Dermot
While dog-sitting several years ago, I took Dermot for a walk at Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Flowering and fruiting stalk
Joshua Trees
Yucca brevifolia
The Cholla Garden
The Colorado Desert in Joshua Tree National Park looked extremely patchy with respect to plant species distributions. There were large areas clearly dominated by a single species, such as Ocotillo and Cholla. Further, like other desert plants, the plants appeared to be distributed uniformly within patches.
Here’s a beautiful example of a dense patch of Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii).
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Cholla
Beyond the Ocotillo wash and patch, there were a few extremely spiny plants along the road in Joshua Tree National Park that caught my eye. I stopped to photograph this one, just before coming to the Cholla Garden, which, at the time, I wasn’t aware of.
Teddy-bear Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) is anything but friendly. I received a few barbed spines in my finger as I explored the cactus’ branching and green stem.
Multiple horizons
Happy Birthday, Allison!
Another year gone, yet not a single year older.
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A Joshua Tree
I will never be closer to U2’s Joshua Tree than this.
Wait, this is closer
