I expected the rocks. But I didn't expect the flowers. I figured it was too late in the season to have anything blooming out in this part of the desert, so the flowers were a pleasant surprise!
Paper bag bush, AKA bladder sage. Aren't these unusual looking? The pink globes add color and interest to the desert landscape, and sometimes sound. On occasional windy days, the seeds rattle around inside the "paper bags" and make a delightful tinkling sound. Nature's wind chime!
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| Mojave astor |
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| Boulders erode in mysterious ways! |
Indigo bush deserves a mention. It was all over the place on this hike, yet it's distribution seems strangely limited. I frequently hike a mile or two eash of here and never see it. I also hike west of here and don't see it. Why it grows only in this area is a mystery to me.
It was crazy windy for the entire hike, and Mitch and I were laughing about the two crazy geezers out hiking in a wind storm. We didn't see another soul all hike, although that's normal for this remote area. All photos were taken using my iPhone, which did a remarkable job of capturing clear flower photos despite strong winds blowing them all over the place!
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| The Blob! |
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| Orange, yellow, purple, and white flower's in a single photo! |
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| This rocky spire might make a nice Milky Way foreground! |
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| More desert indigo putting on a show. |
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| Nice complementary colors! |
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| A short climb up to a small arch resulted in the photo below. |
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| Very cool little arch! |
Thanks for stopping by!!
Flowers are always a pleasant surprise. In the desert they are like little miracles.
ReplyDeleteWow! Mother Nature's creativity is awesome ~ from beautiful flowers to rock formation ~ and captured so well with you phone camera ~ Great post and photos ~ thanks, ~
ReplyDeleteWishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Dearest Peter,
ReplyDeleteThat was an added bonus—no doubt.
Love the Mojave aster (you wrote: astor...).
It indeed is a photographer's heaven to be out there—day or night!
Hugs,
Mariette
I've never heard of the paper bag bush. Cool! So much color. I wouldn't have expected it.
ReplyDelete...Paper bag bush, AKA bladder sage sure are descriptive names. The stone formations are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteQuerido amigo, preciosa entrada, es el milagro de la naturaleza preciosas fotos, me encanto!!!
ReplyDeleteAbrazos y besos
Wow those rock formations are amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch bizarre scenes.
ReplyDeleteI love the contrast of the harsh boulders against the flowers, and then add those fluffy clouds in the background and it makes for such beautiful captures!
ReplyDeleteI love your adventures!! And of course your photos. You know, most photos I take by a large margin are with my cell phone. It takes great photos. My "big" camera is great for magnification and distance and I use a waterproof point and shoot for anything in a kayak or otherwise wet place.
ReplyDeleteThose paper sack flowers are cool. I've seen them around here but I cannot remember if was out in the wild or in a garden. I'm getting old so you know I might have just imagined the whole thing.
🤣
DeleteUnexpected flowers is the definition of lovely! Yes, I liked those pink globes quite a lot. They remind me of our rainbow shower tree which drips with little Chinese lanterns. I have to remark on the tripod Rock because it's well remarkable! You always share amazing things that I would never otherwise see and I am grateful. Aloha!
ReplyDeleteAmazing rock formations!
ReplyDeleteAmazing adventure!
ReplyDeleteThe vibrant flowers against the rugged rocks are breathtaking.
The Paper Bag Bush is so unique!
Your photos beautifully captured the desert's hidden beauty.
Happy Friday!
Love the flowers. They bring such a nice touch to the desert. And the last photo looks like an elephant :-)
ReplyDeleteConsidering all the rain we got this season, I'm not that surprised at the flowers. I imagine there's some groundwater still lingering.
ReplyDeleteThose are fascinating formations! I love the color of the indigo bush. Bladder sage! I've never seen those, even in books, etc. Deserts are so colorful in spring. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for introducing me to the paper bag bush! Oh, would I love to hear them for real... At least I have two wind chimes.
ReplyDeleteThe Indigo bush is very pretty, too.
The Blob... go for James Blish, it´s really like watching TOS! And it´s especially fun in the desert.
You captured the rock formation prettily. Looks you enjoyed the surprise blooms as well
ReplyDeleteWonderful place, amazing rock formations. Great clicks.
ReplyDeleteAll these interesting shapes and sizes of the boulder rocks are amazing to look at
ReplyDeleteWow--- faces, witches, and the last one is an elephant! Wonderful shots.
ReplyDeleteNice all those strange flowers and shapes of the rocks.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. I love all the flowers but I think I like the rock formations best.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great theme -- so nice to see the desert blooming like this.
ReplyDeleteIt was another beautiful hike with nice surprises. You passed beautiful rocks and arches again. The flowers in the desert are a beautiful enrichment, especially the combination of the purple and yellow flowers is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying all the oddly shaped rocks as much as I'm enjoying all the wildflowers. That one you call the blob is most unusual. It's like it's a rock turned into a tent.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures, but Im thinking "if I were there I'd be worrying and wondering where is the snake?"
ReplyDeleteVery beautifully captured
ReplyDeleteWas the erosion of the rocks long ago, with water, or going on now, with wind and blowing sand? Or gravity, aided with wind, so bits give way? That last photo is beautiful. The paper bag flowers, I'd love to see those or hear them.
ReplyDeleteA very windy hike, but the air seems surprisingly clear for a desert storm. What a thrill to discover so mant beautiful wild flowers. The worn rock features are stunning.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are a wonderful surprise.
ReplyDeleteThe paper bags flowers are so amazing! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are lovely and the rocks are nature’s sculptures. Beautiful together!
ReplyDeleteNice flowers in the desert, I would like to collect a few paparbags to take them home for decoration. See an elephant head in the last and more mysterious things in other photos.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend
I'm finally here, I think. I kept getting error messages when trying to post my comment yesterday so trying again. I'm a flower lover; I'm not familiar with desert flowers given that there are no deserts near me here on the East Coast. I loved that paper bag flower in the first picture, especially. And, of course, all that desolate scenery. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for not giving up on me, and I appreciate your comment!
DeleteThese rock formations totally rock! The flowers are a great bonus.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
a lot of flora on your hike. boy, the wind sounds strong.
ReplyDeleteGreat rock formations on a hike punctuated with beautiful, if unexpected, flowers. I remember west Texas. Not much to stop the wind once it decides to blow.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful desert in bloom pictures, so rare! And some new and different rock formations (for me virtually anyway) -- that tall spire particularly. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteFantastic, awesome as my grands would say. I love the flowers , but these are some of the most captivating formations I have seen. They are actually hard to wrap my mins around. oh and we loved the 'natures windchimes. THANKS
ReplyDeleteThe desert is alive and full of colors if you walk with open eyes - and the rock formations are absolutely fascinating!
ReplyDeleteAll the best from Austria,
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/05/weltreise-2024-immer-noch-tasmanien.html
I love that paper bag bush! And would love to see a close up of the blooms of the indigo...but loved the photos you showed. The rocks are so, so interesting. I have always had a thing for rocks...
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful time in the desert -- I love the patches of yellow especially (and forgot to say how lovely they were in the post above also).
ReplyDeleteThe rocks look really surreal and the flora is amazing
ReplyDelete