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.

Ocotillo Morte

A huge old ocotillo, toppled from age or perhaps from lack of water in the last dry spell, lies in a field of blooms, slowly decaying and nourishing the earth from which it sprang.