It is a beautiful April here in SD. The lawns are green, the trees are leafing and the early spring flowers are in full bloom. Two years ago we had a weekend blizzard yet to come! So today there are pictures from my perennial flower bed. I love coming home in April to see what has survived the winter and to see the first colors of spring.
These pasques are on the downside of their blooming time. They are usually the first sign of blooming spring flowers in the pastures. Their feathery stems and petals give them a delicate look.
This is the first tulip to bloom in my flower bed. I see the rabbits enjoyed quite a number of the tulips that peeked through the soil. There are a few more budding tulips the rabbits did not get, so there should be more color before the poppies show their scarlet flowers.
This is a new plant to my flower bed. It is a white pasque. I was very happy to see it survived the winter and the rabbits. It will probably open its blossoms on the weekend while we are gone. The flowers look smaller and more delicate than the purple pasque in the first picture. I guess I will have to check it daily to see the changes.
I won't get to the weeding and cleaning of the flower bed until next week. Hope the lovely April weather will continue. (It is more like May weather, than April weather.) A friend and I did go out of town yesterday and visit two greenhouses. Yes, I know, it is too early to plant flowers. But I will say, the new varieties of flowers were gone from both greenhouses. People have the "itch" to plant their flowers early and have bought what they like.
So, I also bought flowers for one planter. I coordinated their colors, looked at differing heights, and selected flowers and plants with similar sunlight requirements. I have never, NEVER, bought flowers like that before. In the past-several geraniums, colors I liked, and chose some petunias or trailing something to fill in and add contrast. Easy. Cheaper. Quick. So, I am really itching to dig in the dirt and begin to put my new planter together. But I know it's too early. I will just have to baby them along for at least a couple of weeks and check the Farmer's Almanac! And you will have to wait til May to see yesterday's careful and thoughtful purchases!
This was the mountain view to the east in Las Cruces this morning...
and this was the view of the same range on the west side once we got through the pass. Interesting. Las Cruces isn't that populated; doesn't have heavy industry or farming, isn't near a heavily populated area, so why the smog?
Our first stop this morning was at the White Sands Missile Museum. This is the Patriot missile from the Desert Storm War used to shoot down SCUD missiles. The launcher could hold and shoot 4 missiles.
No, we didn't drive through any snowstorms today. This is White Sands National Monument, our second stop this morning. A road grader plows the road each morning, removing the sand that blows in over night to the edge of the roadway. It looks just like "dirty snow" along the road in SD in the winter!
A little white on white today. We stopped to walk in the sand without socks and shoes. It is very fine. It felt warm on the surface, but was cooler as our feet sank. It was an intriguing place to visit and explore. That was the adventures before noon today. More tomorrow.
Remember pictures of the cacti I planted in December or January? This is the fire stick or pencil cactus in the front of our winter home. Can you see the new sprouts? I took the pictures this morning just before we left. We were excited to see the new growth as that means the plant survived in spite of our care or lack of care & desert gardening skill. The new growth should be a bright orange when we return.
See the babies on the "ears"?
Our road trip last month also took us to the World's Smallest Museum in Superior AZ. It is located next to the Buckboard Cafe.
The large tire on the bottom of the tire sculpture is from a truck that hauls ore and dirt in the open pit copper mines in the area.
The flower sculpture created from horse shoes caught my eye. Unique and interesting. Makes me wish I had access to a lot of old horse shoes. It would definitely be different yard art!
And finally, we have the wheel barrow water fountain that works only when it rains.
On our road trip south of Superior last month, I happened to spot this saguaro along the side of the gravel road. Luckily, there was no traffic, so hubby graciously pulled to the side and let me play photographer.
While most saguaro cacti grow in a typical fashion, a few individuals will grow in an atypical form known as a cristate or crested saguaro. These bizarre looking forms often grow as a crest, but may also take other shapes such as balls or simply grotesque blobs.
The rare crested saguaro is an anomaly in the cactus world. These are mature cacti that begin to grow in a broad fan shape instead of continuing to develop a characteristic long trunk and curving limbs. Botanists don’t know what causes a saguaro to develop a crest. About one in 150,000 saguaros develop this unusual growth.
This is indeed a rare cactus. The only other one I have seen is at the museum at Lost Dutchman State Park, and that one was transplanted there. It was my lucky day!
