Purple cane cholla cactus flowers

Greetings!  This today I thought I would post a picture that I had just uploaded to My new website, This is a photo of a blooming cane cholla, (Cylindropuntia imbricata) , Grows throughout the southwestern united states and mexico.  The purple flowers are gorgeous in springtime.
You can buy prints of this photo and see many of my other photos my clicking on the picture it should take you to My website.

The cane cholla (or walking stick cholla, tree cholla, chainlink cactus, etc.) (Cylindropuntia imbricata) is a cactus found in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including some cooler regions in comparison to many other cacti. It occurs primarily in arid regions but can also be found scattered across locations in the semi-arid High Plains of the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico. It is often conspicuous because of its shrubby or even tree-like size, its silhouette, and its long-lasting yellowish fruits

The plant itself is a popular spot for desert birds to build their nests , the many spines of the cactus give a fully secure and protected area from many types of critters that would prey on the eggs and baby birds.

The cactus is often collected when dried for uses in furniture and decoration and is also used in making decorative canes which I believe gives it its name.