Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Cactus that would not DIE!!!!!



OK...so we have a lot of cacti in our yard...what can I say, we LOVE Cacti! Raised them even when we lived in Oregon! Anyway...some people bring home stray dogs, stray cats, old 'things' with a 'FREE' sign on it in someones driveway.... Richard...he brings home Cacti!! He sees a species he does not have...well, he SOON does have it!! People around here are always cutting cactus up and and throwing it into the nearby desert... so he 'rescues' it as he calls it!

Well this is one reason our back yard is full now... so recently HE started 'trimming away and the 'trimmings' he brought home over the years... One is an Opuntia (above picture) ...it grows fast and BIG... so he trimmed away and gave pieces of it to neighbors. ... well, this one little piece apparently feel off and was not discovered on the ground until we saw a Big Yellow Flower on the ground...investigated and saw that this one single Opuntia Pad...detached from the mother plant was displaying the most beautiful single flower.... now mind you...it is not rooted, has been laying there without water or soil for some time... but somehow it managed with all of it's strength to send out the most beautiful flower! Just made ya smile...and feel there was a moral in there somewhere! And then...when a honey bee found that single flower and made use of it's pollen...well...it simply made our day.... had to share!
Have a Great Tuesday
Jodi




26 comments:

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

Lovely story behind this cacti and just shows how wondeful life can be.
It also proves they store water well.
Perhaps cacti can soak up water through vapour in the air, and may be the reason why it didnt die off.
Beautiful flower isn't it.
I've never seen a cacti like this up close and didnt realsie their flowers were so beautiful, Its kind of like a poppy and so big.
Love it!

Debbie said...

Gosh the Flower is a whopper on such a small piece of Cactus. Has Richard replanted it?

Creager Studios said...

Hi Nikki...

That species 'Opuntia violacea' stores water in the stems (pads) all cacti store water and avoid losing it with a waxy coating on the surface of the pads ...some cacti do absorb water through their spines, but not this one.

Yes...Cacti have wonderful large colorful flowers to attract the 'pollinators' in the middle of the dry desert... gotta be bold to stand out!!

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Actually...that particular pad was given to a neighbor and is safely planted to live on....


Jodi

rosanna said...

Beautiful and it really has a moral, beautiful things as well as people can get birth everywhere and it's only because we go around blindfold that we cannot see them. Cacti are the most amazing plants: live out of nothing and give so much wonder to the world. My mum used to plan and grow them and it was such a joy to see them flowering.

Light and Shadow Studio said...

What a touching story! I know it is just a plant but it is just inspiring that something that should be dieing can still bring forth this beautiful flower. When I was young we lived in New Mexico and Arizona and I still remember what a sight it was when the desert blossomed. Awesome! Also wanted to say how wonderful the owl turned out. A real treasure for someone. Thank you for sharing.

Judy C said...

I want a tepee. And a pool. But living in Tennessee, I would have trees around it. Your cacti are wonderful. And again thanks for your comments. They mean so much.

Caseymini said...

Jodi, your cactus made me grin. I am always finding stray plants coming up in my yard. I always wait to see what they are going to be before I think of pulling them out. I have a beautiful tree about 15 feet high that came in, I imagine, with some bird. I usually end up with things like penstemon and Mexican primrose growing all over the place. I have learned not to pull weeds until I know what they really are. Keep rescuing those cacti Richard! Good going!

MiniKat said...

Beautiful cacti! Some day I will have a yard of them. *sigh*

Creepy Creations by Jamie Moore said...

Jodi,
Great story and I love the pics!! I take it your dog is careful around your yard. We just got a Boston Terrier puppy and she keeps digging up all our plants. I bet if we had a yard like yours she would learn not to quick!

Jamie

twinkle teaches said...

Your cacti garden looks pretty! I wish we collected them here. :)
tina

Creager Studios said...

So very true Rosanna....thank you so much

Hugs,

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Tammy..

Living in AZ and NM...you know very well the beauty of the desert...magical isn't it!!

So glad you liked the Owl...

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Judy...

The pool is very handy dandy in our 118 degree heat summers...and nothing like floating around peacefully at nighttime floating and looking at the stars...until of course Tess jumps in and wants to play...lol

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Casey...

Yep...Richard lets each and everything grow without pulling it (except scorpian weed and cryptantha) until he sees what it is... we have a lovely little stand of native Arizona Miniature Poppies that come up every year...soooo tiny! He is grow some date palms now from seeds he gathered while walking the island near the London Bridge. He does love to grow things..

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Kat...for so many years Richard and I lived in apts (early in our marriage) very frustrating...then rented homes...still frustrating...now for the first time in all our marriage...we own our own home...so we are going nuts with the plants...LOL

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Jamie...

Yes Tess is VERY careful around the yard...got stuck once when we first got her...never again...LOL! We make sure never to play out in that part of the yard...and I can tell you that I NEVER walk barefoot in that neck of the woods either!!

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Tina...

Castus gardens are both complicated and simplistic at the same time...I think the one misconception is...they don't need water....many snowbirds here plant them thinking this is true...than ignore them...poor cactus suffer so...


Jodi

Jdee said...

Mother Nature~ It's beautiful!

xoxo
Joanna

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

This little cacti's ears must be burning.
First thing that came to my mind... lol
Nikki x

Christopher A. Klingler said...

How InSpIrAtIoNaL 4 a dreary Tuesday!!!

Thanks 4 sharing with us!!!

Have an enchanted week.

Chris (-'

Creager Studios said...

Yes Indeedy Joanna...Mother Nature at her most unique!! Something for nothing

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

To Funny Nikki...one more pad and we would have a 'full set' of ears...lol!

Jodi

Creager Studios said...

Hi Chris...sorry to hear it is dreary there...bummer! Tell you what...just glance at your beautiful work for a few minutes...that is enough to cheer a whole east coast!!

Jodi

nikkinikkinikki72 said...

Hi Jodi. I remember you saying that you use sanding blocks to thin out material. I found this item on ebay for sanding nails and thought it could be of use rather than making the boards. 170320378959 just put this number into ebay to see what i mean. They are sanding blocks used for manicures and thought they would be just perfect.
I would imaging they block surface is quite fine because they are intended for nails (not sure).
Nikki x

Creager Studios said...

Morning Nikki...

Those look pretty good and I have actually seen those particular types of sanding blocks at our local beauty supply. The upside...saves you from making a small block of wood...the down side...while the grit of these is perfect for nails...they would be no match for cotton fabrics...oh they would sand...but they would build up fast with fibers and it would take at keast two to sand a piece of fabric....If you don't want to get a piece of wood...they do make wonderful heavy rubber sandblocks that is so easy to put in and remove strips of sandpaper. Thanks for the suggestion though... I can see these working well for small areas to sand on mini things...

Jodi