Spring is here, at last

After a particularly harsh winter, spring has arrived here in Arizona. We had a very wet winter in which we received our annual amount of rain in two months. Snow Bowl, the ski area north of Flagstaff reportedly received 25 FEET of snow this winter. The Salt river is running rapidly through downtown Phoenix, for the first time which I remember.

But now the weather has turned springlike. Temperatures hover around 80 degrees and nights are in the mid fifties. I can wear shorts during the day and go barefoot.It is time to welcome back life as the desert plants put forth their new green leaves, the jojoba has their small berries on them, the bougainvillea is in bloom. The mountains behind our house are covered in green, in contrast to the red and brown rock of winter.

Coyotes are singing again at night, most likely to attract mates, rabbits run to and fro as if they are on some important mission, the chipmunks run ahead of me as I walk down the driveway. Many of the birds which I had not heard since last summer are back, singing their various songs as if welcoming back to the area. Baby birds are flying from the nests. In fact we have had two cactus wrens get into our front porch by crawling into a small hole in the rafters thinking it was the hole into their Saguaro home. Hummingbirds are at the feeder sipping the sugary water we provide. At sunrise, in our Ficus tree, the birds erupt into a cacophony of various songs as they awaken from their slumber and welcome the rising sun.

The Brittle-bush is ablaze in yellow blossoms which attract honey bees by the hundreds. In some areas of Phoenix people have been attacked by swarms of the "killer" honey bees. Welcome to spring. Spring training baseball is happening across the valley as players get into shape for the long season ahead, and the fans turn out to sit in the sun and cheer their favorite team on.

The various types of doves that live here each have their own songs; there are the mourning doves with their sad , mournful song, the Inca doves with a brighter song, another unidentified dove which sings a song like "Secretary of state" over and over. The Gambel quail run in pairs or as a family and are quite comical to watch as confusion seems to be their guide, especially as they try to keep the babies from running hither and fro.

So spring is here. It is time to welcome nature back into your life and enjoy the very show that is put on if you simply watch. I love spring and enjoy watching. You can learn so much by simply being and watching.