ARIZONA SPRING

Last week I introduced you to Blue and showed you the neat pictures of the cactus blooming.  'Member?  Course you do.  It was just last week.

Anyway, I decided it would be a good idea to introduce you to Arizona in the spring.  It's really pretty.  I'll even try to give you a lesson on the Fauna of Arizona.  (That's the flowers in case you didn't know.)

So let's start with the one from last week.  And here is another picture of it a week later:

 

This is called an Argentine Giant Cactus.  Which I don't get.  There are a lot of cacti (that's plural for more than one cactus.  Latin stuff.  I never took Latin.  In fact I never took any language.  Uh, oh.  I'm doing that digressing thing again.  Sorry.)  Anyway, why is this a GIANT cactus?  It's pretty small compared to some cactus I've seen.  And this is not Argentina, either.  So how can this be an Argentine Cactus?  It needs a better name.  I'm going to call this cactus:  Very Pretty White Blooming Cactus. 

 

Now let me take you on a tour of some of the Flora around my house. 

 

These yellow plants are called Yucca Plants. 



 I can't be sure.  But I think it's because they are not as pretty as most of the other flora.  So they are sort of Yuccky.  So someone decided to make Yuccky sound like it was Latin, too.  Yes I'm sure that's how it got called Yucca.

Then we have the Ocotillo plants.  They have pretty red flowers right at the tips of these really long spindly branches.  Most of the year they just look long and spindly.  But in spring they look like they have little red birds on the ends of the branches. 

 

In Spanish, Ocotillo means little pine tree.  As you can see, this is as bad a name for it as the Argentine Giant Cactus.  Does that look like a little pine tree to you?  Sometimes it is called a Flaming Sword.  That makes much more sense.  So I'm going with Flaming Sword.

 

 

Now this is a Prickly Pear Orange.  I can deal with that.  This little cactus is definitely prickly.  The leaves are kinda pear shaped.  And no one can argue that the blooms are orange.  I'll let this one be called a Prickly Pear Orange.



 

This next one is called Pretty Blue Flower.  (I'm kidding.  I have no idea what it's really called, but it is a pretty blue flower, don't you think?  Let's go with that.)

 

 

Can you guess this next one?  If you guessed Prickly Pear Yellow, you'd be right.  Pretty easy, no?

 

 

Now this is an Orange Lantana.  What the heck is a Lantana you might ask?  I have no clue.  It's latin for a tree that's supposed so look like this plant.  (Also, in case you wonder why I was looking the other way?  I was getting kinda tired of posing beside each plant.  Is there really a need for me to be in every picture?)

 

 

 

 

Now this one is my favorite for two reasons.  One, it's really colorful.  And two, it's called a Purple Prickly Pear with Yellow Flowers.  A plant that looks just like it's name!  What a novel idea.  

 

 

There are a ton more lovely plants in my neighborhood.  You should come and see them.    We do have a guest room.  (Although I usually use it to spy on the neighbors.  But there's room for all of us if you come visit!)

 

 

Hope you have a lovely spring soon, too.

 

Love, G