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Friday, May 18, 2018

Glorious Cacti!

Our Ball Cacti are continuing to wow me with their blooms!It never ceases to surprise me that they do so well at higher than 8,000' in the mountains.

The range of flower colors surprises me. These are the light colored ones.

And these are the darker magenta ones.

Some have one flower on top (like the first photo) while others have up to 16 flowers clustered on the top of the cactus.

Always, when you look closely, you can see the pollen dust released by the flower lying on the petals just waiting for a pollinator to carry it to another flower.

There are two disadvantages to having cacti. One is the dogs' paws... it hurts to step on a cactus spine with bare feet!
The other is my bicycle tires... which go flat when punctured by a cactus spine.

Despite those downsides, I love our cacti flowers!

18 comments:

  1. Hari Om
    Was going to say dog bootees would protect tender paws - but if bike tyres can be punctured, am guessing shoe soles can too!!! Not doubting the beauty of thes little spineys though!!! YAM xx

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  2. Those colors are amazing. Cactus always seem to go above and beyond in the flower world.

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  3. the flowers are GORGEOUS! i love the spiny looking things surrounding them but not in paws or tires..

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  4. Gorgeous Flowers :) The colours are beautiful :) Milo,Jet & Arli

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  5. So exquisitely beautiful. They look like bright pieces of velvet.

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  6. Good golly miss molly those are some tough spines to puncture a tire..
    Hugs madi your bfff

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  7. The flowers are pretty. My mom steers clear of those cacti. When she went to college in Tucson, there was a get together in the desert. Somehow, she backed into a big cactus and one of those sharp needles pierced her in the behind. It was quite painful and they get infected too. Needless to say, she didn't sit much for a few days, so beware!

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    Replies
    1. That same thing happened to a friend in Moab! Painful...

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  8. They must be so thorny, steer clear if possible, but gorgeous flowers and colours

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  9. Such pretty flowers from such a lethal plant.

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  10. Mother Nature sure knows how to mess with us, doesn't she? :)
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  11. It's amazing how the flower petals seem to shimmer in the light!

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  12. The cacti flowers are very pretty - love the various shadings of pink. Pretty to look at but maybe not to touch:)

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  13. Pretty flowers on the cactus!
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

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  14. The cacti are magnificent, Mommy says they cause ouchies when weeding them too.

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  15. The Cacti are just gorgeous! Beware!

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