Cactus Flowers

 Look what I found when I went out to water the potted cactus this morning. Cactus flowers!

Aren't they lovely? These are some of the smaller ones about the size of my spread out hand but there were a couple of others that I couldn't reach to photograph. One is a huge - about half as big again as these - and a glorious creamy white and the other - also huge - is a rich, deep cerise in the centre shading to purplish at the edges. 

I've been growing these for many years and most of the time they are fairly messy, nondescript and frankly look very uninteresting but then they produce these stunning blooms. Unlike the cacti that only open for a short time at night these open during the day and stay open for a day or so. It's a lovely gift for a gardener.

Stuff

Last night the cat decided that I needed a change and converted my desk top image from the one that came with the computer to a blurry black ace of clubs on a white background. I hated it. Not that I was all that enamoured of the one I had - it's apparently called Leopard aurora - because it contains a lot of purplish pinks which I actually don't like but leaving it took no thought or effort so there it stayed. I've had this computer for 18 months and it has all my own photos as well as the wallpaper photos from my previous one on it - and I haven't been inclined to summon up the energy or spare the time to put an image I like on something I look at every day.

I have now.

My current image is this photo I took of some of my zygocactus in full bloom in 2008.

A photo as small as this doesn't do justice to these glorious blooms, each of which is bigger than my hand, but on a large computer screen they are nearly life size and breath-takingly beautiful.

So why was this simple step just too much effort for such a long time? Well, as always, there are multiple reasons - and while they are all genuine, really it amounts to just procrastinating. It took me all of ten minutes to play around with a range of photos and try them out and even with all the demands on my time I could have done that long ago. Realising this, I've been spurred into exploration of other possibilities in many areas of my life. On this computer alone there are at least four applications I've never investigated. Maybe I won't find them useful but at least I'll know the possibilities. Who knows what new things I'll find out.

It's Been a While

But real life has intervened and as there is nothing to do except keep on keeping on, today we have photos. Not very good ones but then I have never claimed to be a good photographer.




This is Angus. Not such a baby now, is he - but he still likes paper.















And of course, if someone else is having a photo taken, Jaz is always ready and waiting. I often wonder what she thinks is happening when she lines up for a photo.







To finish up, here are just a few of the spectacular cactus flowers open today on my back pergolas.







This is wonderfully delicate to look at although it is as big across as my hand.










This one is 23 centimetres across. Not my favourite colour but certainly arresting.













One of my favourites of the creamy whites and you can catch a glimpse of one of the darker pinks in the background.