prickly pears
Today it was raining again. The boys and I took a walk and it was heavenly...wet, but heavenly. This week over at AYOC, the color to photograph this week is simply yellow. Yellow is my favorite color of all time I think. Zane has picked up on it as well and the whole family knows it. If there is a yellow cup, shirt, crayon to choose from, everyone knows the yellow one is his. So, when I told him we were going to be looking for yellow on our walk he was ecstatic. We shot several other yellow things, but the best photos of the morning were of the prickly pear cactus blossoms.
They are everywhere in this part of the country, in the pastures as well as in professionally landscaped yards. They come up volunteer in our yard and my father digs them up and throws them in a big cactus pile out by the garden. It is a huge pile of cactus now about 4 to 5 feet tall. They are apparently very happy if you were to judge by this bloom.
After the flower is done, an edible fruit will develop. The flavor of a ripe prickly pear cactus fruit depends on the variety but I have heard them described as tasting like many different fruits including strawberries, watermelons, honeydew melons, and figs. I think they taste most like a melon. They can be cooked into jams and preserves or cooked down into a syrup as a base for jelly and candy. Then, this syrup can be reduced even further into a dark red or black paste that is fermented into a potent alcoholic drink called "coloncha." I have never tried coloncha, but am guessing it would have a similar kick as moonshine might.
You can read more about using the cactus pads in recipes and the medicinal uses of the prickly pear cactus here if you wish.
And since it was raining it wasn't the best day to try to photograph wildflowers. Hopefully, more tomorrow. But here are two other photos that we took. One of another of the wildflowers we captured...the cut leaved daisy. And another of the yellow chair that used to belong to my grandmother while I was browsing the new moda catalog my mom brought home from the shop. My fave collection was coincidentally called blossom. Oh, and so you see the fabrics framed in embroidery hoops? I know it is upside down, but right under the word urban. Now which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Believe me, there were many, many more shots of yellow. But I will save you photos of the yellow plastic pitcher on the kitchen counter, the yellow pillowcase on our bed, Rosie the yellow tabby (really more orange) cat and the rather large bone the farm dogs dragged up into the yard that was really more white colored.
