Cheer Squad

Sis-boom-bah!

Today was a Sunday that began gloomy and moist, but ended gusty and clear; in between there was light rain and intermittent sunshine. It was a lazy Sunday, and except for a short visit with one of my sisters, we mostly hung around the house. Bookending the day, I did lots of walking (by sundown I’d logged over 16,000 steps on my iPhone treadmill). Cool/wet/windy weather, and a hot house music podcast, makes for quick stepping on my part and normally not much slows me down … but the sight of this rah-rah cactus blossom display at our friends, Bruce and Bonnie’s, front yard, stopped me dead in my tracks. With three waving arms ending in magenta pom-poms, and fuzzy white features, I had to stop and capture this silly-prickly cheerleader …

Stately

Later, back at the Rancho, my San Pedro cactus put on a more subdued, but stately, display. Its single, gorgeously creamy blossom caught a rare bit of sun for a nice touch of drama …

Poppin'

At the rear of our property our recently-added palo verde trees have exploded with what look like bright yellow popcorn blossoms! I love approaching the backside of the Rancho just to get a glimpse of this hot buttered show …

Trumpets

Later, during my afternoon walk, I’m surprised to see that some of my salmon pink hesperaloe’s blossoms have opened. With a delicate-colored interior, the trumpet shaped bells sway prettily in the breezes …

Profusion

Heading downhill toward Fairmount Park, I’m starting to flag when I approach one of my favorite front yards and what looks like throngs of floral/succulent encouragement. The profusion of plant material on this property never fails to amaze and I’m hoping to snag the owner’s permission to take photos for a future blog post. But today the sweet-tea fragrance of the pale pink flowers at the curb, the bright orange/yellows of the nasturtiums, and the waving arms of succulents and cacti will spur me on toward a high step total … and the effective end of this low-key, but pleasant, weekend.