Anna's Humminbird and Ocotillo

Female Anna's Hummingbird on Ocotillo.  One the drive to Anza Borrego, the desert was awash in blooming Ocotillo and red barrell cactus!  You could see the tall spiky branches covered with orange flowers, spread across the desert for miles.  It's been a really dry year so most of the wildflowers didn't come up this year but the Ocotillo, having deep roots to tap into subterranean water supplies, are blooming like clockwork.

Desert Lilly

Desert Lilly, Hesperocallis undulata; Anza Borrego, California. The desert is ablaze with flowers including Sand Verbena, Brown-eyed Evening Primrose, and Arizona Lupine. There were also a few Desert Lillies interspersed between the blaze of yellow and lavender wildflowers, the sparkling white flowers really standing out. It's hard to imagine these plants growing out in the middle of the dry desert sand, given their water-loving cousins that most of us are more familiar with. That just makes it all the more amazing and exciting to see!

Awash in Spring Color

The desert is alive in wildflowers right now. We've had an extremely wet Winter/Spring and everything is blooming. Wow. Miles of sand was just covered with purple, yellow and white flowers. It's a few weeks of glory and then it all disappears but what a sight! Shown here is Coyote Canyon near Anza Borrego. The flowers were growing all along the road and extended up to the hills. Coyote Canyon has one of the few springs that is active all year round and hosts a herd of Big Horn Sheep as well. In the foreground is Dune Evening Primrose, Oenothera deltoides and Sand Verbena, Abronia villosa (purple).