Spring blooms...and critters...in the Arizona Desert

I'm on my annual spring migration to the Arizona desert.  The rain year has been about average here, enough to produce a nice bloom.  Here's an ocotillo.

Hedgehog cactus blooms.  The cacti are a bit slow this year...there was a hard freeze in January and many areas above 1500 feet saw a bit of snow in February!

Paloverde blooms and buds.

A prickly pear produces a red flower, with a bee working industriously within.

Cristate saguaro!  This one is at Tohono Chul park in Tucson.  No, the cactus doesn't have eyes...those are bird holes in the trunk.  I know of a number of cristate saguaros, but they're rare...occurring only once in several thousand cacti.

Always love the closeup pix of saguaro spines.

Desert tortoise at Tohono Chul.  This guy has his own enclosure at the park.

This prickly pear will be sporting many fine flowers very soon!

Blow up the pic and you'll see the tail of a baby rattlesnake, heading away through the shadow.  He was on the path at Tohono Chul just before I arrived...this was the best pic I could get.  You have to keep an eye out for rattlers in Tucson...my friends here have snake tongs at the ready in their yards.