Photos and info about desert plants/share your pics and tips here

The Octotillo (Fouquieria splendens) blooms mostly in spring, often around Easter. Even though the rest of the year, it can almost look dry and dead, after rain, green leaves sprout to affirm its life. It can make a good barrier fence, and I like its shadow silhouette when staged against the side of a house where a bare sun wall might need some dressing.

 

Here is an article on the plants that were blooming in Sun City this spring..... http://nmlady.hubpages.com/hub/Pictures-of-Plants-Blooming-in-the-Desert-SW-USA-Arizona

 

Wonderful AnMay! Thanks for sharing and educating us. I got a kick out of your sense of humor too re: "The Money Tree."

 

Octotillo is a top favorite of hummingbirds. I will plant some there.

 

And I hope I can find room for a Desert Museum Palos Verde tree. I walk by one everyday and I love it. Very hard to find them in Los Angeles. I didn't know it was Arizona State Tree

 

One of these days I will figure out how to upload pictures. Until then i'm stuck posting links to articles and pictures I posted back on my Sun Cities Today blog. These two articles are pretty cool in that there are a couple of awesome blooming cactus as a lead in to them:

Here's the first: Stop and smell the cactus (part 1).

And the second with the ever appropriate: Stop and Smell the Cactus (part 2).

 

You can also choose the url but you will need to now how to find the url for each picture. If you do, choose that. I tried to add in one of the pictures you linked to, but it said the file was too big. I guess it only allows small photos.

 

Cool you did it. If you want to put it on your profile here are the steps for that.

Steps to add profile photo: First you have to make an album to put it in.
Go to My Profile on the top,
then look at the Left navigation bar and
click on link Add Album,
Choose Album type (profile)
Enter Title and Description & save changes.
Now click on upload picture.
Click upload picture from computer click add files, click select files and find the picture you want on your computer.
Click on the picture and then Open.
Click upload files, check-mark the picture you want, then click done.
Then save changes.

I have to say this is one of more difficult websites to add a profile photo.

 

My profile picture is me working on a Rose Parade float this year. I'm under a turtle gluing tiny flower bits

 

Apparently you can't enlarge the profile photo but I was able to click on the one you inserted into the post and enlarge it. Your Easter pic

 

I don't think it is finding a url.
I think it is finding a picture.
I just went to "my pictures 2013"
opened it in paint, and made it smaller

This is the fountain at Lakeview Rec Center

I think I will try making pictures bigger.

 

every picture posted online has it's own url. if you click on the picture when it opens up look at the address bar--that is the picture's url. every embedded picture must have one. Geek since 1985

 

But now after you embed it in a post here, it gets a url within the talkofsuncity. doesn't matter anyway, if it works for you it works

 

Picture of contrails last year from my courtyard early in the morning.

I was told that they were probably not from SkyHarbor,
but perhaps New Mexico, or Mexico.

At one point, I counted at least a dozen contrails.

 

I think I will choose a better picture for my profile.

 

silly me for giving you those steps. I see you already have a profile photo. a dolphin. so you know how to do it.

 

thanks! We so enjoy living here~ Here is another article FYI: http://nmlady.hubpages.com/hub/Retire-in-Sun-City-Arizona

 

How do I find url?
Usually I put pictures in a specific file.
Then I use paint to resize them.
They are bmp so I save as jpg.

 

Ants

This is an unpleasant subject but important.

Last year I got up on a Sunday morning and my counter was crawling with ants.
I did a lot of searching about getting rid of them.
The picture shows powder on my counter - didn't work.
I put out ant poison, pepper, etc - nothing worked.

Once a month the outside of my house is sprayed for bugs.
The guy came in and put a special poison around.
He advised me NOT to kill the ants but let them take poison back to their friends - it worked.

This year I am cleaning my counters several times a day with vinegar/water solution and keeping my fingers crossed.
I'll let you know if I get ants.