Plants on Shore – Darwin Bay – Genovesa Island – Galapagos

We saw a few flowers on this hike as well.  The prickly pear cacti were beginning to show their spring blooms.  I still found it amazing to find cactus in such a tropical environment…..

Cactus Blossom

This bloom is just opening.  I like this shot, tho, because of the contrast between the delicate bloom and the scruffy cactus with its very sharp barbs.

Full Bloom

And, here’s a bloom, fully opened in all its glory!  I felt so lucky to be able to capture it in profile.  You can really see the flower’s detail from this angle.

Mangrove Buds

I have to admit, I never really thought of mangrove trees blooming, but here is one tiny little bud nestled in the leaves of the tree.  The other buds aren’t yet open, but I’m guessing they would be soon!

Enjoy!



Springtime Greenery & Landscape

 

I was pleasantly surprised at the greenery up on the Colorado Plateau around Moab, UT.  FYI - it's called the Colorado Plateau because the Colorado River runs thru the plateau.  Take a look -

 

The prickle pear cactus were still in bloom (some of them) and I was lucky enough to find a good perspective to capture them and the buttes on the plateau!

 

There's something about the rust/terra cotta of the earth here and greenery that just reaches out and grabs me.

 

At first we passed this tree and I thought I missed my opportunity.  But, then, we ran into (believe it or not) some road construction, and I was able to back track and capture this.  I love the way the tree sort of reaches out to the landscape.  (Just to clarify - technically, we were in Canyonlands National Park, and they were doing the road construction.  We were delayed for an hour, but we were in no hurry, so we didn't care.)

 

Enjoy!!

Weekend Blooms

Of course, wherever I am, I'm always on the lookout for some beautiful blooms, and this past weekend was no different.....

The prickly pear cacti were in bloom!  How lucky to be able to capture some of the blooms.  Here's an apricot blossom.  I didn't know they came in this color....

The above bloom was a wildflower growing alongside the road we were driving on.  We stopped so Miki could take a potty break, and I happened to see this one.  Feels like there should be a quote in this image, doesn't it?

Here's another violet/purple bloom (seemed to be the color of the weekend for flowers).  I played around with this image, so that it looks like a colored pencil drawing.  Just having some creative fun!

Purple thistles were around all over the place this weekend, and here's one image I captured of it.  Again, I think I need to find a good quote for this image!

Yellow was the runner up color of the weekend for flowers!  Here's a beautiful image of a yellow bloom on the prickly pear cactus.  This has to be one of my favorite images of their blooms.

And, finally, a sunflower!  Again, I played with this one to create an almost drawing like image of it.

 

Enjoy!