Palo Verdes - Random Hearts

Hi there!  Here are some blooming Palo Verdes, the green-barked trees that flower profusely this time of year, lining roads and coloring hillsides with cheerful yellow:

Blue Palo Verde

The white banner petal on this flower caught my eye with its subtle upside down heart-shape:

Foothills Palo Verde

In a carpet of fallen blossoms under a tree, I noticed an ant hill with a small heart-shaped hole, and just as I moved in to get a closer look, a red ant appeared carrying a tiny heart!

Ant carrying a heart

See more hearts (or share your own) at Clytie's Random Hearts

Sunday at the Park

Blue sky over Tucson

Autumn colors at the end of January!

Whether running or just watching, it was a nice day to be at the park.

Black Crowned Night-Heron (juvenile)

Visit more skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

Torrey Pines

On our way to Los Angeles from Tucson, we stopped at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego.  Torrey Pines has lovely walking trails overlooking the beach.  The rare trees which the park is named after are unusual looking with their twisted branches and windswept forms.  Coastal chaparral-clad slopes are dotted with cacti and other succulents and sandstone cliffs are eroded into interesting formations.  A feast for the eyes in every direction!
 
I learned about Torrey Pines from Betchai's blog, The Joys of Simple Life.

Better late than never

For months I've been enjoying beautiful fall foliage on blogs from other areas. Around here, deciduous trees are few and far between. But lately I've been noticing this one small stand of cottonwood trees on my way to the market. These cottonwoods, tucked behind an office building, could easily go unnoticed most of the year. However, because I'm blogging, these trees have my attention.


12/16/09

12/20/09

12/27/09

Once they get going, they sure change quickly!

Next time I go by this tree, I expect it to be nearly bare.

Then before long, new leaves will begin to grow. We have short winters here in this corner of the desert, lasting from late December through January.

For more posts with the color yellow, check out Mellow Yellow Monday.

Today's Flowers - Pink

This unusual tree is blooming in front of a Tucson, AZ nursery on Sabino Canyon Road. From a distance it almost looks like a cherry blossom tree.

But this is late autumn, not springtime.

The bark of the tree is bright green.

Huge blossoms, about the size of your hand, resemble lilies more than cherry blossoms.
And, the trunk has big spikes on it!

The nursery wasn't open so I searched online.

It looks like a Silk Floss Tree (Ceiba speciosa) also called Kapok in the Baobab family.

A tropical tree native to Brazil and Argentina growing in the Sonoran Desert!

To see more flowers from around the world, visit Today's Flowers hosted by:Luiz Santilli, Denise Gullickson, Laerte Pupo and Valkyrien.