El Paso: UTEP: Tender Tendrils

Oh, so delicate. Like tiny pink fairy fingers.

Pink tendrils, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Pink tendrils, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

El Paso: UTEP: Milky Way Explosions

Milky seed pods, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

These splashy milky Angora-cat silky seed pods.

Milky seed pods, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

On a walk on the UTEP campus in March.

Milky seed pods, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

El Paso: UTEP: Purple Grape Extravaganza

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

What a visual and olfactory feast when walking on the UTEP campus in March!

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

For some, the feast included the taste of nectar, as below.

Another admirer, human, told me she thought the flowers smelled like grapes.

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

The lavishness of the Texas mountain laurel displays was almost obscene. Come look at me! Touch me! Smell me!

I succumbed.

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

The violet carpenter beetles gorged on the sweet banquet.

Violet carpenter beetle on Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Violet carpenter beetle on Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Violet carpenter beetle on Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.

Violet carpenter beetle on Texas mountain laurel, UTEP, El Paso, Texas. March 2017.