At the Desert Garden in Phoenix, AZ, a new succulent to me, a purple opuntia or prickly pear.

Prickly pear cactus in Arizona, in tones of lavender or purple. See the heart-shaped paddles?

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Visited Camp Verde, AZ, and watched the rain clouds roll in.

A big rainstorm coming in the sky above Camp Verde AZ orchard, branches bare in the winter

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North of Phoenix, AZ last week, some cactus and flowers by the highway.

Iconic saguaro cactus welcomes us to Arizona in wintertime

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Went to Arizona and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Sharp stuff!

Sharp spines on this desert plant in Phoenix Botanical Garden

Joining Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

I was in the mood to show a few pix from that Arizona trip we took. There were many photos I really loved but I’ll just show three. These are from the St Xavier Mission outside of Tuscon. The sky was really that blue. For contrast, below are some of the candles lit by the faithful in the church’s exquisite interior.

For more skies around the world, click HERE.

I thought I’d show you something unusual. Here is a view of saguaro cactus near Tuscon, Arizona. I love the way they grow sprinkled in the landscape, a real forest! Remember, each of these is huge, maybe 30 feet or ten meters tall, and can be a hundred years old if not older. For more scenic photos everywhere, click HERE.

Thought I’d add a link to some info about these cacti HERE.

This is a roadside glimpse of shadows, so easy to find in Arizona, so much harder up here in Seattle. It was almost like artwork on the walls, I thought. Take a look at other interesting views of shadows HERE.

Was in Carefree AZ this week and they sure have great shadows there. For more intriguing shadows around the world, click HERE.

When thinking shadows, it’s hard not to think of my visit to Arizona near Sedona early last year. I had just gotten a digital camera and pretty much went crazy, taking jillions of photos. Here are two from that trip, with shadows as key parts of the photos. For more shadow interpretations coordinated by Hey Harriet’s great blog, click HERE.

The late-day sun is a blessed thing for those with a camera in their hot little hands, itching for something lovely to capture. Another Arizona scene for your pleasure. For other fascinating shadow views, click HERE.