A Bit of the SouthWest, Nor'Eastern Style

Holy Cow! I had been told that Prickly Pear cactus are native to this area and that they bloom, but I'd never seen it happen. We've had this plant for a few years now and whenever bumps of new growth appeared along the leaves (do you call them leaves? nodules?) I'd hope for a flower bud. Nothing grew except more "ears" with gigantic thorns (that like to implant themselves deeply in unsuspecting flesh). But this June thrilled us with a week or so of lovely portulacca-like yellow flowers. Quite spectacular.
This, as you may remember, is the cactus that I planted up in the air in a cement vessel. It wintered over in a peculiar deflated fashion. As the weather warmed, the leaves re-inflated a bit at a time. It's an entertaining addition the the garden.

this photo has nothing to do with the Prickly Pear, but was a dramatic conclusion to one of those plentiful afternoon thunderstorms we've been experiencing. Very faintly, you can detect a rainbow, the end of which was right in our yard, just past Bob's sculpture and the hydrangeas. It was ethereal and magic.