Spring Arrives!

If you love spring, it's hard not to love these splendid May days in Pueblo Mountain Park. Wildflowers are kicking in a bit later than usual, but the last half of May looks like it should be terrific for seeing lots of different species in bloom. Pictured here is Larkspur Violet, fairly widespread in sunny grassy areas among ponderosa pines, but actually quite rare outside of the park. The snag (standing dead tree) sports several cavities (created by woodpeckers over the last few years) and a violet-green swallow on one of the branches. As I was taking this photo, several swallows were swooping around the tree, and a couple of pygmy nuthatches were noisily checking out one of the cavities as a nest site. The green landscape, wildflowers, birds in breeding mode all say spring - what a joy is spring!