Spring has truly sprung at the Ranch:
Locals looking back:
The bees are back! They will be here for about a month or so before moving on to different climes.
Looking up into the back of the Upper Meadow:
Looking back on the Upper Meadow:
The Winterfall from the snow in January is still with us:
The Middle Meadow:
The Middle Meadow Sump:
There is still die off from the harsh drought. Those brown trees will have to come down.
The Lower Meadow:
Another oak that gave way:
That brown is glass embedded into the trunk of tree, far below what would have been accessible. How did it get there? How long was it there? We will never know.
The vernal creek that runs through all the Meadows. The fact it is this low already is not a good sign; we should still be into the rainy season.
The Lower Meadow pond is full:
I always love these tours. The Ranch is truly a blessing for you.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it is always a joy to share them. It is particularly lovely at this time of year.
DeleteThank you for all of the Nature Pictures. Isn't it all amazing, if we all just took the time to get out and inspect what is all around ? I'll bet your blood pressure readings after spending time outdoors was far from pegging out.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Anonymous. It is amazing and yes, the effect it has on me - if I let it - is noticeable and very healthy.
DeleteNice photos TB, here a few trees have buds now, not many small piles of shoveled snow off the deck and along the driveway.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nylon12. Frankly I would be happy with a little less blue sky; we should continue to have rain for another month or more. It is not promising for this summer at all.
DeleteLovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you sbrgirl. It really is, and this is the most lovely time of year.
DeleteThe glass must be from some earlier storm and construction that no longer exists.
ReplyDeleteI was going to say your blue sky meant pure, clean air; but I can understand why you would like clouds.
Wish I could send you all the rain we just got. :-)
You all be safe and God bless, TB.
Possibly Linda - I talked with The Cowboy and The Young Cowboy and they both suggested it might be over an old trash pile.
DeleteI would happily accept your rain at that this time.
What are the bees pollinating? My parents used to raise a lot of bees and I was amazed at how much flavor difference there can be in honey from the light delicate taste of white clover honey to the heavy in your face taste of goldenrod.
ReplyDeleteEd, currently it is mostly the wildflowers that are blooming, but some of the scrub brush will start up soon as well as the wild blackberries.
DeleteThere can be a wild variation in honey tasting, assuming one has the area and local pollen for essentially a single honey. Unfortunately we have not been so lucky; what we had in the years I kept honey was simply a mixed varietal of nectar from March to October.
I would dearly love to have bees again here. I could watch them for hours.
That high country is sure pretty. I could get used to that.
ReplyDeleteThe mesquite trees are starting to leaf out. The rule of thumb down here is they won't until the last freeze is past. We have had some big swings on temp, too. Normal spring, but a bit dry this year.
STxAR, I would think a great many people could - except urban dwellers (something I can simply not comprehend).
DeleteTemperatures here are already abnormally warm for March. I simply call it "climate" as we have drouth in years past; that said, we could surely use the addition rain. It is not without precedence: We have had Miracle Aprils and Mays in the past.
What a beautiful piece of land TB. I really enjoyed the virtual walk. I can almost smell the pine trees and hear the nature sounds, that I'm guessing at times must seem like lovely silence? Thank you for sharing the pictures.
ReplyDeleteYou are quite welcome Becki. It smells and sounds exactly as you say. And yes, there is vast silence or the winds blowing through trees to the point that it is the only sound - or as I happily call it, God walking in the trees.
DeleteFriend TB, your land is heaven right here on earth. You are clearly looking after it well and it is flourishing under your stewardship. Thank you for sharing your private home with us. The unseasonably low stream is an interesting observation. In Australia we are in our "la nina" phase of our weather cycle. Rain rain rain and more rain all summer long. Significant flooding along the east coast, and a lot of disruption. We have a few species of frogs (ie the remarkable little Green-thighed frog, Litoria brevipalmata) that can only breed during these specific weather phases. Australia is truly the land of droughts and flooding rains.
ReplyDeleteWarm regards,
KA
KA - Thank you for your kind words, but I literally have very little to do with the stewardship at the moment other than making sure it is not otherwise developed. My father spent years clearing the property of scrub brush; the Cowboy and his son contribute far more to the daily management than I.
DeleteThe stream is worrisome, as are the grasses that already seem to be drying out - we should have another two months of full green at least.
Australia and its weather patterns have always both amazed and confused me. The Ravishing Mrs. TB traveled there in high school and would love to go again - maybe someday we will make it.