One of Recliner Man’s favorite desert plants is the Ocotillo. It’s rugged and wild. A real man’s man kind of plant. For most of the year it just looks like a bunch of dead sticks stuck into the ground. Dead sticks with lots of thorns.

After the rainy season the dead sticks suddenly burst to life sprouting lots of little green leaves. If the timing is just right the leaves appear at the same time as the bloom like you see in this picture.

The blooms are a stunning splash of color. Maybe this is why Recliner Man likes them so much.

This Spring our Ocotillo is a bit out of sync with itself. It’s blooming but the stalks still look like dead sticks.

Notice the tree trying to grow into our Ocotillo? It belongs to the neighbors with the Oleander hedge. They don’t seem to be into outdoor activity very much. They only trimmed their hedge once. Not only do they shy away from landscaping duties but they aren’t too big on litter patrol. You know those free newspapers and phone books that show up in the driveway every now and then? They leave them laying there for weeks, sometimes months. I think someone said something to them about it once because they picked them up from the driveway and carried them up to their front sidewalk. Then they just sat there for months. I don’t know if they eventually disintegrate or if someone else gets tires of them and goes to pick them up. Recliner Man has wanted to pick them up and throw them away but I won’t let hem. It’s become a game for me to watch and see just how long they will leave it in the driveway. Now that tree is something different. It has to get cut back.