to appreciate their chirps and beautiful songs.

This is the female Cardinal. Her husband is below.

What signs do you have that Spring is in the air?

Views and things on my mind

Posted on September 8, 2023 by E.A. Wickham

Olive got into my suitcase while I was unpacking and began scratching and biting it. I got her message loud and clear.

After a week home, I’m starting to feel settled. It’s been a super busy week, filled with long to do lists. What is helping me avoid gripping anxiety is morning walks, a few swims at the YMCA and having Olive fall asleep on my lap.

I read an article about cancer the other day in the Wall Street Journal. I learned something new that I feel is valuable to share. Cancer runs in families.

The article was called “Cancer Runs in Families. Too Few Are Getting Tested.”

by Brianna Abbott:

Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider knew what her father’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis meant for his future. She didn’t realize what it meant for her own cancer risk.

Steven Ungerleider’s doctors ordered genetic testing in 2022 to see if his cancer might respond to a new treatment. They found he had a mutation in the BRCA2 gene, which raises risks for cancers including pancreatic, breast and ovarian—and can be passed from parents to children.

Ungerleider and her sister got tested and discovered they had the same mutation.

“I had no idea that this was possible for me,” said Ungerleider, 43, an internal medicine doctor and founder of End Well, a nonprofit focused on end-of-life care.

Doctors are recommending genetic tests to more cancer patients and their families. Testing costs have dropped, and the results are helping doctors choose newer targeted drugs and encourage relatives to confront their own cancer risk.

“We can test you for dozens of genes at the same time, and it’s going to influence your treatment,” said Dr. Jewel Samadder, co-leader of the Office of Precision Medicine at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Phoenix.

I’ve had cancer on my mind, obviously after my future DIL was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer and has undergone successful surgery. What this article told me is all too clear. In my DIL’s family several of her sisters were diagnosed and treated for cancer in their 20s and 30s.

I think it would be wise if you have had family members with cancer, to get tested, too.

Here’s more from the article:

Some 10% of cancers are associated with genetic inheritance, including the BRCA mutations linked to breast and ovarian cancer risk in the 1990s. BRCA mutations have since been linked to other cancers, and dozens more gene variations have been shown to raise cancer risks.

Tests that hunt for these variations using blood or saliva samples cost around $250 out-of-pocket, down from around $4,000 a decade ago.

Doctors have broadened guidelines for who should get tested, including all patients with ovarian, metastatic prostate and pancreatic cancer and some with colorectal and breast. Some are pushing for universal testing after some studies showed that around half of genetic cancer links are missed under standard testing guidance.
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/cancer-runs-in-families-too-few-are-getting-tested-4e14b8a6?mod=Searchresults_pos2&page=1

Here’s a beauty of a barrel cactus in bloom outside my window.

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This roadrunner found a perch to watch the quails in our backyard.

What are your thoughts about cancer running in families? Would you get tested if your parents or siblings had cancer? Would you recommend friends to have testing done?

Saguaros in bloom

Posted on May 30, 2023 by E.A. Wickham

This year is fascinating with all the blooming cacti and plants. This is my third spring in Arizona and it’s truly amazing. I’m sure it was the rainy winter we had that is encouraging all the plant life to come alive with flowers. Right now the saguaros are blooming, something I didn’t see much of the past two years.

We have a nature’s preserve across the street and it’s gorgeous to see saguaros topped with white flower crowns. They remind me of the floral crowns we swim moms ordered for my senior day for my daughter’s college swim team.

Saguaros topped with white crowns of flowers at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A saguaro in bloom at a neighbor’s house.

In our back yard.

What unusual plants, flowers or wildlife have you seen this spring? Did you have more rain or snow than in the past few years?

A bit of beauty

Posted on April 18, 2022 by E.A. Wickham

Our gate looking out toward the street. It’s so beautiful with the plant in full bloom. Most of the year it doesn’t look like this.

This weekend I was stunned by the beauty in our neighborhood. I stop and take photos every day on my walks. I’ve posted several times about the desert in bloom, but more and more flowers amaze me.