We stopped in the desert for lunch, amazing , this huge expanse of ground, it all looks so dry and forlorn, until you start looking around, do a bit of investigating, and there i found an Ocotillo cactus, most of them look like some old sticks , someone stuck into the ground, their nickname is “old man’s walking stick”, i can see why……. but, at the very top of these , are these flowers blooming, the stem of the cactus slowly becomes green, tiny leaves pop out, among the deadly looking spines.   I am totally amazed by cacti, their ability to survive, to grow, and to produce these amazing , most gorgeous flowers.   I once had a cactus at home, a ball, inside a small pot, it just stood there, for 7 years, and then, one spring evening, in April, this long green stalk came up, and then another one, they grew to about  5 inches, and one evening, towards dark, white flowers opened up, and i have never , since that , smelled anything like that, such a beautiful scent, it filled the whole house, and i stayed up, just wallowing in this scent, good thing i did, early morning, the flowers crumpled up, they were done!!   ONE NIGHT!!!!    Just one night to lure the moths, and any other insects that might be flying around.   It now would not bloom any more for another 7 years!!!     Here are some photos of the Ocotillo cactus and its flowers.

Ocotillo caactus.

Buds forming…..

Very tough, young leaves cover the stalks in early spring, but among those leaves, are mean looking ,very sharp spikes, a protection for the plant.