Thursday, April 4, 2019, Desert Botanical Gardens, Phoenix, AZ

The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix was clearly one of our favorite haunts. It was close and we had our choice of virtually any restaurant you could name on the way. Included below is a sampling of the beautiful spring flowers we saw on two separate trips - one with our friends Darlene and Bill and another visit on our own.

 Echinocereus coccineus, Scarlet Hedgehog Cactus

Opuntia, Prickly Pear cactus

Opuntia, Prickly Pear cactus

Sphaeralcea ambigua, Globemallow

Opuntia, Prickly Pear cactus

OK, so not all of these blooms are on cacti but there certainly was an abundance of unique and fascinating blooms just crying out for their photo opportunity!

Calliandra eriophylla, Pink Fairy Duster

This little bunny probably nibbled on a different flower every day - talk about variety!

 Sylvilagus audubonii, Desert Cottontail

The Fairy Dusters below were in the process of unwinding into their final state. I was able to catch blooms in every stage of development in this single frame.

Calliandra californica, Baja Fairy Duster

Adenium obesum, Desert Rose

The bloom below had to be one of the strangest we had ever seen. It certainly took the prize for "wildest construction."

Passifloraceae, the passion-flower

Passiflora belongs to the Passifloraceae family. There are over 400 species of this extraordinary plant.

Fouquieria splendens, Ocotillo (but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus)

Adenium obesum, Desert Rose

Lugging the tripod along was a bit of extra work but it gave me exposure options that I used to give the pictures more depth of field (better focus) that might have improved many of these pictures.

 Zygophyllaceae: Larrea tridentata, Creosote Bush

Someone on the trail asked if I knew where the butterfly pavilion was located. I told them but I thought it was closed. That's when we learned the exhibit had just reopened. We spent quite a while with the delicate creatures floating around us and occasionally posing for a picture or two.

Vanessa cardul, Painted Lady Butterfly

 Anartia jatrophe, White Peacock Butterfly




Junonia coenia, Buckeye

Agraulis vanillae, Gulf Fritillary

Agavaceae, Agave Americana (century plant)

The Palo Verde trees were in full bloom. The flowers littered the ground beneath them and seemed to catch on just about everything. Notice the agave spikes below had even skewered some of the tiny yellow flowers.

Parkinsonia aculeata, Palo Verde Tree

"The Desert Botanical Garden displays 186 of the 212 known species and varieties in the genus Agave, making this the most prominent agave collection in the United States and perhaps in the world."

The abundant rains covered the Ocotillo with a thick layer of green topped by the delicate red blooms - a far cry from the typical dried out, leafless, spindly look they have throughout most of the summer months.

Wiki: Ocotillo is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2–4 cm), ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.

We found out there was an effort many years ago to make the gardens into a National Park. Whether that would have been good or not I don't know but with the abundance of specimens, the evening light show and many other programs we think the gardens are a treasure and will certainly be visiting them again whenever we are in the area.  If you join the American Horticultural Society (AHS) for $50 (Sustaining Member - admits 2) they have a reciprocal admissions program that allows free admission into botanical gardens across the country.

Friday, February 22, 2019, Weeks 2 and 3 at Pismo Beach

We made the short hike to the Monarch Butterfly Grove several times and this picture below was one of my favorites. The butterfly floated down for a closer look at who was taking his picture.

The low count was somewhat disappointing but the sunshine made the butterflies more active and much more colorful.

The beach access below Eldwayne Ocean Park, just a bit north of what we always referred to as Shell Beach, had very few visitors and a lot of interesting rocks. I found the critters in the tide pools to be more interesting

That yellow stucco house at the top of the access stairs with the fantastic ocean view could be yours for a cool $5.8 million.

If you wait a bit at many of the tide pools, they suddenly start to move. Nearly every shell in this pool was home to a Hermit Crab. I wonder why this one was sporting blue ankles.

My research tells me it is a blue band hermit crab making his home in a turban snail's abandoned abode.

The rock below was mostly buried but the quartz mixed in with the red and yellow rock caught our eye. When we finally cleared the sand away it was 9 by 7 by 6 inches and weighing in at 19 pounds. It might make a nice pair of bookends when it is cut and polished.

You just have to wonder why this one rock was so attractive to whatever created the pockets in its surface.

The "sand" on this beach consisted of stones and shells tumbled to about an eighth inch. The shiny and colorful bits collected in the pockets.

One of our neighbors drove in yesterday with his best friend in tow. Mandy, a very friendly Australian Shepard, rides in comfort in her custom trailer outfitted with manual and powered roof vents, sliding side windows, rear picture window and a hinged roof for easy access.

Looking out the front window we saw blue sky and sunshine so we decided to walk along the beach for a bit. The wind was in our faces on the way to the beach, so the ominous dark clouds inland seemed to be no threat.

At the beach, it was quite another story. The wind shifted and started blowing strongly out to sea bringing the inland clouds towards us.

The contrast in the sky was dramatic looking in one direction and then the other. We decided we had better head for home.

The view to the north toward Pismo Beach.

The view to the south toward Oceano Dunes.

The combination of precipitation, clouds and sunrays gave the sky some uniquely weird texture.

It was so strange to be pelted by sleet just before we got back. The little ice pellets bounced off of us keeping us dry - sure beat giant wet raindrops. In the first two weeks of our stay, we have experienced just about every kind of weather Pismo Beach had to offer.

It was not THAT cold. I was in shorts and flipflops, a bit chilly but nowhere near freezing.

Another first for our stay was the lightning and thunder. Sam was surprisingly mellow through it all but he was happy to get home.

We enjoyed a full rainbow on the way back to the coach.

The birds were hopful this would be a good spot to ride out the storm.

Joani's aunt and uncle (Maggie and Jim) made the trip over from Bakersfield this week and will stay in their Montana 5th wheel through the end of the month. We met them one night and gorged ourselves at the La Casita Mexican restaurant. I'm hopeful we will see them many more times before we have to leave.