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Buzzard Circling Spring Is In The Air
Here the buzzards are circling as we get ready for summer heat and fried road kill. They do like their food hot and nothing works better than Arizona asphalt at 110 degrees. But today it will only be 68 for a high. Never mind that by next week it is supposed to be in the 90′s. We will let next week take care of next week.
The Early Wildflower Season Winding Down
The early wildflower season is coming to a close. This doesn’t mean we don’t still have a lot of wildflowers blooming around Tucson, we do. The early ones are about gone, but the desert marigolds will be around all summer and into the fall. There are still some poppies around town if you know where to look.
Prickly Pear Blooming
The next couple of weeks we will see a bumper crop of prickly pear in bloom. The early ones are blooming now. The pads I’ve seen are as full as last year. While up in Redington Pass last weekend the buds were everywhere and the next couple of weeks should see fields and fields of prickly pear in bloom.
The giant hairy poppies are also in bloom right now and I see a few of those along the roadsides. There are still some Lupines around but not as many as last year.
The hedgehogs are still blooming, the early ones are already dried up, but you will see those quick flashes of bright color as you drive around town, low to the ground and often under trees or bushes, more than likely they are hedgehogs.
The Saguaro are budding and they will be blooming in a few weeks as well. Always fun to photograph and the bees love them. Now is the time to drive around and pick out a couple of short ones so you don’t have to have a ladder to photograph them.
Cholla Bloom
Cholla are beginning to open up as well. These blooms are yellow or a deep red. The Deep red show the contrasting center which looks like a little candle in the middle of the bloom.
One nice thing about photographing cactus in bloom, wind usually isn’t a factor. Those flowers are wax like and stiff. Even in a high wind they don’t move.
The spring wildflower season wasn’t very dramatic. It was too dry in the early winter to produce the germination needed for a season like last year. But it looks like the cactus will have another bumper crop of blooms for this spring and summer season.
