Summer approaches the Sonoran desert

The weather has been very windy these past weeks, following an incredibly dry winter that made records! I haven't seen a Gila monster, Javelina or coyote in a very long time, although the coyotes have been active at night. The wind has broken our outside table and a chair and broken off several plants. Can't say I enjoy it--had thought the winds were only this bad during monsoon season.

Walking in the desert I've been astounded by how nature survives these weather changes...just today I saw many blooms on the purple

Chollas, and several wildflowers that were still going strong. This is without a good rain since the beginning of December! And the wind has been  hellacious, sucking any residual moisture right out of the ground.

 The Saguaro's bloomed at least a month early this year, but the white winged doves who come for the blooms have been oddly sparse. When I asked a man at 'Native Seed Search' about this, he told me that the native tribes gear the blooming of the Saguaro's with the ceremony to bring the rains.

Since these incredible cactus usually bloom in late May or early June, it takes until late June or early July for the fruit to ripen. They harvest the fruit and make the wine and then they have their ceremony. He said he wasn't sure if this early bloom meant earlier rains or if it was just an affect of global climate change. It will be interesting to find out.

I've seen only one rattlesnake so far this year, and that one seemed oblivious of me or my dog, lying immobile in the middle of the narrow wash I was walking in. I jumped over him and continued. I miss the snakes, not the rattlers, per se, although I do like them, but the King snakes and the Gopher snakes. The year we moved here they were around, but now they're not. We even had a Gila monster that first year! Perhaps human activity and dogs and cats caused them to change their habits.

We are planning a trip in early June up to cooler climes in the Pacific Northwest, but it will be hard for me to leave. There is something magical about this place even when the temperatures soar. I don't want to miss any of the strange and wondrous insect invasions or the baby quail coming to our feeder...(they've been here but I have yet to see them) But as my friend in New Mexico said: "The best thing about living in the desert is going away and coming back."

The Javelinas are back!

Haven't written for a long while mostly because there has been little animal life to report on, despite the warm sunny days and cool clear nights. But a week or so ago the coyotes began their nightly forays into our area. One night we had a lone one very close. I heard him or her calling--a few dog-like barks followed up with an eerie howl that went from low to impossibly high. In the far distance I heard the call answered. And the same night a pack came very close to the house.

Last night at around ten, I heard what sounded like dogs lapping water out of my water-lily bowl outside my bathroom window. When I went to investigate I saw six javelina of varying sizes crowded around drinking. The moon was very bright giving me a clear view of them as they ambled across the driveway to nibble birdseeds left on the ground under the feeder. After that they all went to  investigate the compost pile. This morning the papaya skins and other vegetables are gone.

I had despaired of seeing them again since it's been months since they've been around. Creatures are waking up, or should I say on the move? There were no tiny babies with this group but some seemed small enough to be last year's babies. Oh what I would give to have a family come by with the tiny ones!

On a sad note, I found a dead hummingbird yesterday. It was a broad-billed male, I think. I worried that somehow I'd caused its death with chlorinated hummingbird water but realized this was not so. For one thing I don't smell any chlorine in our water and I'm very sensitive to it and would know...also feeder had been up for a few days. I took both feeders down and re-filled just in case. If left up too long the water can produce a sort of mold that will kill the tiny birds. I tried to call Audubon but they had gone home for the day.

I read on line that hummingbirds are all about two hours away from death! This because their metabolisms need replenishment constantly. Its amazing how they migrate. This one may have been on the move and simply couldn't keep going. I've noticed some frantic activity around the feeders the past few days. Also Gila Woodpecker has been drinking them dry!

I've noticed wildflowers coming up in the desert behind us. Spring is definitely on the way!

The lushness of the desert-who would have known?

We've had no rain for several days and I'm ready for more monsoon madness! All the newly arrived weeds and wildflowers are looking sad and the temps are rising again and keeping us indoors. Some clouds are building over the  mountains but the chance of rain today is rather slim. To the right is the picture of our last storm, about a week ago now.

My walks are getting later since the sun is rising after six now. This morning I saw a mule deer, a large one, bouncing away as they do. The dogs didn't see it or hear it. A jackrabbit, however, did capture their attention.

I've seen several unfamiliar kinds of scat lately on the road by our house--I looked them up on the internet and I'm fairly certain that one of them is bobcat--the other is stringy and filled with seeds...not coyote, so it is more than likely javelina--I haven't seen one yet. Around the house I found what looked like the droppings of a small dog. Now I know it's from the Colorado River Toad! I'm glad they're only here after a rain and when it's dark!

It's lovely outside in the early morning listening to the mourning doves. The quail have been around but not vocalizing as they did earlier in the summer. I've seen Maurice and his brood in the front of the house where I sprinkle seeds each morning. They're nearly full grown. In the enclosed garden in the back a pair brought their smaller babies to eat out of our hanging feeder. A roadrunner has been back there as well and we've seen the quail chase him off!

In my last post I mentioned the sweet-smelling flowers blooming in our area. I've looked it up but can find no information on it. If anyone knows what this is, please comment below! It's a mystery.

Around our house we have hundreds of bright orange poppy-like flowers. Behind us on the state land, they carpet the ground--another unknown that's appeared with the rain.

I am still surprised by the differences in each day--how the clouds move and shift. Sometimes 80* feels HOT and other times cool depending on humidity and wind. Coming from the Pacific northwest, I didn't notice the sky the way I do here where the view is long. And although I miss my forest walks, I  appreciate the utter uniqueness of the desert.