right on time

In April, I spotted healthier prickly pear pads growing. More than usual. I guessed it would be a banner year for big beautiful yellow cactus blooms. An abundance of not so Hidden Cactus are blooming strong this year. If you can see easily them, be warned there are even more pads hidden. When you are off the beaten path, be careful where you step!

First bloom this season was spotted in an area at the bottom of our property that I call Cactus Cove. The dogs and I frequently walk past it. I keep the dogs out of there and other known prickly area's. For obvious reasons.

first Prickly Pear Cactus bloom
(Opuntia genus) 6.22.26

A few days later, Brad asked if I had seen any cactus blooming on our property. He told me an area we rarely use had a lot of them. I couldn't wait to drive the side-by-side over to see what I could see. Wow!!! He was not kidding! 

too many blooms to count (47 secs)

We frequented this area the first year we owned our land (2016). It was the only existing entrance/way to access our property. We thought perhaps it would be a good home site. We quickly changed our mind. There is something to be said for revisiting an area to get a feel for it. 

6.27.26

I was worried the cacti might cause tire issues and dug them out of the sandy entrance way in 2016. The cactus I dug out bloomed. Even when exposed and heaped on a pile.

intricate blooms

With the area undisturbed, the cacti have come back in force. We have learned to love them, and even named our place after them: Hidden Cactus Ranch. 

papery blooms

so delicate and fierce at the same time

seeing yellow

With photography, it is always a good idea to turn around. How do you know if the view is more interesting if you don't look? Sunsets are a good example. Try it some time during a colorful one, and you will see for yourself. Many times an eastern sky is just as stunning as the west, or more so. I call it "surround sound color".

Our skies have been rather blase' lately, but I got a colorful surprise when I turned around and walked our paths in reverse yesterday. I approached an area I call "cactus cove" and what do my wandering eyes see? They were seeing yellow!! A lot of yellow. How on earth did I miss this:

cacti buds close up tight overnight

Is it possible walking in reverse made that big of a difference? Maybe I am looking, but not really seeing.

wider view of cactus cove

Brad mentioned he saw some cactus blooms last week in another area, and forgot to mention it. We enjoying seeing their bright yellow for 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather. Looks like a favorable year for our native cacti. 

so many buds on one plant!

See the Japanese Beetle above? They showed up this week and are also on my sunflowers, calla lilies, and day lilies. I am back to constant bug drowning patrol, ugh!!! I see them flying around my veggie garden too. Boo hoo!

28 seconds of one of many cacti patches

the buds fascinate me

technically they are called "areoles" 

my best effort at a closeup, while swatting mosquitos

cactus watch

After missing out on cacti blooms the past couple years, I was determined to see them flower. They were in bud for an eternity:  

June 3

There are two types of native cacti growing wild in WI sand prairies. We have Plains Prickly Pear (Opuntia macrorhiza) cactus. They typically flower towards the end of June for an extended time, and can be found where sandy soil hasn't been disrupted. 

My cacti watch payed off this year. June 24 is the first day I saw a blooming cactus. It was hiding on the edge of the tree line across from our house. We had just gotten a fresh drink of water overnight, and the blooms were kissed by water droplets:

The cacti blooms came out a few days later at the bottom of our property, in a small area I call Cactus Cove. They looked like yellow roses: 
 

I kept checking on the Cactus Cove blooms, waiting for them to fully open. They had their struggles:

Japanese beetle infestation

We had a rainy stretch, and poof (!!) the cacti were done blooming in the Cactus Cove. There are a lot of cacti growing in our prairie area, it is pure sand. That area of our property has had the least amount of work done. This time of year it is a difficult area to enjoy. I look forward to future days with many more blooming discoveries!

Cactus Cove bloom

 

sunday stills ~ patterns

 

Prickly Pear growing in our Cactus Cove

We named our ranch (Hidden Cactus Ranch) after these hidden WI gems. They are growing literally everywhere the ground has not been disturbed, other than the heavily shaded woods. As much of nature, they have patterns of growth. What you see on growing on the left of the large pad are flower buds, they will start blooming soon. The beautiful yellow flowers last 2-3 weeks. The growth on the right side are three more pads. Click to see the cool pattern on those.

Pines in our Enchanted Forest

Nature offers patterns everywhere, if you let your mind do the wondering.


more ~ ~ Sunday Stills ~ ~ patterns

smell the pines

The past few weeks have been so busy, we haven't had time to work on our land. We did take a nice hike in the woods, and then walked the sunny loop.

The wooded paths do not connect, yet. We had to do some bush whacking & branch diving between the trails. It doesn't seem like we have that much left to clear, but in reality it will take much longer then appears. 

It is so interesting to see how the forest (and land) in general changes week to week... 

The spooky tree arms, 'er branches almost got Brad!!

Can't wait to ride the "spooky tree" trail we began creating,
with a little help from our deer friends.

Once we were out of the woods, the wildflowers that were spotty and struggling for light, stood out in bright patches along the edges of the loop...

I really like these bright orange & yellow flowers

Who knew spiderwort was a native wildflower? 

A sea of yellow

Yesterday after a very warm indoor ride at the barn, we hauled our mower for some long overdue mowing. You could hardly tell we had storms and a much needed dump of rain the night before, but you could sure smell it...mmmm...we took deep inhales...and longer exhales...instant smell of pines, from across the field...wow!!!

I've smelled pines many times before, even during rain, but never like that - it was soooo fresh! I don't know what it is about this property, but it's so quiet and serene...and offers instant relaxation.

Eventually we got to work. If that's what you want to call it.

Brad mowing the field island we cleaned up a while ago

Puttering along mowing one of the existing trails,
while my guy clears fallen wood ahead of me

 Brad blazed a trail through the grassy area,
until he got to the hill

 left or right?
left trail: towards the fields
right trail: further into the woods

Speaking of fields, second crop of alfalfa is done and the pasture grass we planted is looking good! So are the weeds, but those should be gone soon. 

pasture

We took one more looong look around...sigh...we already can't wait to call this home! Better get cracking on those house plans!! This land was such a unique find, don't know how we got so lucky?! I believe it was one of those things that was meant to be. If your a believer, you know what I mean...we are so grateful.

Before we left, we drove over to the area where the wild cactus grows more prevalent - they are just starting to bloom!!

taking a deep breath

It didn't take long to realize we need to sloooow down! You know the saying "Rome wasn't built in a day" and neither will our place. We need to take a deep breath, familiarize ourselves with the lay of the land, dream, visualize, explore and enjoy.

Sunday we did just that, after a bit more work. While Brad finished planting the pasture, I dug out some of these:

They are everywhere people haven't been! They grow like weeds, and they hurt!! My current neighbor across the road has some prickly pear that has grown on his slope for over 30 years. They are beautiful when they bloom. Cacti were my first plant loves when I was a child. I'll save that story for another day. I knew some species survived WI winters, but who knew Prickly Pear were native?!! Not me, and not just about everybody else in WI - unless you live in the area.

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, and having grown cactus - I am well aware of the evils. I made a pile to burn someday, and barely made a dent. It was easier to grab them by the roots & yank, until they got me ~ yeeeowww!! 

We called it a day early on, and headed out through the woods to try and figure out our property lines. Our son had joined us, the three of us went exploring...

The grassy scrub pine area above turns into hardwoods. There are some oaks, and some type of tree with thorns. My hubby loves those (not!) they got him more then once. We plan to figure out what we've got growing, and what shouldn't. Along with all the online resources, our local DNR offers help. We will be good stewards of this land, for not only us, but for future generations. 

Most trees are just starting to leaf out, who knows what they might be?

These have what looks like dried puff-balls hanging on them...

I am glad nobody could see us in the woods, it was pretty comical. It was like playing hide-n-go-seek. They might have been able to hear us tho?! There was a lot of calling out "can you see me now?" "ummmm, nope"  crunch, crunch, crunch "how about now" silence "move to your left, no the other left" crunch, crunch, crunch "ummmm, nope - wait - I think I see you" !!! We even stuck our hats on tall branches, sometimes it helped. We found our property markers, lines however proved to be difficult.

My favorite part of the woods, and the property, are the tall pines....sigh. I just love them!! Our wooded area is between 6-7 acres, not a lot - but enough to enjoy!! There are 15 more adjoining mixed wooded acres, with three nice owners (5 acres each). We've met them all, two previously owned parts of our land. I think we'll all end up sharing :)

the boys walking the pines
(archive photo)

As far as I can tell there is a mix of red pines and white pines...I had to look up which is which. Pathetic, I know. I need to get back to my Girl Scout ways, the ones that made me fall in love with nature as a child. I've forgotten so much, but not the feeling. It's where I feel grounded. Alive. Happiest. Me.

white pine
needles are in bundles of 5

Walking out of the woods, and gazing across the fields...is this really happening??

I have to pinch myself...which is better then getting pinched by the damn cactus!!