The Riparian Preserve seems to have gone to the birds and it’s true, there are all sorts of birds and lots of them. Birders are there daily, some with camera lenses as big as my leg and almost as long. To them my telephoto lens must look like a macro lens.
But it’s not just about the birds or even about the animals (most abundant of which are the rabbits.) There are plants, too, and the palo verde, native to the Sonoran desert where we are, is one of my favorites. I love the bright yellow and the feathery look.
Palo verde means “green stick” in Spanish and once you get closer, you can see why.
The trees can photosynthesize through their green bark, an important adaptation for a tree that drops its leaves during the warm season and in response to fall cooling. Palo verdes also drop stems and branches to combat drought. ~Desert USA
I like the flowers so much that I keep taking photos of them. 🙂 They look particularly nice with the sun behind them.
As you can see, I’m not the only one who finds them attractive. Bees, flies, and beetles are pollinators who enjoy spending a bit of time on a palo verde flower. Green sticks and yellow flowers make a great combination for people and insects alike.
This, that and the other thing 
Wow! Beautiful photos Janet! I like these flowers!
The flowers/blossoms are lovely and the whole tree is striking.
I can imagine that
I’m learning about all kinds of new things. Lovely photos, Janet. It’s hard to top the last one, great capture of the bee.
A flower with a bee always seems good.
i’m so happy to see all of it
🥰😊
It is beautiful when you get a closer look at those blooms!
It is and I also enjoy the graceful lines and colors of the entire tree.
Wow! What a beautiful plant! New to me & thank you!
So that’s how you get such fab close-ups; with a BIG lens.
Only when I have the camera and the telephoto. For quite a lot of my macros I use my iPhone. 🙂 I do have a macro lens for my camera but it would require me to carry a pack to put it in. Haven’t quite gone that far yet.
Ohh, is there a macro setting on your iphone?
I have an iphone, but don’t see a macro setting. Maybe yours is new than mine.
No. I just zoom in. I only have a 6S so nothing special.
That’s what I have! Oboy!
I am really enjoying seeing your nature photos from the desert. Is this preserve somewhere you can walk to or do you have to travel to get there? It looks beautiful.
It’s about a 15 minute drive and I don’t begrudge one minute of it. At 5:15 am, the traffic is pretty light and I usually make good time. If I want to exercise walk, the canal is better as there isn’t much to photograph so I walk fast the whole time. 🙂 It’s also cooler at the Preserve because there are trees and water, so that’s nice, although next week the low is likely to be 75 at that time. :-0
I think your temps there have been on par with Rob’s in Qatar. His were 118 the other day.
Close but I hope we never hit that!
The Palo Verde really is a most beautiful bush, and wonderful to see it and the insects thriving!
It’s my new favorite tree. 🙂 Can’t stop taking photos of it and trying to capture the beauty of it.
Gorgeous plant. Thanks for introducing it to me Janet.
You’ve very welcome, Su. It’s one of my new favorites.
It’s called palo verde? Now my family and I are discussing the yellow tree is called the green tree and this reminds us of redbud trees, which have purple buds. Good share! That could easily be the prettiest yellow tree of fluff! I’m a fan!
It’s a beauty, Joey, and I’m glad you enjoyed it. Lots of new plants to learn about here!
I will enjoy that, Janet 🙂