Postcard from Tucson

To paraphrase an old Broadway tune, “Spring is bustin’ out all over.” When I take my morning walks, that song pops into my head as I parade past the flowering cactus here in the Sonoran Desert. And yes, my walks are getting earlier and earlier as the temps start to rise. It won’t be long before I walk around sunrise at 5:30 to escape the overpowering summer desert sun.

As mentioned before, I live in the western foothills above Tucson. so I just have to go a few feet to see a variety of blooming cactus. I love this time of the year! Right now, the blossoms are mostly on some of the smaller and medium size cactus. But, it won’t be long before the giant Saguaro Cactus show their stuff. Nature saves the best for last.

Just down the street is a hill covered with hundreds of Saguaro. It’s like a forest, with each cactus having its own personality. After the first 100 years, you never know how the arms will twist and grow. It’s quite spectacular, to say the least.

But, for now, I will be content with the smaller variety, like the one pictured here. I found this little gem in a neighbor’s yard. Remember this is the desert here…we don’t have lawns. We decorate with rocks and cactus. You won’t find many power lawn mowers on sale at a Home Depot here. The only lawns are on the golf courses. When I lived in the northern climates, I always wondered about all the efforts we put into our lawns. So much work to keep them clean, green and trimmed. On that score, give me the desert every time. A lot less work.

I was disappointed this year when the hills here did not yield any ground cover wildflowers. I thought we had enough rain for them to come forth. But alas, it was not to be.

I remember a couple of years ago when I drove the 3.5 hours from Yuma to home and the desert was non-stop wildflowers all the way. That was spectacular. So this year, we must all be content with this year’s crop of cactus flowers…and I am.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

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