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  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • Sometimes referred to as beargrass, this native desert species is actually a member of the lily family, even though it has a striking resemblnce at first to members of the yucca family. Found primarily in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, it is also found in limited numbers in Arizona's Sornoran Desert. Unusual for plants that grow in very dry, arid locations, the Bigelow's nolina is one one of the very few evergreen plants that grows in it's habitat. This group of flowering nolinas were photographed in Califonia's Joshua Tree National Park in the early spring morning sunlight.
    Bigelow's Nolina
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • The snowball cactus - also known as the mountains ball cactus or Simpson's hedgehog cactus - is very similar to many of the hedgehog cacti of the American Southwest, except this species is found natively only in the arid sagebrush deserts of Oregon and Washington. Sometimes found growing singly or in pairs, they can also form massive clumps of plants and are unfortunately becoming rare in their native habitat due to plant poaching by collectors, which is unfortunate as they don't take to replanting well. This photo was taken just to the west of Vantage, WA in the rural hills near Whiskey Dick Mountain.
    Snowball Cactus (Pediocactus nigrisp..nus)
  • Rolling arid hills and miles upon miles of aromatic sagebrush, crumbled basalt rocks and heat in this desert-like landscape in Central Washington near Vantage, WA.
    Sagebrush Country
  • This tiny daisy grows in many of the hottest, most arid deserts of the American Southwest in sand, gravel and scattered rocks. Easily identified by both it's dimunitative size and choice of habitat, close inspection of the foliage reveals a very wooly, hairy hovering of silvery hairs on the leaves and stem. This was one of many found in an open area in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Wallace's Woolly Daisy
  • One of many bald eagles actively hunting over Lower Klamath Lake on a sunny late winter day in Northern California.
    Bald Eagle
  • This particular patch of Texas prickly pear cacti in Edinburg, Texas have a really pretty reddish-orange colorations to them. Most of the time, the flowers are a bright yellow.
    Texas Prickly Pear Flowers (Opuntia ..eri)
  • This particular patch of Texas prickly pear cacti in Edinburg, Texas have a really pretty reddish-orange colorations to them. Most of the time, the flowers are a bright yellow.
    Texas Prickly Pear Flowers (Opuntia ..eri)
  • This particular patch of Texas prickly pear cacti in Edinburg, Texas have a really pretty reddish-orange colorations to them. Most of the time, the flowers are a bright yellow.
    Texas Prickly Pear Flowers (Opuntia ..eri)
  • Close-up flowers of the unique flowers of the cochineal nopal cactus. This incredibly beautiful member of the prickly pear cactus family is endemic to Mexico and has moved across the world by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its beauty and hardiness. With its stunningly beautiful, cone-shaped bright pink flowers to its relative lack of spines, this tree-like beauty can reach a height of 12-13 feel (4 meters) and the ripe red fruits and cactus pads are edible and delicious! This one was found growing in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Cochineal Nopal Cactus (Opuntia coch..era)
  • Close-up flowers of the unique flowers of the cochineal nopal cactus. This incredibly beautiful member of the prickly pear cactus family is endemic to Mexico and has moved across the world by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its beauty and hardiness. With its stunningly beautiful, cone-shaped bright pink flowers to its relative lack of spines, this tree-like beauty can reach a height of 12-13 feel (4 meters) and the ripe red fruits and cactus pads are edible and delicious! This one was found growing in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Cochineal Nopal Cactus (Opuntia coch..era)
  • Close-up flowers of the unique flowers of the cochineal nopal cactus. This incredibly beautiful member of the prickly pear cactus family is endemic to Mexico and has moved across the world by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its beauty and hardiness. With its stunningly beautiful, cone-shaped bright pink flowers to its relative lack of spines, this tree-like beauty can reach a height of 12-13 feel (4 meters) and the ripe red fruits and cactus pads are edible and delicious! This one was found growing in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Cochineal Nopal Cactus (Opuntia coch..era)
  • Layers of a valley, dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands 2015-2.jpg
  • This particular patch of Texas prickly pear cacti in Edinburg, Texas have a really pretty reddish-orange colorations to them. Most of the time, the flowers are a bright yellow.
    Texas Prickly Pear Flowers (Opuntia ..eri)
  • This particular patch of Texas prickly pear cacti in Edinburg, Texas have a really pretty reddish-orange colorations to them. Most of the time, the flowers are a bright yellow.
    Texas Prickly Pear Flowers (Opuntia ..eri)
  • The cochineal nopal cactus is an incredibly beautiful member of the prickly pear cactus family that is endemic to Mexico and has moved across the world by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its beauty and hardiness. With its stunningly beautiful, cone-shaped bright pink flowers to its relative lack of spines, this tree-like beauty can reach a height of 12-13 feel (4 meters) and the ripe red fruits and cactus pads are edible and delicious! This one was found growing in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Cochineal Nopal Cactus (Opuntia coch..era)
  • Close-up flowers of the unique flowers of the cochineal nopal cactus. This incredibly beautiful member of the prickly pear cactus family is endemic to Mexico and has moved across the world by plant enthusiasts and collectors due to its beauty and hardiness. With its stunningly beautiful, cone-shaped bright pink flowers to its relative lack of spines, this tree-like beauty can reach a height of 12-13 feel (4 meters) and the ripe red fruits and cactus pads are edible and delicious! This one was found growing in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Cochineal Nopal Cactus (Opuntia coch..era)
  • Layers of a valley, dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands 2015-3.jpg
  • Also known as the miniature barrel cactus, this interesting little low-elevation cactus barely reaches 7 inches at its tallest and is usually found in the shady mesquite tree thickets of Central to South Texas. It is easy to identify by its 13 twisted ribs, 10-19 radial spines on each areole with one hooked central spine sticking outward. This particular one was among the tallest of the many hundreds found in a wilderness area just outside of Mission, Texas.
    Twisted Rib Cactus (Thelocactus seti..nus)
  • Close-up of the flowers of the ocotillo, a somewhat common Southwestern plant found in most of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. In the spring, the long, thorny spines sprout small green leaves and brilliantly orange flowers from the mature stems that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds and carpenter bees. This one was found way out in SE California near the Arizona Border in Imperial County.
    Ocotillo Flowers
  • Double Arch is found in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah and is part of the amazing red alien sandstone landscape that is called the Moab Desert. This area has the largest number of natural stone arches than anywhere else in the world, but what makes this rock formation so unique is that they were both eroded from the very same piece of stone. Most arches are formed from water erosion flowing either within or from the sides of the rock over the millennia, but these two arches were formed from water eroding from the top of the stone, downwards. For this reason they are called pothole arches. Because this photograph was made at the beginning of a sudden storm, you can see the rainwater running down the rock from the top of the arch, and this is the very process that carved these arches to begin with, and that will also eventually one day cause this magnificent national treasure to collapse.
    Double Arch, Moab Desert, Utah
  • This incredible wild and harsh desert near the Mexican town of Sonoyta is deep in the Ajo Mountain range in Southern Pima County, Arizona. Saguaro cacti, gila monsters, rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, a searing sun are staples of this dangerous part of the Sonoran Desert, and there is a long, deep history among the remnants of the Tohono O'odham Nation who thrived here for centuries, and the ancestral Puebloans who created a vibrant culture here before them.
    Diablo Mountains, Arizona
  • Slightly smaller than other raven species found around the world and about the size of the American crow, this Mexican raven may look like any other raven, but the differences stop there. Most notably, the under-feathers on its neck are pure white. In the dry grasslands of the American Southwest it replaces the common raven (Corvus corax) of the north and breeds in the Southwestern United States, but it is far more common to the south in Mexico where it is found year-round. At northern end of range (eastern Colorado, western Kansas), the Chihuahuan raven is far less common today than in 1800s. I saw this one quite by accident as I was setting up my tent and cooking some dinner on my travels on a small ground fire on top of a hill overlooking Sonoyta, Mexico in Southern Arizona on the US-Mexico border. It got my attention by crowing on top of an almost-flowering saguaro cactus while I was waiting for the water to boil on my camp stove.
    Chihuahuan Raven in the Sonoran Desert
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one with deep red and yellow flowers was found and photographed in the Alamo Canyon, deep in the Ajo Mountains of Southern Pima County, Arizona near the Mexican border.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • Common in southeastern Arizona, Baja California and Sonora in Mexico, parts of Southern California, as well as select locations in Utah and Nevada, the buckhorn cholla gets its name from its similarity in appearance to deer antlers. Flowers are quite variable in color - ranging from lemon yellow, fiery orange to a deep scarlet, and are followed later in the season by smooth, plump, mostly spineless, green, purplish, or reddish edible fruits. Like many other cactus species in the Southwest, the mature fruits of the buckhorn cholla drop off long before it blooms during the next season, therefore you will never see one with both fruits and flowers at the same time. This one was photographed in the Puerto Blanco Mountains of Southern Arizona near Sonoyta, Mexico.
    Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acan..rpa)
  • From personal experience, the teddybear cholla (named for the thick, bristling spines that almost look like soft fur) are a real eye-opener when one first makes physical contact with this native of the American Southwest. Casual passing contact will not only cause immense sharp pain, but the piece of the cactus touched will detach from the main part of the plant and tag along for the ride. This evolutionary and reproductive tactic is why this cholla is often called the "jumping cholla" - it will hop a ride with anything that touches it, eventually fall to the ground and once it roots, grow a whole new cactus. This one was found growing (without touching) along the side of a dried-out arroyo in a nameless canyon in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County.
    Teddybear Cholla
  • The fishhook barrel cactus is a rather common large barrel cactus found in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the American Southwest with a range stretching from Arizona through New Mexico to Texas, as well as south of the border into the northern parts of the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Bright yellow fruit emerge and develop throughout the year after its bright orange blossoms are pollinated in summer, and by the following spring they will look like this. As with many cacti, it has many regional names such as the Arizona barrel and biznaga-barril de Nuevo México and is found in open rocky ground, shrub-steppe, chaparral and at the base of desert hills and mountains where there is some gathering of water during seasonal rains. Mature plants can reach upwards of 5 feet tall, and live to 50 to 130 years, and as they get larger, they will tend to lean to face south or southwest-ward, which is why come people also call it the compass cactus. Vicious recurved spines (or "fishhooks") protect it from predators such as javelinas, and the fleshy yellow fruits are an important food source for birds, mule deer, and javelinas. This one was found and photographed between the Ajo and Puerto Blanco Mountains ranges in the Sonoran Desert in Southern Pima County, Arizona.
    Fishhook Barrel
  • This natural hybrid (Opuntia engelmannii x phaecantha) of two common and local prickly pear cacti - the Engelmann's Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii) and the brown-spined prickly pear (Opuntia phaecantha),  shows characteristics of both and have resulted in a large, mature beautiful cactus growing at some elevation in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona. Since so many of our native members of the Opuntia genus are so closely related and have overlapping natural ranges, hybridization is common among many species, and is the source of much confusion and frustration for biologist and naturalist alike! This particular plant has the beautiful silvery white spines and flower petal shape of O. engelmannii and the flower coloration and growth pattern of O. phaecantha.
    Natural Prickly Pear Hybrid
  • The brown-spined prickly pear (also regionally known as the tulip or desert prickly pear) is another widespread member of the Opuntia genus that is found throughout all of the American Southwestern States including Nebraska and even South Dakota and is found across most of Northern Mexico. One of the things that make this particular species so amazing is the adaptability to drastically different environments: it can be found thriving in the driest of lowland deserts to the moist, cold forests of the Rocky Mountains. As a result, there are several variable physical attributes that make identifying this species confusing at best. Springtime flowers are variable from lemon yellow, orange or pink, usually with but sometimes without a reddish center. This one was found growing in the Ajo Mountains in Southern Arizona near the Mexican Border.
    Brown-Spined Prickly Pear
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • Yet another cactus with many regional common names, Grusonia clavata is found throughout most of Arizona and in most of New Mexico, excluding eastern and southwestern parts of the state. These vicious-looking cholla cacti have already bloomed this year, and were photographed in Central New Mexico just south of Albuquerque in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Devil Cholla
  • The nylon hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus var. cylindricus) is native subspecies of the green-flowering hedgehog cactus, and is found in a narrow band stretching from the Big Bend of Texas and Mexico to southern New Mexico, and is mainly found in the Franklin Mountains near El Paso, Texas. It has distinct creamy orange flowers and shows extreme variability in spine color: white, yellow, brown, reddish, black. Some plants have only short radials while other have a variable number of centrals. This one was photographed in the Big Bend National Park near the Rio Grande.
    Nylon Hedgehog Cactus
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • This beautiful, long and curve-spined cactus is a small member of the barrel cactus family and is primarily found in the central Chihuahuan Desert near the Rio Grande. Barely reaching a height of twelve inches, this attractive and colorful cactus will produce large three-inch yellow flowers in the springtime. This three-inch beauty was found and photographed below the Chisos Mountains in Brewster County, Texas.
    Turk's Head
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • One of the most striking and beautiful of all the "barrel" cacti of the American Southwestern deserts, the claret cup cactus (also known regionally by many names such as the kingcup, queencup, hedgehog cactus, pitaya roja, etc.) has large, showy and brilliantly red flowers that attract and are pollinated by hummingbirds. Unlike most cacti, the flowers of the claret cup stay open at night. Some native American tribes who shared the same habitat would collect these cacti, burn off the sharp spines, and mash them into a pulp with some locally procured sweetener (honey?) and bake them into mini sweet cakes. This one was found and photographed on a beautiful spring day in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Northwestern Texas.
    Claret Cup Cactus
  • The Arizona fishhook cactus (also known as Graham's nipple cactus) is not only limited to Arizona, but is  also found in California, New Mexico and Texas, as well as much of Northern Mexico. One of the most interesting things about this particular native species of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts are the recurved "fishhook" spines. This one was found in Southern Arizona's Diablo Mountains near the Mexican border.
    Arizona Fishhook
  • The Texas rainbow cactus usually has a single stem, but may branch when older. Large yellow flowers bloom in the spring from the upper portions of the stem. The stem may have bands of tan, reddish or brown spines, giving it a rainbow appearance. This one was found and photographed in West Texas in the Chihuahuan Desert lowlands just north of the Chisos Mountains.
    Texas Rainbow Cactus
  • The Texas rainbow cactus usually has a single stem, but may branch when older. Large yellow flowers bloom in the spring from the upper portions of the stem. The stem may have bands of tan, reddish or brown spines, giving it a rainbow appearance. This one was found and photographed in West Texas in the Chihuahuan Desert lowlands just north of the Chisos Mountains.
    Texas Rainbow Cactus
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    PurplishPricklyPear2015-32.jpg
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • Found only within the greater Big Bend Region, this prickly pear can be vibrant green during wet times, or deep magenta during colder months or dry times. Yellow flowers with red centers will bloom from April to July.  This one was photographed<br />
 in Big Bend National Park in Western Texas.
    Purplish Prickly Pear
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • This fantastically beautiful and very long-spined cactus found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Texas and Arizona in the United States, and in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Chihuahua, and Nuevo León. It gets its species name (stramineus - which means made of straw) from the way these thick, brittle spines resemble dried straw. Clumps of 100 or more stems are not uncommon, and when they are in flower, it is one of the most spectacular of all of the Chihuahuan cacti! This one was photographed in Western Texas in Big Bend National Park.
    Strawberry Pitaya
  • Also known as the purple prickly pear, this incredibly beautiful Mexican Opuntia cactus develops fantastic purple pads that perfectly compliment the bright yellow (sometimes red) flowers. Native to Northern Mexico from Baja California to the Chihuahuan Desert, its American range extends only into Pima County in Southern Arizona where these were found in peak bloom and photographed just outside of the park borders of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Santa Rita Prickly Pear
  • Also known as the purple prickly pear, this incredibly beautiful Mexican Opuntia cactus develops fantastic purple pads that perfectly compliment the bright yellow (sometimes red) flowers. Native to Northern Mexico from Baja California to the Chihuahuan Desert, its American range extends only into Pima County in Southern Arizona where these were found in peak bloom and photographed just outside of the park borders of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
    Santa Rita Prickly Pear
  • Iconic symbol of the Sonoran Desert and the American Southwest, this saguaro cactus stands tall among the many thousands of others in Southern Arizona near the Mexican border below the Puerto Blanco Mountains.
    Saguaro Cactus and the Puerto Blanco..ains
  • The sun went behind a cloud for a moment in White Sands....
    Sky and Sand - White Sands, New Mexico
  • Layers of dunes, a sandstorm, mountains and clouds in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.
    White Sands Desert, New Mexico
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world). This beautiful member of the Phrynosomatid lizard family has evolved white scales to enable it to blend in with the white gypsum sands. I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't moved.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • The famous Delicate Arch stands 65 feet (20 meters) above its sandstone base in the surrounding canyons and ravines in Arches National Park in eastern Utah's Moab Desert.
    Delicate Arch
  • Unusual variety of the grizzlybear prickly pear cactus (Opuntia columbiana) near Naches, WA showing unusual flower size and particularly long white spines.
    Grizzlybear Prickly Pear
  • Unusual variety of the grizzlybear prickly pear cactus (Opuntia columbiana) near Naches, WA showing unusual flower size and particularly long white spines.
    Grizzlybear Prickly Pear
  • Ancient basalt columns are a typical sight in Central Washington. They are formed by cooling lava, forming cracks that create these columns by contracting. The faster the lava cools, the thinner the columns. These thick columns cooled gradually over some time. The presence of the lichens that now cover the stony face is an indicator of very good air quality and a lack of pollution.
    Lichen-Covered Basalt Cliff in Cowic..nyon
  • One of the best things about the Pacific Northwest on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains is the big, open sky and hundreds of miles of sagebrush in all directions.
    Sagebrush Country and the Big Sky
  • A view of the Mojave Desert in Southern California, looking westward towards the Hexie Mountains with a tall cactus-like ocotillo in full bloom in the foreground.
    Mojave Desert with Ocotillo
  • The pencil cholla is a thinly branched member of the cholla cactus family found mainly in the Mojave ans Sonoran Deserts of California and Arizona, and to some extent in Southern Nevada. This photograph was made in early spring when most of the deserrt cacti are in bloom, but I missed this one as it blooms in early summer.
    Pencil Cholla
  • The pencil cholla is easily distinguished from other cholla cacti in the American Southwest by the scale-like arrangement on the stems that is often referred to as a diamond pattern. I thought the yellow coloration on the spines were beautiful, especially backlit lit this here in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.
    Pencil Cholla
  • Closeup detail of a blooming strawberry hedgehog cactus in the early morning golden light in the Mojave Desert. Early April is one of the best times to see blooming cacti throughout the American Southwest.
    Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus
  • Although the teddybear colla fruits readily and often heavily, these fruits are usually sterile. The prime method of reproduction is the easily detachable sections of the cactus that are removed by an unfortunate passing animal or a strong wind. Uun dropping to the ground, new roots will bore into the ground starting a new cactus, restarting the cycle.
    Teddybear Cholla Fruits
  • Bigelow's nolina in full bloom in Southern Califonia's Mojave Desert. Historically the stalks of this unusual member of the lily family were an important food source for the Coahuila Indians, who ate them after being roasted over a fire pit.
    Bigelow's Nolina Close-up
  • An old, twisted pinyon tree grows atop the windy rocks at the top of a huge rock formation in a nameless canyon in southwestern Utah. It's amazing how the roots of these tenacious pines hold the rock with an iron grip as they endure summer's blistering heat, winter's bitterly unforgiving cold, and near constant wind decade after decade.
    The Old Pinyon Tree
  • The organ pipe cactus is found throughout much of Mexico and only found in the United States in extreme Southern Arizona. This one was photographed within miles of the Mexican border in the aptly named Organ Pipe National Monument.
    Organ Pipe Cactus
  • One of my favorite places to photograph landscapes - Valley of Fire, Nevada.
    Valley of Fire
  • This very common species of cactus is spectacular in bloom with its showy display of fuchsia flowers in the spring, such as this beavertail cactus in full blossom in Southern Nevada.
    Beavertail Cactus
  • Extremely common in the southern half of Texas, this large prickly pear blooms from March through June, producing large edible red to purple delicious fruits. This enormous patch was found growing outside of Mission, Texas.
    Texas Prickly Pear (Opuntia lindheimeri)
  • Extremely common in the southern half of Texas, this large prickly pear blooms from March through June, producing large edible red to purple delicious fruits. These ripening "tunas" were found growing outside of Mission, Texas.
    Texas Prickly Pear Fruit
  • Also known as the miniature barrel cactus, this interesting little low-elevation cactus barely reaches 7 inches at its tallest and is usually found in the shady mesquite tree thickets of Central to South Texas. It is easy to identify by its 13 twisted ribs, 10-19 radial spines on each areole with one hooked central spine sticking outward. This golf ball-sized specimen was one of many hundreds found in a wilderness area just outside of Mission, Texas on a cool mid-October evening.
    Twisted Rib Cactus (Thelocactus seti..nus)
  • Also known as the miniature barrel cactus, this interesting little low-elevation cactus barely reaches 7 inches at its tallest and is usually found in the shady mesquite tree thickets of Central to South Texas. It is easy to identify by its 13 twisted ribs, 10-19 radial spines on each areole with one hooked central spine sticking outward. This golf ball-sized specimen was one of many hundreds found in a wilderness area just outside of Mission, Texas on a cool mid-October evening.
    Twisted Rib Cactus (Thelocactus seti..nus)
  • This enormous great horned owl was spotted from almost a quarter-mile away perched in a cottonwood tree next to Lower Klamath Lake in Northern California.
    Great Horned Owl
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