SHOW ME SOME YELLOW

We always had nasturtiums in the garden when I was a little girl. They were either orange or yellow and they were a favorite of caterpillars. We never thought of eating them ourselves. But you can.

They are a peppery addition to a salad and imagine how pretty they would look among the green. Unfortunately for us in Central Texas their bloom time is short. As temperatures have slowly increased into the 90s, even growing in a pot with afternoon shade and daily watering, the leaves have become mottled and blotched. They are not the only thing suffering.

On the upper part of our property I came across this graveyard of prickly pear cactus. It was not a pretty sight. This was probably the result of our brutal 2011 summer.

You can see how dry and burnt the vegetation is. Even the cedars are drying out.

And yet, at the edges of the pile of dead pads there are new pads growing and flowering; bees and beetles rolling around in the stamens.

And yet another yellow blooming cactus. For now the cactus flowers do so much to brighten the drought stricken land.