Life Is But A Dream

As the years move forward, one moment blurs into the next like a stream of consciousness forever flowing and changing the course of my life. 

Each day a gift.  Each day a promise.  

The fading sun kisses the world good-bye.  Momentary bliss. 

The soft petal of a flower.  

Daring to take a step forward into the unknown. 

All lasting impressions within my mind.  

So I live for today.  I live each moment.  And I remember.......

......all the good things that I see around me. 

Because at the end of it all, this is what I'll remember..... 

The dream of having lived my life and lived it well.

My photos today were modified by using an app called SuperPhoto.  

Twilight Tuesday

One picture to rule them all.....with my new camera....here is the night shot I was waiting for.....the night blooming cactus....and the dragonfruit behind.....I. Love. My. Camera. There were more flowers coming and I'm glad I made this purchase to capture shots like this. It justifies the expense:)

Sexy Cactus

I love cactus!!!  Right now everything is blooming...while similar in flower to the viny nightblooming cactus, this one is called the San Pedro cactus and is a large monster.  They are easy to transplant.  Blooms open up at night and close early morning.  The flowers from both these evening cacti are slightly different from one another....the flower on the San Pedro is upright and reminds me of white fluffy feathers(above)....while the Night Blooming Cereus(below) has  more of a hanging lizardy and tropical feel. Both are sexy.  Compare the above pic with the bottom pic below this caption from these two amazing cacti.

Notice the black bee below the flower. He was in the flower when I spotted him as if he were sleeping.

At a friend's house...the Cactus Queen

This plant was given to her for Mother's Day by her son.

At 5 AM......

This morning leaving early for school, I discover that our night blooming cereus is open for business! It looks fake but I assure you that it is real.  This cactus has been with us for a long time. There is a popular red fruit that grows first and the birds love to eat it!!....I hear it's also edible for people.  It's called the dragonfruit....but the birds usually get to it first:(

The difficulty is taking these pics at such an early time when the sun is rising.  But as you can see...the bees are busy.

Usually this time of year the cactus is covered with these amazing flowers. However I only see one right now, but I think more are on the way.

It is a unique variety of cactus in that it grows into other cacti or trees like a vine. It is one of my favorite plants here in the desert southwest....very unique to tropical and subtropical areas. Tucson is considered a subtropical area.

This pic shows how it will climb into the tree and hang. The photo was taken from Jim Conrad's Naturalist Newsletter in 2007.  You can find this plant in Tucson all over. Here is an excerpt for those interested in trying this plant out at your own place. And the link is here..

http://www.backyardnature.net/q/cereus.htm

"Night-blooming Cereus" is in quotation marks because several cacti go by that name. Ours is HYLOCEREUS UNDATUS. It's native from Mexico to northern South America, but is naturalized in tropical and subtropical zones worldwide. One reason for the plant's popularity is its foot-long, fragrant, beautiful blossoms -- among the largest in the Cactus Family -- but also it's grown for its edible fruits. You even see the species growing wild in southern Florida, though it's unclear whether those plants are persisting vegetatively, or actually reproducing by seeds.

The large, red, fruits, known as strawberry pears or dragon fruits in English, and pitayas in Spanish, are an important crop in some places. In the Yucatan fruits are produced on trellised plants grown in large plantations. You can see a fruit at http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/dragon_fruit.htm.

If you have a "Night-blooming Cereus" that doesn't look like the Hylocereus undatus in my picture, you might compare your plant with the following species, all with huge, white blossoms, and all known as "Night-blooming Cereuses"

Happy gardening....hope you find surprises in your own gardens:)