trees & shrubs – truths & absurdities

All this time, I thought I lived near torrey pines

This is not from a torrey pine tree, despite what’s suggested by the name of the street that runs north-south across the Las Vegas area.

Despite what’s stated on Google Maps and local street signage, the trees encircling my apartment complex are not what I thought they were.

Living at this complex for some years now – a stone’s throw from Torrey Pines Drive – I naively surmised I was in the presence of torrey pine trees.

I was smitten by the local connection!

But that was far from the case. In fact, the closest torrey pine tree is about 327 miles away from me – namely, at the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in San Diego, Calif. Torrey pines also are considered critically endangered (a more severe status than endangered) by the National Audubon Society, due to a dwindling population.

Fact-finding mission

Pines can be a pain to distinguish. They all look so similar, so you need to do your homework. So I wandered into my leasing office to inquire (probably a lazy thing to do). I learned only that my complex was built in 1989. Continue reading All this time, I thought I lived near torrey pines

That time of year in this part of Nevada

A creosote bush sprouts fruit in Southern Nevada.

We’re seeing the beginnings of spring in Southern Nevada. Green bursts on cottonwood trees. Creosote sprouting its fluffy, white fruit.

On a recent morning, I rose from sleep to a long litany of whoo-HOO-whoooo-whoooo-whoooo’s from a mourning dove. Such a soothing sound, and it reminds me of what an ancient woodwind instrument might have sounded like.

Forecasts of mid-60s by day ( but then plummeting into the upper-30s at night!) Typical desert cadence. Continue reading That time of year in this part of Nevada

Extracting a message from the shadows of trees

Trees display their autumn colors at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 26, 2022.

I peer out my patio door as the morning sunlight descends upon the neatly kept desert landscaping. In the section where I’m looking, it’s mostly earth-toned gravel. But two sharp lines cut across it, like massive animal scratch marks.

They’re the shadows of two trees.

The trees themselves are hidden by a stuccoed wall that helps enclose the one-car garage in that spot. I muse that the dark lines are the promise of nature to always reassert itself.

As I sip my coffee, the background music is a house finch’s chirp……..chirp…………chirp, emanating from a perch somewhere. Perhaps in one of the unseen trees?

On the bright side of a rainy Monday

A Gambel’s quail at Clark County Wetlands Park on Jan. 21, 2023.

This morning it is raining in Southern Nevada, making it cold and dreary, though I know it’s necessary. I mean, I love the rain, don’t get me wrong. But are Mondays necessary?

Regardless — precipitation this time of year is particularly important. The soil has more of a chance of absorbing and even retaining the moisture. There’s less evaporation. Also, the rain is more persistent and slower, resulting in far less flash flooding and runoff. Continue reading On the bright side of a rainy Monday

Mesquite trees vary in their leaf-shedding stages at my local park

Some brown leaves remained on a younger honey mesquite tree at my local park. The tree was mostly bare today, 1/16/23.

I’ve been going to my local park to check on the honey mesquite trees. I was there on Jan.3 and returned again today. Would you believe a few of them still have most of their leaves, despite being deciduous?

There’s about three of them near the dog park section that still have a full head of hair. These are larger, more mature ones, compared with the smaller ones approx. 50 yards away that, as of today, are about 98 percent barren.

Possibly, aside from being more established, the larger ones could also have better sun exposure.

I had intended to go to my local library today to research it, but it was closed due to the holiday. I stopped into my local bookstore and looked through the National Audubon Society’s Trees of North America for some clues.

The thing that puzzles me here is that most other deciduous trees have finished shedding their leaves. For instance, all the deciduous trees at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs are bare. I also wonder, are the mesquites that are so late in dropping their leaves at my local park also going to be among the last to have new growth come springtime? Continue reading Mesquite trees vary in their leaf-shedding stages at my local park

Berries of choice for mockingbirds and phainopeplas in winter

The northern mockingbird and the phainopepla are birds of a feather when it comes to their winter diet. Both eat desert mistletoe.

Here the mockingbird perches on what looks to be a barren honey mesquite with some mistletoe. This was at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs today. Another interesting similarity between these two birds is that they both flick their tails. It’s a signature part of their body language. Of course they also share the same habitat spaces.

Mistletoe attaches itself to honey mesquite as a parasitic plant.

Mesquites hold out until winter then quickly drop leaves

*A verdin in a honey mesquite tree at Desert Breeze Park on 11/21/22.*

The mesquite trees are down for the season at my local park. It was jarring yesterday to see that they’re barren now. As can be seen by the photo here with the verdin, which I took in late November when I was last there, they were still primarily displaying green.

After doing some quick research on this, I discovered that mesquite leaves can remain on the tree until as late as March during mild winters. That’s according to the Arizona Cooperative Extension.

That’s right on the cusp of sprouting new leaves for spring, which, for mesquites, typically occurs in late March or early April, according to a report published by the extension, titled Mesquite and Palo Verde Trees for the Urban Landscape, by Ursula K Schuch and Jack J. Kelly. Continue reading Mesquites hold out until winter then quickly drop leaves

The scene where the story has a made a wonderful turn

Changing leaves were a highlight at Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, 12/4/22.

It wasn’t so windy that it prompted thoughts of returning home, but enough to stir up some drama, and the drama was all about the cascade of leaves — the hue of griddle cakes, most of ’em, amassing on the ground in glorious piles after tumbling from high up on Fremont cottonwood trees — older ones, their heights exceeding two-story town homes. The trees also cast their shimmery reflections across the lakes and adorned the ground with what looked like coins and gems from a shipwreck’s treasure chest.

With all that yellow, the sun couldn’t help but look buttery. Dare I use the word “dapple” here to describe how the light scattered its rays about and filtered through the leaves and branches? Continue reading The scene where the story has a made a wonderful turn

I’m not the only one who stops to admire these plants

Photogenic little thing, with its festive, thread-like fibers. Apropos for this time of year. Looks a bit like yucca, but it’s a fledgling California fan palm (which I determined after perusing a few field guides). It caught my eye at my neighborhood park.

Less than a mile from my house, the park is a particularly nice place to stroll in November because it puts you in an autumn kinda mood. Many of the trees are deciduous, and parks personnel (intentionally or not) allow the fallen leaves to linger on the grass and paved paths and parking areas so that you can step on them and hear ’em crunch. Continue reading I’m not the only one who stops to admire these plants