Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Purple…beauty and the beast

I usually visit the desert in January or February, an enjoyable break from the cold, but not the ideal time for flowers.  Although hotter now, the desert is blooming, and every morning during my walk (a photographic walk, not an exercise walk), I took photo after photo of the beauty.  Among the array of glorious colors, purple was the least on display.  But there were examples of it, as you can see from my entry in Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week.

The flowers on cacti aren’t always long-lived.  Sometimes in a day or two, they’re gone.  While they bloom, however, they’re often stunning.  The size of the flowers is sometimes incongruous:  the mighty saguaro has tiny flowers, while some much smaller plants have large, opulent blooms.  Whatever size or color, these flowers decorate an otherwise mostly neutral-hued landscape with bright splashes of color.  But beware of stepping back unawares while taking a photo or or trying to pick a flower.  They’re well-protected by a bevy of deadly thorns whose effects, if touched, can be rather beastly!