This is my first time joining in the fun of the Shadow Hunters contest so I picked out something kind of interesting. This was a picture I too with my phone some time back while I was prospecting for gold outside of Yuma, Arizona. I honestly didn't take the picture because of the shadow but more because it was the last flower on the plant and there were bees everywhere trying to collect the pollen. But the shadow is actually pretty cool cast onto some desert rocks and vegetative debris from plants in the desert.
Now no post is much fun without showing some of the bees and the actual flower. I think there are a couple in the flower and on the left you can see another honing in on the last flower to collect some pollen. Since we are on Hive I thought it was a great fit!
The cactus you can see here is called the prickly pear. It produces some red fruit that are great for making jam and even eating just straight once properly roasted over the fire and removing all of the needles. The cactus pads are also used in Mexican cuisine, they taste great!
You don't have to be in the US to enjoy these, they are an invasive species in both Australia and Africa. In both places they are actively trying to prevent further spread of the cactus as they tend to outcompete native species.
Another interesting fact about the Prickly Pear is that it's found on the Mexican Coat of Arms along with a golden eagle perched on the cactus eating a rattlesnake:
Also it's found on several silver coins from Mexico as well as you can see in one of mine here below. To the #silvergoldstackers I have shared this coin previously!
This is the obverse of a 1968 twenty five pesos silver coin, the reverse is an Olympics commemorative , I'll leave a link below if you're interested in more information about the coin.
I personally don't believe I've ever seen an eagle land on a prickly pear cactus before, but they got the idea from somewhere so it must happen from time to time! They very spiny, and personally I tend to avoid getting to close to them...
That will will do it for my entry into the shadow hunters smash number 308. I hope you enjoyed the post, have a great rest of your weekend everyone!
Here's the link I promised:
Disclaimer:
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
Re-blog lottery
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 32 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:
Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it: 
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!
Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.
Good luck to everyone!
And the Wheel of Names results:
Winner #1:
Winner #2:
Congratulations 
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win up to 5 HSBI units! New twist, one winner on the first spin wins 3 HSBI, and a second spin for a chance for 2 HSBI, so two possible winners or one really lucky one could win both spins! An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prizes. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
If you have more questions feel free to ask.
If you are interested in precious metals or even want to learn more about them feel free to come join us #silvergoldstackers
This is a new group focusing on on boarding and retaining new Hive members. Feel free to ask how you can help out!