The Last Grizzly Flower

They bloomed all at once.  It was a brilliant sight when the cactus was full of these small, beautiful flowers.  But this was the last bud I saw on the entire plant.

Sometimes the cactus will surprise me and a stray flower or two will pop up in June.  That's always a pleasant surprise.  

There was only a single bud on my Beavertail cactus this year and I noticed today that I missed it's bloom.  There was a flower on it that was shriveled.  I don't think it took kindly to being  replanted during the landscaping  last Fall.

Soon my Santa Rita prickly pear will be blooming it's yellow flowers.   Lot's of buds on that one.  I will be keeping a keen eye on it.  

PS  This is an unprocessed photo.  I wanted you to get a look at what the real deal looks like.  The sun wasn't shining, otherwise it's usually a little more vibrant.