Once we’d decided to spend winter in this part of New Mexico mental preparations for freezing temperatures were a part of the process. Admittedly we were so focused on what winter was going to be like that the possibility of seeing so many new and different flowers had not even crossed our minds. After all, we figured it was going to be sort of dry in these parts.
So, it has been a pleasant surprise to experience this last blast of the bloom which has seemed to just go on and on (we’re not complaining).
Here is a sample of what we have been seeing...
Feather Plume a.k.a. Indigobush
So delicate.
So sunny.
Blackfoot Daisy
Flowers within a flower... how cool is that?!
Othake - Sand Palafoxia
Dune Evening Primrose - Hello!
and goodbye
Adonis Blazing Star - from afar
and close up
There was a butterfly on these when the button was pushed!
Although we were surprised by all of the flowers we’ve seen we were even more surprised by this next item. Nicole was especially thrilled because she thought her days of photographing these were over for a good five or six months.
Are you ready???
IT’S A MUSHROOM! IN THE DESERT!
What a surprise. We had not seen one in the desert before. Now we spot them more readily. The ones that we have found are very ‘desert’ like in that they are hard shelled. As they continue to dry up the shell cracks and falls off revealing the spores underneath.
Spores-galore!
Nicole wiggled the top of this one and it came right off in her hand.
It went right back on like a perfect fitting hat.
Thought this little cluster of Silver-leaf Nightshade fruit looked neat together.
Better viewing on the computer revealed an unexpected tiny forager.
Spectacle Pod
The name comes from its spectacle shaped fruit.
Pretty cool. We’ll have to get a better close up of them now
that we know they aren’t just crazy shaped leaves.
We shall leave it at that for now. Loads more photos are on the way so keep checking.
Until next time....
There are always flowers for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse