The Prickly Pears (Opuntia) are putting on a show! In the last week, they all decided to bloom, and the effect is stunning. Of course, they didn’t really coordinate the blooms. I find it fascinating. They don’t know the calendar but they manage to always hit their season, just right. The main things they sense, and very indirectly at that, are the temperature, the amount of rainfall and humidity, and the amount of daylight. This indirect information is integrated inside the plant, somehow, and they all bloom at the same time. That’s amazing! This first photo show three prickly pear blooms in successive stages of opening. They start tightly curled up and mostly green. They next start to open and you can see a hint of color. It looks like these start red and then turn almost completely yellow.

Three stages of a bloom

This photo shows a bee, gathering up food and picking up pollen. It took quite a while to get this one and my knees started to feel it. I think it was worth it!

An active pollinator

Here’s one which is almost opened, but not quite. It almost doesn’t look like a prickly pear flower. I like the way the light shines through the translucent petals and the veining and textures. The petals feel waxy when fully opened.

A delicate flower