I enjoy hearing friends talk about the plants that they’ve seen on walks or hikes and when we share our enthusiasm the jabbering is so sweet. The flowers on manzanitas look like small porcelain bells. These are on pointleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens) and the photo was taken when we went out to gather firewood in the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains. The small holes you see on the flowers are made by a few species of bees and wasps…nectar thieves. It’s fascinating and I intend to learn more about them. Stay tuned. 
The photo of the heart shaped prickly pear pad (stem!) was taken on a hike when Ms. Mesquitey had me photographing every heart shape pad we came across. Who knew there were so many heart shaped cactus pads out there in the hills to be photographed? 
Hummingbird trumpet (Epilobium canum) kicks into bloom in late summer and early fall and the red flowers are spectacular! Until then it sits around...
Sycamores are the genus Platanus, which was the old Greek name for the tree that is the species Platanus orientalis. There are five or...
The common name of cacomistle (cacomixtle) for the ringtail is from the Nahuatl language. It translates to “half cat.” I can see that, especially...