Spring has sprung

And summer will be here any minute.

Spring arrives later in our part of the state (due to latitude and elevation) than elsewhere, and brings a brief profusion of color that must be quickly savored before its gone.

Working around our ranchero this weekend, I noticed many blooms, so I thought I'd share. Our late snows and early rain seems to have accelerated the schedule this year, though I still expect the cholla to bloom in mid/late June as usual.

Named where known, otherwise merely presented for your enjoyment.

this is Indian Paintbrush. it grows in loose groupings as shown here:

unknown, probably some kind of thistle:

unknown, very difficult to photograph. opens up a soft red with yellow stamens, quickly fades to white:

unknown; this yellow fellow has leaves like a holly bush and grows about 24" tall:

unknown; this purple beauty reminds me of crocus, but is probably something else. about 8" tall.

unknown; this delicate beauty is feet away from its purple neighbor immediately above.

unknown; this tough bugger hugs the ground and blooms despite being in a high-traffic area.

unknown; this riot of blue-purple flowers is about 12" tall and right next to the driveway:
In most areas the above plants would be considered weeds. I'm pretty Darwinian about plants: if they do well without attention they survive, otherwise we don't see them again. We make exceptions for foxtails and prickly pear in areas the dogs frequent - those are aggressively removed.

also next to the driveway, a yucca blooms. the flowers have a lemony scent:

just west of the yucca, a prickly pear (barely 4" tall) waits for... something... I hope I can find it again when it blooms:

This cholla is over 7' tall; it won't bloom for several more weeks (if at all this year). The yellow seed pods are from last year's flowers; after the seeds are expelled the pods turn brown and shrivel.

One curiosity of late spring and warm days is the incessant "popping" of pinon seeds. A soft clicking noise starts as soon as the sun hits the trees and stops in the cold and at night (we're in the mid-40's at night here). This shows a pinon upper left, and juniper lower right. Juniper pollen is a potent allergen, many people suffer in early spring.

We get another burst of colorful blooms in the fall, but it tends to be shades of yellow rather than the variety of spring.