Castle Dome Spring Phenology

Phenology is the study of seasonal changes of plants and animals, like trees loose their leave in the UP of Michigan in the fall.

Here in the desert the changes are more subtle.  The winds are stronger, 15-30 mph.  My little r-Pod has been known to rock a little with gusty winds.  There are fewer plants in the desert than in the more temperate parts of the USA so sometimes one has to really look for the changes.  Plants green from the ground up.  Blooms, like their leaves are small.  And, perhaps for me the final signal of spring, was the arrival of the rattlesnakes.  Rattlesnakes don’t hibernate, they go through brumation.  They are sort of inactive, they’ll hunt if hungry or bask in the sun on a warm day but otherwise they go into dens of other animals in groups to stay warm.  When spring comes out they are out and, if one knows what to look or listen for, very visible.  Here at the museum the owner snares them, if possible, and relocates them out at least 2-3 miles away as they have a 1-2 mile “territory”.  This relocates them so they are not a danger to visitors and they can live out their 10-25 year life span away from people.

Spring is still springing as it has been cold, well, cold for here, and very windy.  Things will wake up, like the few partly open blooms of the prickly pear yesterday, more once the warmer weather sticks around consistently.