September Walk

Chris and I went for a walk in the canyon yesterday morning, the first time in weeks. Here's some of what we found.

It still feels like summer at the canyon.
The barrel cacti just have a few blooms left.
Ocotillo stems are covered with green leaves while the red blooms are long gone.
Teddy bear cholla spines glisten in the sunlight.
The orange sign says "Danger! High Mountain Lion Activity - Enter at your own risk." We've never seen a mountain lion but the rangers say new tracks are found each morning.
Most of the saguaros are bare, but one last fruit remains on this one.
Going over the hill...
The cottonwood leaves are still green.
The creek that flows down the hill from the road has receded to just a few small pools of standing water.
The hills look green even without much rain this monsoon season.
Many grasses have turned straw-colored.
This saguaro looks different from the others with so many arm buds on it.

It was a pretty good sized crowd of people at the canyon considering how hot it still is.

Happy Cactus Monday!

For more cactus themed posts, visit Teri's Painted Daisies.