Sonoran Desert Spring

(Which is the title of one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.)

In a post last summer I noted that we were having a nice monsoon. Well, that post put the jinx on the rest of the season. The monsoon took August and September off in central Arizona. Fall and winter rains were nearly non-existent as well. Spring, the same. It's as dry as I've known it to be in my time here.

Nonetheless there has been field work galore with a trail restoration project survey and a Pennisetum removal baseline survey in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve to keep me busy. It's been challenging, trying to ID the bonsai annuals, poking around inch-tall pectocaryas hoping to find a fruit. The company of a rotating crew of MSC stewards and that of a new friend and fellow botanist made the work a pleasure, though, even on the rocky 35° slopes of Brown's Mountain.

Those slopes and their sharp basaltic rocks spelled the death of my hiking boots, so I invested in a new pair today. Just in time - I have four hikes scheduled for next week. I hope I break in the boots before they break in my feet.

If you're planning to attend this hike don't expect much in the way of wildflowers. We'll do our best to make it interesting, though.

Posted on 31 de março de 2018, 03:25 AM by stevejones stevejones

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