Prickly Pear annual Spring bloom in the Sonora Desert…
Before reading the references below on the Prickely Pear, allow me to muse about our newest adventure to the desert. There is beauty here we haven’t yet experienced fully in our lives.
O. ficus-indica is polyploid, hermaphroditic, and autogamous.[6] As Opuntia species grow in semiarid environments, the main limiting factor in their environment is water. They have developed a number of adaptations to dry conditions, notably succulence.[7]
A perennial shrub, O. ficus-indica can grow up to 5 m in height, with thick, succulent, and oblong to spatulate stems called cladodes. It has a water-repellent and sun-reflecting waxy epidermis. Cladodes that are 1–2 years old produce flowers, with the fruit’s colours ranging from pale green to deep red.[6]
The plants flower in three distinct colours: white, yellow, and red. The flowers first appear in early May through the early summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the fruits ripen from August through October.[citation needed]
The fruits are typically eaten, minus the thick outer skin, after chilling in a refrigerator for a few hours. They have a taste similar to sweet watermelon. The bright red/purple or white/yellowish flesh contains many tiny hard seeds that are usually swallowed, but should be avoided by those who have problems digesting seeds.
Goodbye Lincoln County, Oregon & Depoe Bay…
We celebrate our 38th Anniversary today, Judy ‘n me forever. We’re heading down to Yachats for dinner at Drift Inn. We say until so long until next time to Yachats, our most favorite hang out on the coast.
Another big hit for us on special dates is Tidel Raves. I love the Cioppino! https://www.tidalraves.com/
Dinner last night at Drift Inn, Yachats, was as beautiful as our very first anniversay 38 years ago now. I can think of no other gift in life more special than having a loving partner in old age and feeling her soul touching my whole being. I know we’ll have many more anniversaries and memories to celebrate as we move to the Sonora. Keep you posted!
Back to a few sometimes emotional musings about our 17 beautiful years living in Little Wave Cove, just south of Depoe Bay.
September 2005, move-in ready!
After staying in Newport with Mocha, our furry loved one, a couple of weeks, we moved into our dream beach cabin near the Cove. What a stunning coastal community full of mindfulness beauty, natures vortex in full motion as the spirits gather to keep us whole.
We walked in to the Sea Hag in Depoe Bay for breakfast that first morning in town. It’s kinda scary and exciting at the same time moving to a new community.
Turns out former Mayor of Depoe Bay Jim White had breakfast at the Hag most mornings. When he looked at us standing there waiting to be seated, Jim got right up and asked us to join him.
Well, this was the moment well fell in love with this little coastal village with the “Smallest Harbor in The World.’
Read more about our coastal experience in this post, and much more.
The Sonora brings my soul home again to something more spiritual than ever before. I thought the Oregon Coast took my soul to places never discovered before.
Look to the “Prickly Pear” as it will point you to a thriving community of fauna and flora. And, desert creatures to love, if you whisper.
I’m thinking and dreaming of sitting in silence in the shade among the tall Saguaro. I’d love to make friends with the cute little snorting desert pigs called Peccary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peccary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro
We say, “so long for now, Oregon, hello Arizona.” Our hearts and souls will never leave. See you all next summer to cool down some.
