Filed under: dogs | Tags: border collies, cacti, cacuts, desert, dogs, flowers, photography, plants
My dad gave me this cactus maybe 5 or 6 years ago as a cutting. It’ hasn’t grown much or done anything. Then recently little pups have popped up and last night I saw a flower bud. I didn’t notice it earlier because it’s kind of out of the way in a non-watering area. Then this morning…..
late bloomer cactus!
So vibrant. So as long as I had the camera out I thought I’d show you the current state of the plants in my back yard:
Here is one of the night bloomers. Second go around this summer. Two blooms opened last night!
cereus
And I don’t know what this is. These were on sale at Home Depot so I took a chance…
cheery flower
And this guy….
bryophyllum daigremontianum
Also known as a “mother of thousands”, this bryophyllum daigremontianum is about 48 inches tall and will have some interesting flowers later in the year.
And the Basil…
Basil
And for lunch I made a fluffy omelet with this basil, sliced grape tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. So good!
spruce cone cactus
I have a few of these but this one is going crazy. He has been growing straight up all year, then last week he appeared to fall on his side. But now he has turned himself back to fast the other direction. Love him!
mexican fencepost cactus
portuclaca
I don’t know what this is. A friend gave me the cuttings a month ago and he’s really doing great.
cactus
And here! a locust exoskeleton on a carrion plant!
carrion plant
And it’s a good thing the yard is big, because in between all these plants we need room for this:
Filed under: flowers, hiking, insects, life, nature, photography, plants, wildlife | Tags: flowers, hiking, insects, life, nature, photography, tucson, wildlife
and so it came to pass…abacus and i fancied a hike in the catalinas.
we arrived at the trail head to see this:
a harbinger of pain? how tough was this hike going to be?
not too bad, actually! it was hot, but i think we sort of kicked ass! it was full sun, but we made good time.
now, i need to say, my hopes for nature viewing were low, but we were treated with views of ravens and a hunting red tail. also, scads of funnel spiders had set up shop:
one knoll was plastered with these. i like the funnel spiders. they’re efficient eaters…and their bodies remind me of sugar smacks!
we also had some lovely flora…
whatcha got right there is the Mirabilis linearis – Narrowleaf Four O’Clock.
the climb was steep so i noticed the plant life on the way up: moving slowly and all. on the way down, only critters caught my eye.
here is a punk ass grasshopper who i followed for a great while he would only turn his back to me.
grasshoppers are the biggest teases in sonoran nature. they know you want to take their picture…they leave, but they stay close enough for you to follow.
how high were we? this high:
we also saw the dainty sulfur and the claret cup hedgehog:
we were back down town by 11:15 for beers and clams at bob dobb’s!
Filed under: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: bees, ecology, flowers, insects, life, nature, photography, wildlife
the bees are out in full force and i’m telling you….this is a very industrious spring for them. my allergies have been going crazy, so you can imagine how the bees are just loving all the extra pollen. hey, if it makes you little bee sweeties happy, i’ll just keep on sucking down the benedryl and not complain.
i’ve been a little spastic about bee photos. as i mentioned a few days ago, my portfolio was accepted for a show at a nature gallery next summer so i need to get to work snapping some fresh insect images.
yesterday morning i climbed a ladder and perched there with my telephoto. it was only 8 am and the bees were already hard at work. but lookie here:
most of the bees had pollen loads the size of the one’s on the left….but look at the one on the right! holy shit bee! what time did you get up to get that much work done by 8 am? and how are you even flying around with that much extra weight?
if you’d like to learn more about these sticky bee leg weights, please visit buzzy’s blog here: http://buzzybeegirl.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/shes-got-legs-she-knows-how-to-use-them/
i made it safely down the ladder then got to work at the day job.
what’s blooming around you? what wildlife, big or small, have you spotted lately?
Filed under: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife
they’re back! i’ve missed them so. the bees. the native bees.
the honeybees have been here for a while now, but now that the cactus flowers are starting to bloom, . . . .things are getting exciting!
here is one being a little shy….
this cactus bloom was about 8 feet in the air. i was standing on a chair about 10 feet away from the cactus.
here comes another one with a not-so-graceful landing….
these are the first two cactus blooms in my yard. their will be hundreds more.
um….does anyone think i’m a little too excited about this? it’s ok if you do. i’m not right in the head when it comes to my little bee friends.
now get back to work. the bees can’t do everything!
Filed under: flowers, nature, photography | Tags: flowers, life, mexican poppy, nature, photography
hi! spring has perked up the dogs, and things are growing again. i have no plans for the weekend, so maybe i can find some pretty things to photograph.
i found some of these guys in my front yard…
and these guys….
the flowers and weeds are growing out of control in the back yard. the bees are happy as can be!
what are you doing this weekend?
Filed under: family, flowers, gardening, life, photography, plants | Tags: cacti, christmas, family, flowers, happiness, life, photography, plants
it’s the little things really, the surprises, the small flashes of color, that make life enjoyable.
so, about 6 years ago my neighbor gave me a bunch of cuttings from succulents where she had been house sitting. one was a 6 inch long sprig of christmas cactus. i stuck it in a pot, way too large for the wimpy thing, and put it inside on a book shelf at the window overlooking the front step. the other plants, stayed outside where they are flourishing to this day.
on the phone with my mom that week i was telling her about my new plants. when i mentioned the christmas cactus she made a point of letting me know that ….it was going to die. they never live, according to her.
it has filled the pot. it has flourished, but nary a blossom.
i mentioned the little things. how they are so important for happiness. when you’re hurried and stressed, that is when you notice the little things the least. but that is when you need to notice them the most.
christmas eve i was rushing to pack the car to get out of town. home from work, wrap the gifts, make sure all the dog’s meds are packed, will the car make the drive, yadda yadda.
a flash of pink out of the corner of my eye as i walk out the door. “what the?”
2 blossoms and 3 buds. i called my mother, elated, of course!
by the time i got back many blossoms had appeared.
isn’t it beautiful? the pads were covered in dust. i took it outside and dusted it with a soft paint brush, then put it on my honda for some photos.
i love it.
Filed under: animals, bees, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife | Tags: animals, bees, cacti, ecology, flowers, insects, nature, photography, wildlife
butt. you’ve got pollen allll over your butt.
abdomen. what ever.
Filed under: animals, bees, dogs, flowers, insects, nature, pets, photography | Tags: animals, dogs, flowers, insects, malinois, nature, photography, wildflowers
i had so much planned this weekend and had high expectations. some plans were changed which was for the best. and some things that happened were a fiasco. plus, i got my picture taken way too many times yesterday; it was starting to get awkward. it was my last day teaching the pet therapy program. it was weird. good group of graduates.
the dogs had fun this weekend, which is the most important thing, right?
here are some pictures i took saturday:
a bee, of course.
the highlights of the weekend were probably hiking with the bear, practicing agility with miss pickles, wine and cheese with rebo and hearing the cats “squeaked” into the sweet 16.
now i have to go to my 9 to 5 job and pretend i’m not exhausted.
Filed under: life, nature, photography | Tags: bees, dogs, flowers, graffiti, life, nature, photography, pictures
while buzzy was studying and photographing my sexy bees for her thesis, i thought i would try some snaps, as well. here are some photos from my place. all of these are either in my front or back yards or can be seen from my yard.
my house has grey water. that means my laundry is allowed to drain in the back yard. these flowers are growing at the drainage area.
very tiny and pretty…growing at my grey water.
if you were here, i would give you a beer upon arrival, then we could kick it in the back at this table while the dogs ran laps…
while buzzy was taking pictures of bees sleeping in the mallows, i found one that hadn’t been inhabited yet. i promise to give you a link when she posts her latest sleepy bee post.
you guys already know i’m a photography cheater. i spray my spider webs with water to get them to glisten….i make buzzy stand behind my flower if i need a blue background. i ONLY cheat at photography. nothing else, i swear. (my mom will disagree with this next time i beat her at canasta)
my rental has a guest house, and the tenant has some nice night time lights. this is from my front yard.
i’ve never noticed how out of place this tree is!
you’ve probably seen this behind a fast moving cody bear:
this has been sitting in front of my house for three days.
on day one there was no…artwork.
are you surprised you can see this sign from my back yard? if so…why does it surprise you?
this last shot is an aloe in my front yard. i have hundreds of them. because of terrah, i tried a new angle. i call it terrah’s angle.
she hasn’t realized yet what a great photagrapher she is, but…because she IS so awesome…she’s taking over my dogdailyphoto blog when i go home!
so that’s the place. we love company, me and my dogs.
Filed under: animals, bees, insects, nature, photography | Tags: animals, bees, entomology, flowers, gardens, insects, nature, photography
today’s bees are very smalllll.
to illustrate how small these bees are i have taken a shot with a ball point pen next to the flower for reference.
see? smallll.
here it alights in the shade of a flower:
and here it says, …”GET ‘ER DONE!”
i think it is a lasioglossum, but buzzybeegirl will probably have to correct me on that.
cody bear's friends 