Fun with cats

Just a quick post to let you know, yes, I'm still alive and well.

Here's what my crazy cats have been up to lately:

They love to hunt almost as much as they love to bring their catches in the house.


After filling the bird feeder, I usually sling some birdseed in the driveway for the quail. Paco and Fredo spent a good four minutes picking out their favorite seed to eat. Crazy! Are cats supposed to eat grain? I don't know, but they seem to like it.



The prickly pear is in various stages of bloom.




The pomegranate tree is blooming as well, and starting lots of new pomegranates, which we are certainly looking forward to. I stopped counting at 50 blossoms and baby pomegranates. If most of the fruit sets and matures, it'll outdo itself from last year's harvest of 30-plus fruit. Yum.

Splash of color

The pitaya started blooming early last week, little splashes of unbelievably bright magenta in the brown desert.

Not only are the pitaya's blooms gorgeous, the fruit to come is absolutely delicious and similar to strawberries in taste, only sweeter. Very yummy.

Right now, here and there, the desert hills and gullies are dotted with the bright blooms. The blooms don't last long, maybe a week or so, but while they do, we're enjoying the welcome spectacle.

Desert Rebirth

What a beautiful day this last day of my abbreviated spring break has been! The sunshine has been wonderful today ... and the vegetation around here is responding to the warmer temps and recent rainfall.

The giant cow-tongue prickly pear that grows in our 'front' yard is sprouting all kinds of growth--soon to be red tunas and new plump pads.

The elongated pads are what gives this particular variety of prickly pear its unusual name. I had called it donkey-ear cactus until I was corrected by a longtime local.

Bees are buzzing around the mesquite that's covered with furry caterpillar-looking blooms. When the mesquite leafs out, spring is supposed to be well on its way.

And this is a lush, lovely orchid--not! It's a close-up of a cenizo bloom (see photo below). It's been awhile since our cenizo's flowered.

Cenizos typically bloom when the humidity's high. This past week we had three consecutive days of 100-percent humidity, a desert rarity.

And this lovely little red bud-like thingy will turn into a pomegranate after it flowers. Last year our scrawny little tree gave us a record 31 pomegranates. Yum! Another eight, close to the ground, went to the javelinas.

And the oleanders are starting to bud out, too. They always add a splash of color to the place, and, along with the pomegranate, attract hummingbirds. Although they're fascinated by them, the kitties are scared to death of hummingbirds.

Unfortunately, when the cottonwoods start sending out shoots, it means trimming time. These poor little guys don't stand a chance.