A declaration of love

I know I have married the right guy when he wakes me up excitedly: 'You have to get your camera and get pictures of the Mesquite Tree Cactus - it's performing today!'

With nearly 30 flowers, our climbing Harrisia is really spectacular. It is also getting nearly too heavy for its small nurse Mesquite tree. The sun is not quite up, I need some more light for good photos, but Randy was afraid the flowers would wilt. Our short cold spell seems to be over.

There may be painting inspirations in these photos, but for now, I'm overwhelmed. I need to simplify but how to do that when the beauty is in multitude and profusion?

I know that I definitely married the best possible guy when a couple of hours later, he stands in my studio door (the Phippen Art Show is looming close): 'I hate to keep interrupting you, but you really have to get your camera again!' From his delighted tone, I think it's more flowers, though I also thought I heard him say something about 'very cute and pretty'.  Dove babies? No - they are neither. Baby quail? They would not wait for me to get my camera...

Of course he's right, the rattler at the door of the potting shed is small, pretty and cute. Tightly curled as he is, he would fit the palm of my hand. But Randy says: 'No, don't disturb him'. So we only drop a penny next to him for scale. He puts out a dark purple tongue once and then withdraws to his meditation.

The pattern is amazing. I don't think I've seen one with white eye brows before. The contrast of the pattern all along the body is amazing, maybe he's freshly molted?  We never got a look at tail and rattle because we did not want to disturb him.

When we checked on him an hour later, the penny marked the spot where he had been, now in full sunlight. But the little rattler had withdrawn to what shade remained and curled up even more tightly. Is he going to stay there all day? Or at least until quail or squirrels make so much fuss that he'll indignantly slither off?  Very soon our local snakes will be exclusively night active to avoid the scorching heat of the day.