If there is one reason to wear long pants when you hike in the desert, it’s the prickly pear. They are everywhere and their spikes are very long and sharp.
I cannot count the number of times I have been concentrating on making an image and I go to move my tripod just a little bit, take a step, and *wham* prickly pear in the ankle.
Or even worse — have you ever done this? — you decide you want a low angle so you crouch down and *wham* prickly pear in the bum. Ya, well, it’s not nearly as funny when it happens 😉
There are many different varieties of the prickly pear – this one has red spines. I made this image with the sun setting behind the cactus so the backlight would make the red spines glow. Please click the image to view a larger version.
There is a spineless variety too. They are much more friendly to hikers.
Ray found this purple prickly pear especially for me!
Isn’t that sweet? I think?
What a nice find. Good stuff Anne.
Thank you so much Chris, much appreciated.
The first one is stunning…though I’ve never had the experience of clicking these in real desert!
Hi Sid, Oh I highly recommend a trip to the desert! It is wonderful. It is so opposite from where I live with the ocean and the rain forest but I do love it here. Thanks for your comments.
Beware of some red hearts! Ouch! Lovely! Thanks for sharing!
Hi PDog, thank you very much for your comments on the prickly heart. Sorry for the late reply, I have had very limited internet access lately. I’m glad you enjoyed the image.
Have you ever eaten the prickly pear fruit? It’s actually quite yummy. Wonderful shots Anne and I love the heart shaped one.
Hi Edith, No, I’ve never tried any of that stuff. I know you can eat some of the fruits and make tea with other cacti, but I haven’t tried it. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to food.
Anne – OMG!! Yes, the exact same thing happened to me! I took a cruise to the Bahamas, and while in the island, I was trying to get a shot of some cacti, when I backed into a cactus and got several in the bum! I went to the medic on the cruise and had them removed! How embarrassing that was!
They say some people would do anything for a great shot. I guess we’re both living proof!
Enjoyed your story!
Kathy from WV
I really shouldn’t have laughed but I did. But seriously – three very different images. Last one is pretty special.
Hi Andy, that’s ok I forgive your laughing. Did you see Kathy’s comment? That one made me laugh pretty hard. Thank you very much for your kind comments.
Those look like they might be worse than the Devil’s Club around here?
I don’t know. I’ve fallen face first into some pretty nasty devils club patches in Kodiak Alaska. Not too many things come close to that.
Hi Michael, I’m not sure about the Devil’s Club, I guess I haven’t come across it on the island, is that possible? I’ll have to look it up (when I have better internet, my access here is really bad). Thanks for your comments!
If you had a run in with Devils Club on the Island you’d remember it! I didn’t really pay much attention to it either until I fell into a big one. Hopefully you find a different way to become familiar with it.
I better google that before we get back.
I’ve never had the opportunity to see these in person so thanks for sharing. I like low light image showing off the pricklies around the edges. Also loving the red heart. I’ve met some people whose hearts might look about the same…very prickly. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Zachary, Thank you so much for your visit and comments. Yes, there are people out there with those prickly hearts 😉 I’ll have to check out your post on the Tillamook museum, we didn’t visit the museum but we went to the cheese factory and man I love tillamook cheese!!
Awwww…. Very sweet!!! Ain’t love grand….
Hi Colleen!! Sorry for the late reply, I have had very limited internet access lately. Great to see you on the blog. Yes, love it pretty grand! Ray and I have been having the time of our lives on this trip. Thanks for the visit.
Really nice images Anne. I’ll be able to see these in a little over a month. Your shots are getting me excited about my trip. That last image reminds me of the song, “Love Hurts”…
Hi Len, oh yeah! Love hurts, I totally should have named the image that. That’s a perfect name for the image, I hope you don’t mind if I borrow that. I’m glad you’re getting excited about your trip, I can’t wait to see your interpretation of Texas. Thanks for your comments!
Very nice shots, Anne. I prefer not to mess with those things!
Hi Mark, yes, best not to mess with them but keeping tabs on their location can be hard when you get distracted! Thanks for your comments.
The last one is super sweet…pink heart of thorns 🙂
Thank you very much Sid!
I worked south of Las Vegas around Searchlight, in the Mojave. Besides the barrel cactus the fishhook cactus and the prickly pears, there were the cholla, the lady fingers, the jumping cactus, and I am sure many more, some, I am sure with barbs like a porcupine quill. My poor dog. Some of these critters seem to have some way to inflame the wound. I ran into something similar with hawthorne.
So gorgeous! My husband has been wanting to hike here and your photos have sold me.
Thank you Holly! I love Texas. Hope you go to Big Bend National Park, it is extraordinary.