Desert Monsoon
A Desert in Full Bloom After Summer Monsoon
I thought monsoon season occurred in India, but we have one here in the New Mexico desert. We’ve had days of thick humidity blown around by warm winds and followed by long soaking rains. The flowers seem to pop out practically within minutes of rainfall. Here are some I saw on a morning walk in and around Las Cruces. Most are wildflowers.
If you see them on your travels, by all means, look but don’t touch them. As I have been wisely reminded by another nature lover, some of these plants can be poisonous, hallucinogenic and/or dangerous to your health in some way.
These yellow flowers have sprung up along the sidewalks and throughout the wild BLM land behind my house.
Here’s a sea of white flowers in the floodplain. When it rains, these washes fill up with swiftly moving water and can be very, very fast. Awesome and dangerous.
Giant barrel cactus. It will bloom with soft petals in yellow and orange and bear fruit.
Delicate, perfectly formed orange beauties found right along the side of the road.
My friend calls these trees River Willows. They’re hardy and spread like mad once they take hold. They’re found all over Las Cruces.
These are a sort of flowering melon plant that grows in the wild. They produce small green melons, which should not be confused with watermelon. Don’t eat them.
Not sure what these are, but I love them all the same! Almost primordial looking.
These shots were all found along one morning walk. Stay tuned for more as the desert keeps changing.
Thank you for reading.
Nina N Norby
August 8, 2017 at 11:58 amI love the blooming desert, great pictures
Paula Heikell
August 8, 2017 at 12:01 pmThanks, Nina!
Alma Marquardt
August 8, 2017 at 12:34 pmLooks beautiful Paula!!! Thank you for sharing.
Paula Heikell
August 10, 2017 at 10:27 amThanks for checking it out, Alma!
craig Larson
August 10, 2017 at 11:40 amNice photos. Thanks for sharing.
Paula
August 12, 2017 at 3:47 pmHey, thank you for checking them out! Not sure you’d love the desert, but you’d find it intriguing to investigate…..
Marsha W.
August 20, 2017 at 3:46 pmBeautiful! Thanks for sharing your corner of the world with us.