Cactus Flowers Et Al

I'm in the Arizona desert.  By mid April, the wildflowers are largely gone, especially this year when little rain has fallen since December.  But at 2500 feet in Saguaro National Park, the cactus are thriving.  These are rusty red buckhorn cholla flowers.

The insects love the prickly pear blooms. 

Buckhorn cholla come in several colors.  This magenta bloom is typical.

Ocotillos are also in full bloom.

A prickly pear in full bloom.

A fine buckhorn cholla on the north side of Tucson, near the Westward Look. 

Saguaro skyline in Tucson.

Some buckhorns produce yellow blooms...they're versatile!

On the way to Arizona I stopped in San Diego.  Visits here are always nostalgic, since I lived in the area off and on from 1973 to 1977 when I was in the Navy.  Didn't like the Navy, but I had a lot of fun on the beach.  La Jolla was one of my favorite hangouts then...still is.  A few things have changed in the last 35 years.  One of them is Children's Beach.  In the old days, this sheltered cove was a popular bathing spot for kids and their parents.  Now the sloats have taken over big time!

La Jolla has a wide variety of architectural styles.  Mediterranean is probably the most common, but there are still some old, rustic beach bungalows tucked away in the 'hood.

Just north of La Jolla cove, the rocks have been appropriated by cormorants and pelicans.  There are a lot of sloats here too, just not in this picture.

Classic La Jolla shot.  The pink edifice of La Valencia remains an icon.

I visited Petco Park for the first time today.  Nice place...it's right downtown.  Nice TCU too.  I have seen many Padres' games over the years at the old stadium, now occupied by only the Chargers.  The tarp in left field was down because there were rain showers in the morning.