Vervain, lightning and a living rock.

Verbena halei  (Texas vervain) - This Texas native loves the cactus bed environment.





Ariocarpus fissuratus - An incredibly slow growing native cactus that lives in far South and far West Texas.  This small cactus could easily be 25 years old.  I have had it for 4 years and have not seen any appreciable increase in size.



Ariocarpus fissuratus

Fireplace / Cactus garden

1. 
   
   

   

   Texas Blazing Star (Liatris mucronata) foreground, Snow on the mountain (Euphorbia marginata) background.

Takeover

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), taking over the garden. Tried eating as much as I could and remove the rest.  Some years we hardly have any and other years conditions are in its favor and it takes over.


Cinnamon Bunny Ears, Opuntia Microdasys Rufida, although this plant looks lovely from a distance in reality its a nightmare in the garden, the irritating cinnamon glochids readily detach in a cloud of "dust" ruining any glove or piece of clothing that comes in contact with it.



Escobaria hesteri   



Astrophytum capricorne



Astrophytum capricorne

Red-Tailed Hawk

I think this is a Red-Tailed Hawk but the bird was much bigger than hawks I typically see around our neighborhood.

More butterfly wings in back-light

Gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus)

Butterflies in Backlight

 A Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), stops to fuel up on, arguably its most preferred nectar source, Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum).



Gulf fritillary, (Agraulis vanillae) - In the Fall, heading to the Rio Grande Valley for the winter.

Desert Blues

 There is a certain shade of turquoise that seems to be a favorite for desert plants.  I am guessing the blue color keeps the plants from getting too much sun, I wonder if clothes made of this color would be cooler or if cars and houses painted this color would have less heat gain from the sun.

Agave neomexicana

Foreground - Liatris mucronata (Texas Blazing Star),
Background - Nolina matapensis (Sonoran Nolina)



Euphorbia rigida (Gopher plant)