Up Close and Personal

Morning 3 mile walks around our AZ

community are getting challenging as there

are only so many "routes" you can take, so as I

listen to my music on my  iPhone while my "Runkeeper"

app keeps track of where I've walked & my mileage,

I take  photos and often a theme develops...

At a distance, these little flowers looked like

blossoms that had blown off of another

 plant and landed here.

Not so as you can see from this close-up. 

They were very small, only about 1 inch across.

 This cluster of color grabbed my attention

as did the detail of each independent blossom.

(I'll have to find out what it is.)

This prickly pear purple Beavertail Cactus

invited another up close & personal look...

as did the detail in this cactus which is growing

along the edge of the walk right behind our home.

It's going to be fun watching this Beavertail Cactus as it continues to

bloom and bloom.  Most desert plants have thorns,

but in the spring they put on a spectacular color show and

invite all passers by to take a closer look!!!