One of R’s barrel cacti has flowered.  Cacti are very spiny and for most of the year are quite boring, to tell the truth.  However, all the prickles are worth it for one of these flowers.  They start to open at sunset and last for just over twenty-four hours.  The scent is heady and sweet.  The only difficulty I had with this flower was that it was on the cactus whose pot had been taken over by the leaf-cutter bee.  The bee had thrown out a lot of the gritty soil the cactus is planted in and had dug a deep burrow under the plant.  Whenever I got near to try to photograph the flower I was rushed at by the bee very threateningly.  I haven’t been able to smell the flower because of that bee!  R wants to re-pot the cactus after it has flowered so the bee’s efforts will be in vain I think!

The cactus flower-bud early evening yesterday 20.05.14

The bee’s little burrow

The cactus flower this morning 21.05.14