Purple Painted Pad

A friend came to visit and marveled at the patches of purple prickly pear cactuses planted along the roadways. "Those are so beautiful! I've never seen a purple cactus." To which I responded, "Well, enjoy them while you can...they paint them that color, and the maintenance costs are getting to be so high, they've decided not to, anymore." It was hard to keep a straight face when she asked, "No, they don't actually paint all those cacti, do they?" But finally, my emerging smile gave away the truth, as well as revealed my lie. The spines of a purple prickly pear all lined up like soldiers.