spring in San Diego's desert

strawberry hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. engelmannii) is stealing the show here.

strawberry hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii var. engelmannii)

desert five-spot (Eremalche rotundifolia)

beavertail cactus (Opuntia basilaris)

This silvery young brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) is finding its way in a crevice.

A perfect bouquet of chuparosa (Justicia californica), multiple cactus species and wildflowers

Mojave desertstar (Monoptilon bellioides)

strawberry cactus (Mammillaria dioica)

teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii ssp. bigelovii)

There’s nothing quite like backlit cacti at dawn and dusk.

Arizona chalk dudleya (Dudleya arizonica)

Bigelow’s moneyflower (Mimulus bigelovii var. bigelovii)

California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus)

Emory's rockdaisy (Perityle emoryi)

Parish’s poppy (Eschscholzia parishii)

This ornate checkered beetle (Trichodes ornatus) was visiting Wolf’s cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii) to grab a meal and perhaps lay eggs. I’d have liked to stick around to observe a bit more and take additional photos, but I was ready to pass out from the midday heat in this low elevation portion of the desert near the San Diego County and Imperial County lines.

Wolf’s cholla (Cylindropuntia wolfii) in all its glory

Imagine the night skies we could enjoy if we cut the lights when we weren't actively using them. Thankfully, the campground lights illuminating the foreground and skyglow from Calexico-Mexicali at left don't entirely obscure our Milky Way Galaxy when viewed from in this spot. Saving power in this respect would help migratory birds as well.