At Last!

Two heads are better than one

I cut the morning hike a bit short due to upcoming shopping-day activities, but Becca and I were still able to explore a large section of northern Chihuahuan Desert.  Yesterday I suspected that one of our favorite Claret Cup Hedgehog Cacti was on the brink of blooming, and it did not disappoint.  We ran across another that was flowering, too, and I took a few photos of it to capture its beauty.  It felt pretty warm out there today, and I had to remove my lightweight Marmot PreCip jacket about a quarter of the way through our trek.  We're supposed to hit 80F for a high, and there's a 15% to 20% chance of rain later this afternoon.  We can certainly use the moisture; things are beginning to dry out around here. 

Redhead

A closeup of these pincushion cacti reveals . . .

. . . why they're called Fishhook Pincushion Cacti

White Tackstem opening up

How dare you to command me to do anything

Yellow Desert Evening Primrose closing up shop for the day

The way forward

I thought it might be today

Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus

Same Claret Cup

Two separate Torrey Yuccas in flower

Another Torrey Yucca

This and the next:  Ocotillos beginning to bud out

Torrey Yucca

Large Torrey Yucca with a tiny redhead

Why they're called "redheads"

Dead yucca trunk of fossilized crocodile

Teeny white flower on a plant I ID'd before, though I can't recall the name

This and the next 2:  more Torrey Yucca flowers

Velvety Nerisyrenia

This and the next 2:  a different Claret Cup Hedgehog Cactus

Becca leading the way

Quit bugging me

Lopsided bloom

♫ You can grow your own way ♫