Pretty in Pink.....

When the Kwanzan Cherry tree bursts into bloom, I can't resist taking lots of photos!

The flowers look like little pink bouquets at the end of each branch.

 It is right outside my front door.  A little sunshine would have made these look prettier!

 In a few days they will be nothing but "pink snow" all over the ground, but for now they are just beautiful!

Lots and lots of pink!

Turtle time at the wetlands......

It's turtle time at the wetlands!  Start counting, Rose!

I'm sure there will be more as the weather warms up more.

Arizona.....finishing up part 2

This will be my last Arizona post...I hope!  On our last day there we drove through the Saguaro National Park...east section.  The west section has more cactus, but the east seems nicer for driving through and stopping for photos.  It is a one-way road running through the park with pull-over areas and trails.

 There aren't as many cactus now as there were years ago.  Many factors....temperature, people, lightning, wind, cattle before the area was protected, etc.  The Saguaro cactus here have been protected since 1933.

At one time this area was packed with cactus. 

Saguaro grow very slowly.  One this tall with this many arms must be over 100 years old. 

 Cacti have very shallow roots.  Here is a fallen one.

 Antelope Ground Squirrel

 Desert Marigold, I believe.

 I stared at that spot above the arm hoping it was an owl looking back at me....but alas, it is just where an arm broke off.  Some day I hope to see an owl!

 The variety of arms is interesting.  The first arm doesn't begin until the cactus is 75 years old!

 A baby arm beginning to sprout

 Another small one.

 Ocotillo beginning to bloom.

 Fairy Duster

 A large Ocotillo and the mountains beyond.

Globe Mallow 

Young saguaro cactus often grow under trees that are called "nurse trees".  They only grow maybe an inch a year.  We saw many trees with small saguaros coming up under them.  The tree will be dead long before the cactus is really big.  One this size is probably only 30 years old.  They are only about 12" at 15 years. 

 Don't know the name.

Ocotillo 

 Curve-billed Thrasher

 These blooming cacti were near the nature center.  None of the ones in the desert are blooming yet.

 Penstemon

Curve-billed Thrasher again :-)  I like him. 

 Here is a size comparison.  Mike is 6'4"....this cactus might be well over 100 years old.  At 150 years they can be 50 feet tall and weigh 16,000 pounds!

 Another young branch

 An interesting nest....wonder what made it??

 This one is really massive with lots of nice arms!

 Two deer ran across the road in front of us and Mike got a shot of one of them!  Mule deer?

Staghorn cactus.

That's it for Arizona for this year!  Hope I didn't make any big errors.  I don't have any guide books for the area here at home.