Cholla cactus bloom

I thought I would do something a little different this week.  This is a cholla cactus bloom.  You have to be careful where you step because those barbs will attach themselves to whatever they can find!  One time we stopped in Lone Pine, at the visitors' center.  Fortunately I was wearing socks and tennis shoes because I got 3 of them stuck to my shoes and I was carefully watching where I put my feet!  You cannot pull them off with your hands...you have to use a comb or something hard.  Dogs step on them, too.  They get caught in horses' tails.  Ugh.  One time, at the Superstition Mountains museum, I looked over at a cholla and there was a dead bird in it!  But, some birds DO make their nests in this cactus because it WILL keep away snakes and other predators.  While their blossoms are beautiful, beware of them!   Enjoy their beauty, but stay AWAY~!