Beautiful Arizona

We were out at 7:30 this morning garage-saleing. They start early here and end by noon because of the hot afternoons. I took my camera along to take pictues of the native plants used in much of the landscaping. I love cactus - there are so many varieties. I got a book to help me identify them. Here are some of my best shots. Always keep in mind that I can't photo-shop any of my pictures until I get home.

This is a cluster of beavertail cactus.

Since I couldn't get out and stand in the middle of the road to take this picture, it's blurry and unclear because it's taken out the front window of the van (Curtis' new van). It's just a road bordered on both sides by tall palms. I like it.

This is a barrel cactus in bloom. I don't know what the smaller cluster of cacti is called.

More beavertail, I think.

Looking way up at the top of a palm.

I'm not sure what this is - yucca??

Pretty, but unknown to me.

This is pipe organ cactus.

One of the most common - Saguaro cactus - it's flowers are the Arizona state flower.

An orange tree. You can see some of the fallen fruit on the ground.

A really tall barrel cactus, I think. Birds drill holes in the trunks and build nests inside them.

A common sight in Sun City, where the seniors use golf 'cars' to get around - only legal in areas where the speed limit doesn't exceed 35 mph.

This cactus has a beautiful blossom. I'm not sure what type it is though.

And I love these - I think they're Queen Palms (my book isn't very comprehensive).

So that's it for today, and it's only 10:15 am.