Friday, March 24, 2017

Do you know how many kinds of cactus there are??


If you said, "About 2,000," you don't get any bonus points... this isn't music trivia... but, you would be right!  And today, we saw about 1873 types... and other cool stuff!

Our friend Cindy has a membership to the Desert Botanical Gardens and asked if we'd like to see it... "Absolutely!"  Today was the day.

We met Cindy there.  This is SO well done.  I may put a description or twelve in here, but the following is a portion of the photos I took today...




Glass Cacti at the entrance...




Joan and Cindy...


And a "Cactomaniac"...







Trails take you around the grounds, opening up to all kinds of pretty desert flora and fauna.


A fence made from Ocotilla, used by the Indians in this area - I'm guessing the kids won't try to get out of the yard with this...






A sundial (yep, pretty accurate)...






Some metal art (photo-realistic painting on metal) on display in one of the buildings...




Back to the cacti...



This is called "The Old Man of the Desert"...


Not the guy, that fuzzy-looking cactus to the right.


Delicate little blooms...



Our wrap up to the gardens was the butterfly pavilion - thousands of butterflies in a large mesh enclosure that you can walk through...





The weather was lovely - in the 70s, sunny, and near calm the whole time we were there.  From the Botanical Gardens, the three of us went out for a late lunch... Cornish Pasty-o.  All manner of meats, cheeses and vegetables rolled in a baked pastry.  The first go-around was left in the oven too long, and our waitress said, "You'll probably want us to remake these - they are way beyond crispy."  Yep, she was right.  No schedule and the conversation was lively.

We said our good-byes to Cindy, then a stop at Penzie's Spices before heading back across Phoenix... in the afternoon rush hour traffic.  Slow-going, but again: no schedule.  We stopped to see Steph, Dan, and the grandkitties before heading home.  My feet were tired from all the walking today, but little Izzy was anxious for her evening walk... and I am a good cat-daddy.

I'm going to sleep good tonight.


4 comments:

Hudson River Boater said...

I have Two cactus-- I just tugged off Two "Ears" from a Cactus that is in a Parking lot Planter where I shop.. I just stuffed the "Ears" in some Dirt and they took off-- The was Two winters ago and I've had to Replant them in a bigger container since.. I was Amazed they even grew at all..
I wounder if Cactus can be cooked and eaten-- I'll bet some can.. Minus the Thorns of course..

Thanks for the Blog-- Play Safe kids..

Captain Jim and the Blonde said...

Hi HRB. At our home in Texas, the local grocery store sells cactus in the produce department. Certainly edible; no, I haven't tried it.

Pat Anderson said...

Really fantastic blooms. Must get there next year. (Patty here)

Captain Jim and the Blonde said...

Hi Patty - it is different every year. They had some good moisture in the months before we came, making for green furry mountainsides and cacti in bloom in the desert. Be safe in your travels and have fun!