We are reaching the end of the Monsoon (rainy summer) season here in Arizona. Some of the cacti have taken the opportunity to get in one last bloom before it starts cooling down. I love how beautiful and dangerous the desert can be!
EDIT: I’d be remiss if I did not bring attention to this most beautiful shot by @RLisciarelli . It far exceeds the quality and skill of my little backyard photoshoot 
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Hi Jake, how are you doing?
Cactus flowers are so beautiful thanks for sharing it.
What di you know about cactus pear? @JustJake
Cheers from Detroit Michigan!
Hm… A good one, friend @JustJake .
But, can I request you to explain a bit more? - the post looks too short - whereas your ‘Spy’ story was excellent.
All the best…
I share your love for howbeautiful and dangerous the desert can be @JustJake ! Having once spent a bit of time in the Sahara, I learned that we just have to treat it with due respect. We have a plant here that I think is a Red Orchid Cactus, epiphyllum. Google tells me that Epiphyllum plants are native to tropical regions of Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the Caribbean so I sure don’t know how this plant made it here, in the land down under. It’s one of the most beautiful plants when it’s in bloom and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to fall into it. I’ve added a not so good photo here, and when it blooms again I’ll try and take and add a better one.
The spikes would certainly keep me away from that one @JustJake
I’ve got quite a few succulents growing here in Melbourne. I keep them on a brick path in winter and quite a few of them bloom on the sunny days even in winter because the bricks keep them warm overnight.
Paul
Good morning, @Erna_LaBeau , thank you so much for checking out my post!
We call the cactus pear “Prickly Pear” here. I have some growing in my front yard. We leave ours for the birds and animals, but the fruit are delicious right off the cactus.
Most farmer’s markets will have someone selling Prickly Pear jelly or honey. The cactus fruits here have high cultural significance to the Native People whose land we occupy here. As you can imagine, finding fruit growing wild in the desert is pretty special!
-Jake
Hi, @TravellerG , I was practicing the art of conciseness for this post to just let the flowers do the talking .
The part of Arizona I’m in gets very little rain. The desert usually blooms in late May and goes brown as the temperature hits 110°f.
We get summer rain storms called Monsoons. Typically, the Monsoon will green up the trees and shrubs. This year, we had a couple weeks of mild temperatures after some prolonged storms and it seemed to trick some of the smaller cactus into thinking we were back in spring. But it is beautiful to see red, yellow, and white flowers dispersed throughout the area.
Thank you for asking, and I’m glad you liked my spy encounter 
Hey, @AdamGT , those are beautiful. The waxy appearance almost looks like it is some sort of succulent. I’d imagine they were brought to Australia by request of someone very wealthy. Or a very determined bird. Are you royalty at home as you are here on the boards? Must be to have such exotic plants!
Hi, @PaulPavlinovich , thank you for checking out my photos! The spikes on this particular little cactus are pretty mean. Nature developed a perfect way to keep the animals away until the bees have their turn.
While taking the picture, I was trying to clean out dried flowers and got poked a few times. Of course it was while explaining to my 3-year-old not to go near the cactus. Do as I say, not as I do!
Royalty LOL…definitely not @JustJake . Nature certainly developed a perfect way to keep the animals and young kids away lol. As a kid we had “prickly pears” in our back yard and oh were they prickly. Mum used to do the picking for us and I do remember while being very seedy, the fruit was amazingly juicy.
@JustJake
Cactus flowers are wonderful, you did a great job taking those pictures and sharing them with us.
@Mo_TravelleerX Thank you so much for the compliment. I appreciate you checking out my post!
I’m agree with @PaulPavlinovich that the spikes of cactus makes me away from it but it looks so beautiful @JustJake thanks for sharing it with us 
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Ah never seen the cactus pear jelly or honey before but would love to try it. Cactus Pear or prick pear is one of our fruits that we consume daily here, Jake @JustJake it has so many health benefits that’s what I read 
