I spotted this blossom bursting from the side of a cactus. It was so unusual and when I took my macro lens to take photos of it, a bumblebee was buzzing around.
Here’s another shot of the bee and you can see the cactus in the background. I used AI to identify the type of cactus. It said “Peruvian Apple Cactus.” Whether this is correct or not, I’m not sure. Do any of my blogger friends know for sure? It did say the blossom would last one night. It was blooming in the daytime, but wilted by the next day.
Our pergola created interesting shadows in the background on a stucco wall.
Here are a couple other photos I took while I had the macro lens engaged:
One final fun photo:
I hope you enjoyed my photos today and have a great week!
Actually Red is the one who I see most often — one on one with a fledgling. He’ll fly back and forth across the backyard and feed them himself from our bird feeder or a birdseed block on the ground. I think Mrs. must have been in the nest with the remaining little ones.
Red feeding a fledgling.
This week a cactus bloomed out my window. It only lasted a couple hours because it’s hot! High of 98 degrees today. Not as hot as it gets but a change from the cool weather we were having.
I was excited to see one male fledgling getting red splotches of feathers. They become fully red at one year. This photo is way out of focus because he was darting around and I was so excited my hands were shaking! I thought about not including it, but I wanted to share what Little Red looks like turning a blotchy color.
Here’s Mrs. on the planter. I was very happy to capture both photos of Mrs.
There’s always a few Gila Woodpeckers around. They look similar to Gilded Flickers that I wrote about Wednesday, but they don’t have a spotted breast and lack the cinnamon cap.
A Mule Deer was hanging out in the shade under a tree by our driveway.
Red likes to hang out in a tree over my head when I fill the feeder. When I call him — while holding onto a bag of birdseed — he comes immediately. He’s got little ones to feed and needs to be first in the feeder!
Happy Friday!
Which photos are your favorites? What are your weekend plans?
No surprise. Red is at the top of my list. I was getting a little worried. Mrs. and Red didn’t show up for most of the week. I sent my husband to the hardware store for sunflower seeds. Their favorite. Voila! They both arrived, although separately which makes me believe there is something going on in the nest.
Mrs. made a few appearances. The sunflower seeds did the trick!
Red sharing his favorite rock with a quail. Did you notice I caught a bird in flight? It’s a blur in front of the saguaro.
A male quail keeping watch over his family. Momma and baby below the bench.
A Cactus Wren on a cactus! This is the state bird of Arizona.
What a surprise. Yesterday two cacti bloomed.
Aren’t these gorgeous flowers?
This cactus is next to our driveway.
I had to get photos of the flowers because they only last for a day.
We planted a few bougainvillea. This one is purple and the others are pink. I can’t wait to see how they grow throughout the years
The bougainvillea add such a nice touch of color.
One more favorite photo of Red.
Do you have a favorite photo? If so, which one is it?
Any exciting plans for the weekend? We’ll be celebrating our 40th anniversary!
I came back from my morning walk yesterday and spotted the tiles on our roof. This is turning out to be a bigger project than I had previously imagined.
When we had solar installed, they broke roof tiles and put holes in our roof. First big rain (it poured for several days) we had water damage on the inside.
I called the solar company and sent a letter with photos of the damage to Costco (we bought the solar through them.) A Costco manager called me back as soon as he got the letter. Unfortunately, the solar company no longer works through Costco and they moved out of Arizona. But still the manager gave me a number to call and file a complaint and he said he would, too.
Nothing has happened on that end, but we needed to move forward with fixing our roof and the interior of the house. We got a roofer over and our handyman said he’d do the inside repairs once the roof is fixed.
The roofer said we needed to hire a solar company to remove the panels and supports. And then replace them when he was done with the roof repair. That was the hard part. It took more than three weeks to find a solar company who would do the job. They are too busy selling and installing complete home solar systems and not interested in a small maintenance job. We called people we found online as well as referrals from friends and neighbors. The referrals never returned our calls! Isn’t that something?
I’m glad we found a roofer, a solar company and have our handyman — who is the best.
This is our roof a few hours after the first photo was taken! Yes, I’m thankful. Solar gets reinstalled Monday. Then the handyman comes to repair the damage inside.
A bright flower on a small Beavertail Cactus. All photos were taken with my new phone.
Happy Mother’s Day to all my mom friends.
What are your plans to celebrate or enjoy the weekend?
I spotted these blooms in the backyard which is amazing for July. They only lasted a day or two.
A few days before our trip to New York, our AC went out in the master bedroom. Now that it’s more than 100 degrees outside, that was not a good thing. We slept in the casita for a few nights until a repairman fixed the AC. One night, I got up to use the bathroom and smacked my toes on the bed post.
It was loud! It really hurt! I woke my husband up obviously.
So, off to New York City and Connecticut, where I could barely walk. Once home from the trip, I realized I still couldn’t make my morning walks. I’m still in pain. It’s frustrating as I sit looking out the window.
I’m not one who gets bored easily. I’m usually content reading or writing. But the lack of exercise isn’t helping. I have jumped in the pool to kick. It’s better than nothing. Plus, I’m lifting weights.
My biggest thrill right now is birdwatching.
Here’s a video of my baby quail:
How do you entertain yourself, if you’re injured? Any suggestions?
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” AA. Milne
We went to a Fourth of July pool party on Sunday, so today will be a quiet day, me and hubby, going for a walk and grilling burgers.
I spotted two interesting sights during my last walk.
First was this lovely pink blossom in one of our pots in our courtyard. Because our temperatures are well over 100 degrees, most of the blooms have faded away.
Then I saw two desert kingsnakes. They aren’t venomous and they eat rattlesnakes, so I guess that’s a good thing they’re hanging around our neighborhood.
