Very prickly... and very beautiful...

This Cholla cacti is one of my favorites plants. Yeah... I have a weakness for cacti... Probably because we never saw them in real life and definitely not blooming...

 

So.. when I see blooming Cholla, I cannot just pass by without admiring the beauty. Just need not to come too close, because the flowers are gorgeous, but the thorns are sharp ;)

The most surprising for me was to learn that the flower lives just a few hours and tomorrow the new ones will replace the old ones. The lifespan is way too short... but the flowers are so tender and lovely, aren't they?

Pictures were taken in June 2022.