This blog has been languising, or rather my inspiration for it has been languishing. There have been hikes to tell you about, art exhibits, concerts… but somehow I’ve not sat down to do the work. We are about to return to Italy; I hope events, sights, smells, sounds and food will all conspire to produce some more entries.

In the meanwhile, here are a few photographs of what we leave behind us in Arizona. The saguaro cactus are in bud. They flower in a sort of halo up at the top; I had hoped to see the actual blooms this year, but we will miss that by a week or so.

This outrageous flower bloomed across the street.  It opened in the night and lasted for one day.

The curved-bill thrasher is a frequent visitor to our seed bell. One of my favorite birds, his eyes and general expression remind be of a raptor, though I believe he’s about as far from being one as is possible.

The prickley pear are in bloom:

A crown of buds sits atop the tall saguaro:

And a cactus wren sits atop the buds:

A small mamalaria cactus planted itself in our yard a year or two ago. This year it flowered:

This hummingbird (or one just like it) is a frequent visitor to my friend’s penstamen. The hummers’ little feet just dangle when they feed, which I never noticed until I took this photo.

Talk to you soon from the boot. Ciao.