Bearvertail In Bloom

I wanted to take a photo of the beavertail prickly pear cactus when it had a bunch of flowers on it so that I could show how pretty the entire thing is in bloom.  This is about as full as it has been on any given day.  You should be able to see the flowers which have already bloomed - and withered. Buds yet to bloom still remain,too.

The beavertail cactus gets its name from the elongated shape of its pads.  They actually do  look like beaver tails!

Today is my dad's birthday.  He would have been 83 years old.  He passed away at the age of 59.