Surprising Find

Someone has put rocks around this Devil's Head to protect it

I didn't intend to do much of an exploratory hike this morning, meaning to keep my trek nice and short because I had to run some errands later in the morning.  As it turned out, however, I ended up bushwhacking across the desert to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, and that I was, in fact, seeing a small Soaptree Yucca in bloom and not one with a white shopping bag hanging from its flower stalk.  To my pleasant surprise it was, indeed, a blossoming yucca, which is definitely a late-bloomer for this time of the season.

This narrow section of an arroyo west of Tortugas Mountain . . .

. . . becomes wider and more rugged further south

A thorny situation

Damp, sandy area west of the mountain

Spent a lot of time in this area

Cloudy morning in the northern Chihuahuan Desert

Bicolor Fanmustard

Look who came streaking out of the underbrush.  Meep Meep.

Stingleaf

These large, healthy Ocotillos are growing on an arroyo bank

Fairly large Barrel Cactus under some Ocotillos

The same Barrel Cactus

The top of the Barrel Cactus seen above

Large Ocotillo

False Goldenaster

Dayflower

Climbing Milkweed flowers being bugged

A young Barrel Cactus (not even 9 inches tall)

Another Barrel

Yet another Barrel Cactus

This . . .

. . . fell off of this

More Barrel Cactus buds

The surprising find:  A small Soaptree Yucca in bloom

Soaptree Yucca west of the mountain

Closeup of one of the flowers

Soaptree Yucca

Dancing dead yuccas

This Soaptree Yucca is about 20 feet tall

Same yucca

Ahem

Same yucca

Devil's Heads growing side-by-side

Cactus Wren

Same wren

Same Cactus Wren

Mother (top) and child reunion