A lot of people don’t realize that cactus grows in the midwest and will survive the winters. I have some prickly pear cactus growing in a sunny corner of the yard and they do really well.

One of the miracles of the summer is when the cactus gives a flower. The picture below–taken on a cell phone — doesn’t do the flower justice. The petals have a thick, translucent quality, almost like stained glass. I suppose if you’ve lived close to a desert in the southwest, you’ve seen them a hundred times. But for me, it’s a brief window to celebrate the flower’s appearance.

cactus flower

And brief it is. It blooms in full for about a day and then quickly expires. What a metaphor!