Torch Cactus

Here it is, Friday night.  After a very full work week, I'm ready to settle in and ...... settle.

Dinner and a little bit of photo editing; a cool drink on the patio while reading a good story .....
it doesn't get much better than that for me!

But it reminds me as I write this that my focus should be on those little moments that make me feel good; to be able to put the job aside and stop thinking about it.  Some days I succeed better than others. 

When work is going very rough, I'm the kind who mulls things over every which way, trying to find a solution that works for me, and for the company, in all our best interests.  But the head honchos at the home office location are creating changes that are out of my control, and I don't feel an integral part of the overall picture, but more like a cog in a machine whose parts are wearing out.  So I've set my mind to arriving on time, doing what needs doing as best I can, then leaving it all behind when it's time to head home.

I'm hoping to get out and give my new camera a go out on the road ... who knows where, but outside my own backyard!   In the meantime, here's another to share with you.  This gorgeous torch cactus blooms every year on Mother's Day.  The blooms were huge and abundant this year!

Cactus Corner

It felt good to be out in the sunshine,
working in the yard today!

It wasn't a really warm day,
but warm enough if you kept moving.





I raked out as many river rocks from
the corner as I could.....











and planted a semi circle of bricks
to wall off the section that I'll call
"Cactus Corner"

Now I have a place to put some
cactus that are planted in pots
and getting to big to stay confined

If the temps stay up, and don't
drop too much over night, the
ground may be warm enough
to give these guys a new home!

Work & Blooms

When its time to take inventory in my BigBox store, everything revolves around that.  My working schedule for the past 10 days has been up and down, with long, hard days and plenty of work.  In my position, I deal with all the things that are damaged or broken and need to be returned to vendors.  And the biggest frustration I have is with other co-workers who know for 90 days when inventory will be, yet wait until the last day, the last minute, to finish bringing all of those kinds of items to my department.  Taking all of the inventory processes into account, the time allotted to me to complete my tasks is very limited.  When I arrived at the store this morning, I found I'd been inundated over night with carts and carts full of things. Even though the store tells everyone that the cutoff time is 8pm the night before, that doesn't mean people pay attention.  Needless to say, my first hour into my job this morning and I was snapping at anyone who tried to bring more -- actually, I was snippy with anyone who tried to talk to me!  Not my typical behavior!!  Part of the problem with being that way has to do with the lack of sleep.  I worked a goofy shift of 2-11pm, then turned around and was back at work at 4:45am.  Definitely not enough sleep, or even rest, for this old gal!  I took a 3 hour nap after I got home, and darn if I'm still not feeling sluggish.  

With all the working hours, I've found it hard to get in much workout time -- we shall see what the scale says tomorrow when I see my demon .... errrr.... Damien, my personal trainer.  *laughs*   I missed out watering my cactus yesterday, so after my marathon nap today, I slipped out and gave them all a big drink, and found that one of my newest cacti is growing a brand new bloom!   (Blooms don't last long here, so catching them when they happen is special)

As I'm posting this, I'm listening to a link fav blogger Lloyd Kahn had posted an hour ago: 

The sun goes down on the cattle trail and I'm gazing at the moon
It's roundup time way out west when the cactus is in bloom.

by Jimmie Rodgers.  If you haven't heard an old fashioned cowboy yodel in a while, give a listen here! )

Cactus Beauty

In the past year, I've been experimenting with different cacti for my backyard.  I shop at the different stores, and not knowing anything about most of them, I often purchase them based on their names, ie:  Old Man of the Andes, or Red-Headed Irishman.

This is the
Red Headed Irishman
in bloom this spring!

This one surprised me!
in the lower right of this
lil guy, it starts out as an
ugly looking growth, then
stems up in a strange
brownish green, only
to bloom beautifully
in a few days!
(Can't find the catalog with
the real name of this one!)





One of the things about cactus when they bloom, the blooms never last long.  So when you happen upon one, take a moment and  enjoy the beauty! Within the next couple weeks, the Arizona State Flower (The Saguaro cactus flower) should be blooming as well.  I'm hoping I catch one or two :)