More of the Neighbor's Cacti

After the hoopla of the 20K event, it has been rather quiet. The neighbor's saguaro is continuing to bloom, a few a day. Another neighbor has a saguaro with blooms and a third neighbor has other interesting blooming cacti. So that is the focus of this post. For the followers in the north country, something to get your minds off April snowstorms.

March 13th

I have not seen more than 4 flowers open at one time on Mariam's saguaro. It continues to bloom almost daily. Today there is one open flower, and a number of buds ready to burst. We saw open blooms at night, but of course I couldn't get decent photos with my camera. Often by early afternoon of the next day, the flowers are gone and remains are lying on the ground.

April 11th

This is Susie's cactus. I have been watching the buds appear over the last month. Susie's saguaro is more typical as USUALLY the buds occur on the tips/crowns of the arms and trunk. It will be interesting to watch the growth of the area on the left over the next few years.

That is NOT how an arm typically appears. It may become a crested saguaro???? We'll have to wait and see. I am not certain if this is the first year this saguaro has bloomed. I know I have not seen an open flower on this one before. And you can see how the birds have started a hole on this saguaro just like they have on Mariams.

March 13th

All winter I have watched this stalk growing from Gene's cactus across the street. At first it was just a stalk about 2 feet, but grew taller and taller with more nubs along the sides. (I won't tell you what I first called it!) The flowering stalk is now about 10' tall and leaning a lot from the weight of the bud clusters. That is a flicker enjoying the stalk. 

Today a cactus wren is enjoying the flowers. 

I have photos showing the progression of the buds to flowers. Hey...when this is your view while on the deck...this is what you get!

bud clusters on March 13th

flowers of the cactus

almost done blooming

Gene's cactus has 18 blooming clusters. This is not a Century Plant, so it will not die when it is done blooming. Sorry to say, I do not know the name of it.

This is another of Gene's cacti. I have photographed this one before, probably every year before we leave. It has LOTS of buds and the color is always eye-catching. It is similar to a Pin Cushion, but the flowers are not the colors of the pin cushions in the wild. It may be a domesticated version. It is about 12" tall.

A pair of quail visited the deck one morning last week. One left a present on the table top and the other left a present on the carpet. I have not seen the little roadrunner since I posted its visit on Facebook. Darn! With the hot weather the hummingbirds have departed 'til next season. Now it is the quail, doves and rabbits for wildlife entertainment.