Spring arrives in Pueblo Mountain Park!

A sure sign of spring: the park's larger pond was ice free as of March 16 (pictured above on the 17th), which is over a week earlier than usual (although March 14 was the date in 1999, so this year is not the earliest). Over the last several years, it became ice-free somewhere between March 25 and March 30.
A hike along the Tower and Mace Trails yesterday afternoon (March 19) revealed blooming kinnikinnick, one mountain bladderpod with a couple of open buds, lots of spring beauties, a Fendler senecio with one bud showing some yellow (but not quite open yet), and a few pasque flowers open in a grassy area between the ballpark and the Devil's Canyon trailhead. New green leaves were on a few mountain mahogany (small bushes in sunny, rocky areas along Mace Trail), and the wax currant are several days with new green growth. A patch of creeping holly grape along the upper road is showing lots of round yellow buds, not quite open, but soon. So, spring is popping out all over on this 20th day of March, 2007.
Ranger Dave