A Chilly Day in the Desert!

February 9, 2009 by taha 

Well, it is a chilly day here in the desert! It started raining yesterday and has continued raining through today. I believe the reported high temperature for today is supposed to be about 60 degrees. brrrr. This does not happen very often in the Valley of the Sun, so for those of us who live here, we appreciate the change in the weather. For those visiting our area this week, it could be worse, at least it is not snowing! Although now that I think of it, I did hear reports of snow and hail just a bit north of us up in the Cave Creek and Carefree areas. I expect that once we suffer through these 3 or 4 days of winter , we will be right back in the swing of Spring!! The great news is, the more rain we get now, the more colorful our wildflower season will be!

The Spring wildflower season is truly something to behold here in the Sonoran Desert. We have almost every color you can imagine when all of the different plants and cacti bloom. One of the more popular places for locals to visit during the Spring is Picacho Peak. This area is well known for its poppy flowers. These flowers come in all kinds of vibrant colors like red, yellow and orange and they spread out as far as the eye can see! Another area that we particularly enjoy during the Spring is Usery Mountain Regional Park and the McDowell Mountains. In addition to the poppies, these areas also have countless cacti, bushes, trees and other flora that provide continual color to the desert from mid-February to late May. We have already seen much of the Chuparosa in full bloom. Over the past week, the brittlebush have started blooming with their yellow flowers. These plants practically cover the desert floor from one end to the other resembling a yellow carpet. These plants will continue to bloom for several months to come. Other plants that are the first indicators of spring are the Blue Palo Verde Tree and the Sweet Acacia Tree. These are usually the first to bloom, even before the chuparosa and brittlebush. The Blue Palo Verdes began blooming a week or so ago in the lower lying areas. The Little Leaf Palo Verdes will begin to bloom a few weeks after, as they are typically up a bit higher on the hillsides and more open to the chilly air. The Sweet Acacia Tree, although not an indigenous tree to the Sonoran Desert, has begun blooming in many of the nearby neighborhoods as well. What all of this means is, Spring is arriving! This is our absolute favorite time to hike and bring guests out into the desert. You simply can’t beat the desert scenery and colors! Check out our wildflower photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/takeahikearizona to see some great examples of the flowers we expect to see in the very near future!

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