Prickly Pear...

On my neighbor's property, or maybe it is his neighbor's property, there is a clump of prickly pears growing underneath tall pine trees.  The clump is in the center of the picture below.

I am still fascinated by the sight of prickly pear growing here in North Carolina.  I always think of it as growing in Arizona or California.  But not here.

Obviously, it is very happy here under the trees because it continues to grow and spread out.

And this time of year, it blooms.

Prickly pear cactus is edible although I don't personally care for it.  I'd much rather look at it.

This cactus doesn't seem to have spines on it; just bumps where you would expect to find spines.

When I first started taking pictures of this bloom, there was an orchard bee or a sweat bee inside of the blossom.

Then a HUGE bumble bee flew in to collect pollen, too.  If you look carefully, you can see the orange pollen it has collected in its pollen basket in its back leg.

So intricate!

It seems to glow in the late afternoon sun.

Have a beautiful day!