golden cat tail blooming...

My cleistocactus winteri, aka 'golden cat tail' or 'golden rat tail' (I prefer cat because 1. it's more accurately descriptive and 2. it just sounds better) has decided to bloom this spring... This is unusual.

Usually it blooms several times from late spring to summer, about 3 flushes... and last year it didn't bloom at all. Maybe these are some buds that started to develop last year and didn't until now...

You've probably seen this plant before, kind of... it's crestate or monstrose variety is quite common on those little grafted cactus you get at wal-mart. A South American native, it likes a little more water in the summer than most cacti. It will survive the winter outside here, but it has to be kept absolutely bone-dry, which is a little bit more than I can manage, so I bring it in...