Desert blooms

I went up the mountain behind my house this morning to see if any caterpillars of the Chisos Metalmark were on the Prunus Havardii (Havard Plum). I'm not sure I found the right plant, but didn't see any caterpillars. What I did see were so many fantastic wildflowers that I couldn't identify. My sister is working on IDing them. I'm better at birds. She's better at flowers. Meanwhile here are a few. The first one we think is a Hairyseed Bahia (?) Click to enlarge.

The next one is a Fragrant Mimosa. I was surprised to see so much of it up there. I thought it preferred moister areas along arroyos.

I was enthralled by the beauty of this next flower that my sister identified as a James Dalea.

She thought the next one was an evolvulus. Bob Harms, a research associate at the UT Plant Resources Center, has identified it as evolvulus alsinoides.

The next one is a Texas Paintbrush (Castilleja rigida).

Also blooming were acacias, prickly pear, ocotillo, Angel Trumpets, and all kinds of stuff that I couldn't identify. A neat cactus I found is called a Chaffey's Pincushion. Unfortunately, it wasn't blooming.

I'll close with the view I had to endure while looking for caterpillars. And by the way, I would never be able to bring myself to handle a caterpillar, in case you're wondering. I would have photographed one had I found one. The name of that mountain is West Corazon. That dead juniper was the only one around.