So I should have been in Abilene this weekend, but decided to stay home to attend to other things, but took time out to wander around the green belt yesterday. We’ve had reasonable rain these past couple of months, so things didn’t look too terribly dire. More dead cedar and other scrub, and fading wild flowers, but not too bad.

I noticed this a couple of years ago, but it seems to be thriving – a prickly pear cactus (Cactaceae Opuntia) growing in a live oak tree.  It just boggles the mind, really.

Most of the wildflowers that are left are yellow, with the occasional purple Mexican petunia or wild verbena, but this one got my attention – certainly a standout.  The flowers look a little like penta…perhaps carried from some back yard by birds.

I’m not an anatomist, but I’m assuming this is the remnants of a deer leg.  I wonder if the coyotes got lucky.  Interesting how it got into the tree like that – a little “Blair Witch Project”-y.  But you tend to see stuff like that back there on the trails – stacked rocks, etc.

The rest are just interesting flowers/rocks/dry water ways I captured – enjoy!