Spring Has Sprung

This is a beautiful time of year to be in Arizona. The desert is full of life, and the flowering cactus and succulents have been incredibly large this year. Our friend Laura came for a visit from Colorado and one morning we took a hike up to a ridge overlooking Fountain Hills. Great view of the fountain and surrounding area.

Since the last time I hiked the ridge they have put in several nice benches along the way.

Every morning we walk Tilly around the fountain. Lots of flowering cactus with huge flowers. I took 2 shots of this one to put size into perspective a bit.

 

 

The blooms on the cactus only last about 24 hours. I took this shot one morning

 

 

and this shot the next morning of the same cactus.

 

 

One of my favorite cactus is called an ocotillo. They grow quite tall and branch out

 

 

and have exquisite flowers among the thorns.

 

 

I don't know the name of these succulents but assume they are some type of agave. The stalks coming out of them are HUGE.

I took this picture down the street from us because I was amazed at how tall they were growing in pots.

The palo verde trees are in full bloom as well. They're very messy trees and not particularly great for allergies but they're beautiful when they bloom.

 

We don't know why everything is blooming so well this year and haven't had an explanation from some of the locals we talk to either. Enjoyable to see though.

It's starting to heat up a little which usually signals the end to our time in this area. Lots of projects have been done and we'll be ready to hit the road within the next few weeks if all goes well.