Something you don't want to mess with in Arizona.
Just one of many different varieties of cactus that live in the Great Sonoran Desert and surrounding areas.
This one is a Prickly Pear and it's very sharp spines covering the pads are a few inches long.
But the smaller hair-like bristles are the dangerous ones as they detach easily from the cactus and can become imbedded in one's skin.
In Mexico the cacti are known as nopales and are eaten as a delicacy.
After the needles are carefully removed, of course.
But me?
I think I'll just keep on avoiding them and watching where I step.
