Thursday, August 14, 2014

More Garden Pics

Hi there! While the weather has been too hot for longer nature walks in the desert I've stayed pretty close to home. Some of the flowers are from my neighbors' yards.

desert bird of paradise, plumbago,
 desert willow, Mexican bird of paradise

hummingbird bathing in the rain

milkweed bug,
 green lynx spider, sulphur butterfly

This pet gulf coast box turtle has been living in our backyard for over fifteen years. We hadn't seen the turtle for weeks but soon after it started to rain Speedy was out walking around. The markings on the shell show up best when the shell is wet.

turtle walking in the rain

Texas sage, echiveria,
Texas sage, purple heart

Also called the Colorado River toad, the Sonoran Desert toad is a very large amphibian! For the past several years we've seen one in the backyard during monsoon season. This toad is most active at night and when it's raining.

Sonoran desert toad

Vitex tree

H a v e   a   H a p p y   D a y !

12 comments:

Roberta Warshaw said...

Speedy! LOL!

Ramakrishnan said...

Exquisite images of desert flora & fauna !

Loree said...

What flowers and creatures you have in your backyard.

Barb said...

Looks like the rain is bringing out the critters! I love the thought of a hummingbird bathing in the rain.

rainfield61 said...

Whoa, a friend for fifteen years.

Thérèse said...

So nice to be able to photograph so much around one's home.

Celeste said...

So happy that Speedy is enjoying the monsoon rains :) I always love it when he stars on your blog posts.

Janie said...

All great photos. Interesting that the box turtle and toad hang out nearby, providing photographic material especially for you.

maryaustria said...

A wonderful series of photos! Gorgeous flowers and animals!

Prospero said...

Nice Caesalpinias, Diane. Nice bugs too.

Lrong Lim said...

Love that cute hummingbird flapping her wings...

Anonymous said...

Awesome. Speedy is cute. We used to have a Desert Bird of Paradise, I so rarely see them in comparison to the Mexican Bird of Paradise. Ours got damaged in a storm and never recovered. I should try to get another one, I had forgotten about them until seeing this.