Claret cup cactus, Lime Canyon rim, Cedar Mesa.
(Click images to view larger)
I googled “flower pictures” and in 0.58 seconds was
presented with “about 90,000,000 results.” Many of the first 100 of these are
garden flowers, but some are wild, with disturbingly cheerful flocks of
butterflies flitting around them; geometrically precious drops of
water cling to others, causing brilliant sunbursts(!). Who
knows what floral eddies the remaining 89,999,900 will probe.
For this and other reasons (the google result for “flower clichés”
connects flowers and vaginas within four hits), I hesitate to probe further.
But…anticipating a summer of recovery from a planned knee
surgery, I rushed to Cedar Mesa, Utah after classes ended and spent four days wandering
(limping), looking for ruins and savoring perfect weather. I was surprised
that the desert was blooming—something I don’t usually see, since we
normally go south in March before it has greened up much, or in September
after most of the flowers have faded. The cacti were particularly spectacular,
eroding my resolve to stay above all of that, photographically.
So here are desert flower pictures and now I have dedicated one
blog post to flowers. If I do this again, slap me, even if I beg.
Prickly pear flowers and the San Juan River, near the River Petroglyph Panel west of Bluff.
Claret cup cactus.
Claret cup cactus in Lime Canyon.
Indian paintbrush and prickly pear, with yucca.
More claret cups.
And more, with dead juniper.
Ground cover. Lime Canyon rim.
Lime canyon rim.
Prickly pear along the San Juan River.
With hummingbird.
Lizard watching the hummingbird pollinate the prickly pear along the San Juan River near the petroglyph panel.
Flowers below the Monarch Cave Ruin, Comb Ridge.
Cottonwood cotton and weeds.
