Last May was one of the worst months of the year! We had already broken the 100-degree mark. And every day the winds blew…sometimes up to 40 mph!
Not only do the wicked winds stir up the dust, pollen and all of the pads off of our patio furniture, it scatters something even worse! ‘Devil pricks’…Well, that’s what I call them. Little spurs of sharp hooked needles that fall off of the cholla.
A walk in Todd’s backyard yields a clinging collection that’s tricky to extrude! This is most likely not a big problem for most, even living around here. Todd makes his living removing these icky pricklies from people’s yards!
Unfortunately, we now live on a 4.5-acre piece of land that is a virtual cholla forest! Taming Todd’s new backyard will be dangerously daunting!…
The dreaded ‘Jumping’ cholla
The treacherous Teddy Bear cholla
We don’t plan on removing all of the chollas. They provide a protective home for all kinds of birds. From afar, or in a photograph, they look almost beautiful. But, get up close and personal or not watch where you are walking…Watch out! Once you are bitten….yes, they bite!… You would probably change your mind! There is nothing like being impaled with a cholla spur! When I was stung by a bee and even a scorpion, it was a similar sharp intense pain.
There is only one thing that makes these terrible terrestrial tumors tolerable!…
The brilliant blossoms! Only the Buckhorn Cholla are blossoming this time of year. What’s incredible to us in our new home, are the different colors!
Vivid pink, orange and yellow dot the desert on these spiny, spiky sprouts!
Unfortunately, the colorful display only lasts a few weeks, then the chollas will fade back into the desert landscape, transforming back into just another giant prick!
Todd's Backyard 
So great to read this. And your photos are beautiful, as usual.
Our car is on it’s way and all is well here. We will move into the borrowed house as soon as the car gets here.
Love you guys.
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