281) Hummingbirds

In my yard sits a big prickly pear cactus that has overgrown the wall meant to hold it in.  Last year I pruned large overgrown sections and scattered them around my yard.  A few of them survived and have even put out a few flowers this year.  The mother plant has put out more than just a few flowers.  If I don't keep up with my hummingbird feeders, the birds will resort to the nearby flowers- none more prolific than the big prickly pear.

 Most cactus flowers are very ephemeral.  In the previous days of the big cactus' bloom, flowers would last only one day, turning slightly orange towards the end of the day.  But today, some of the blooms from yesterday opened back up and went from orange to red.  I've never seen such a beautiful variety of color on a prickly pear.  (You can see some of the photos (from previous days) have only yellow flowers, that is normal.  The multicolored blooms are from today).

The hummingbirds that live in this area are Costa's Hummingbirds.  As far as I have been able to tell, most of these photos are of the same bird, the king of the cactus.  These little guys are extremely territorial, and the king of the cactus will chase away any other hummers that even come close to his cactus.  There was a brief period about two weeks ago when I saw a few males with brilliant purple around their heads, but that seems to be all gone now.

The other day I was up real early because I couldn't sleep.  The hummers were up by the time it just started getting light.  These last three shots are from right as the sun was coming up.  

280) Photos

These first shots are from Valley of Fire and nearby.  

This second group of photos if from the Muddy Mountains.

These last three are from the Grand Canyon.

279) Birthdays in Zion

Due to a scheduling fluke I ended up getting my birthday off and headed up to Zion for a hike.  Just like last year, I got up as early as I could (this year earlier than last- perhaps I am ever nearing that old man age when waking up super early is just part of the deal).

And just like last year, the plants were showing anyone fortunate enough to walk by how beautiful they can be.  Especially the maple trees.

I love the narrow, deep, beautiful canyons that are all about Zion.  The light bounces off one wall, changes color, filters through some trees and then hits the opposite wall.  The result is unreal lighting on already stunning scenery.  Walking through the scene is like walking in a dream.

Above and the two below are shots of the same trees.  They were a ghostly yellow/green in a narrow canyon of red.