I really like desert flora, and Albuquerque has given me a great opportunity to enjoy some. I've included a couple of my favorite pictures here. This little flock of Texas Rainbow stretched out their limbs so imploringly that I was all but forced to call them adorable, though that is an uncommon thing for cacti.
The second one is not cute, but it does have an unique name, "cow's tongue". I think it's interesting how the cactus has spines to protect its precious moisture from would-be cactus eaters, and the humans who own the adjacent property put up barbed wire to protect their stuff from would be thieves. And this is the thing that I like about desert plants, that even though they're covered in inch-long spikes and have names like "horse crippler" (an actual cactus), they almost universally put forth beautiful, colorful flowers. Barbed wire has no such charm.
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