The heat continues to break records. The drought continues to break records. The Rio is still dry. Cottonwood leaves are yellowing and falling10 weeks early. Only about 1.5" of rain since May Day.
But a few things are still in flower: Alstromeria, Rudbeckia, Dahlia, Salvia, Oenothera and Pedilanthus, to name a few. Lagerstroemia is finishing up and even the fall-blooming Chyrsanthemum and Ceratostigma have come and largely gone.
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| Pedilanthus flower and fruit |
We did some sciency stuff during Monday morning's Nature's Notebook observations. We've been watching cholla fruits go from green to yellow, back to green, or at least greenish-yellow. How to score ripeness in Cylindropuntia imbricata has puzzled us. Some say yellow color is diagnostic. Others say the loss of spines indicates ripeness.
We collected fruits at several stages and cut them open longitudinally. Managed to avoid the spines and glochids. Still haven't resolved the ripeness issue.
After all, what does ripeness refer to? A good definition would be "a condition of fitness for purpose."
More to come...
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