Colder nights evident with pond ice!

As a closet phenologist, I like to keep track of when certain natural events take place, especially as they relate to the changing seasons. In spite of a mild fall, the shortening of the days and the chilly and longer nights are making their mark on the landscape. This morning, I took a "scenic" route to the office, and noticed ice on the pond. It certainly isn't solid, and the ice will probably disappear during this relatively warm day. But the earth is definitely tilting our little part of it further away from the sun, and the ice on the pond will eventually become solid. Last year, the pond was "officially" in its winter ice garb on November 24 (and became officially ice- free on March 29 of this year).

October color in Pueblo Mountain Park!

October arrives with lots of color - from many flowers still in bloom and leaves as colorful as flowers in their autumn look. I finally have another camera (thank you, Helene) and have stolen a few moments to try it out. Here is some of what Pueblo Mountain Park has to offer these soft autumn days: Lots of members of the Sunflower Family, and, yes, that is poison ivy (the Sumac Family). The deer are very plentiful - I saw this one walking home from the office yesterday evening around 6pm right at the entrance to the park.

April storm brings a foot of snow to the park!

The mud was gone, the snow was just about all melted, the land was beginning to green up, and now an April storm changes all that. About a foot of wet snow blankets the land. Some melting and settling of the new snow brings a bit of estimation to the actual depth, but I have an accurate moisture content of 1.30". Total snowfall for the season is now up to 130" (a foot above average). Yesterday, before the storm hit later in the afternoon, a grey fox was hanging around MPEC and allowed Ranger Jeff a few good photos (here's one of them). I just returned from the pond with this photo of the slushy water and snowy landscape. All this moisture should mean an excellent wildflower season. We have 3 wildflower hikes coming up so we can enjoy them: Sunday, April 27, 11am; Saturday, May 10, 9am; and Sunday, June 1, 9am - call (719) 485-4444 to register.

As March Becomes April in Pueblo Mountain Park!

The month of March brought 34.5" of snow, bringing the season's total to 113.5" - just a few inches shy of a full winter's average snowfall. The frequent moisture has the park's wildflowers poised for a good season, as least as it looks right now. I took a pleasant hike a few days ago along the Tower / Mace Trails loop and shot some photos of a few plants along the way. Pictured are a couple of small flowers already in bloom, kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ssp. adenotricha) and spring beauty (Claytonia rosea). Also pictured are what dwarf daisy (Erigeron pumilus) and some member of the mustard family look like a few days before their first flowers open. A careful eye will find these and other plants putting the park's spring wardrobe on.

Spring in Beulah Colorado

The day I see a leaf is a marvel of a day. - K. Patton