New Life

Things are changing by the day here as the leaves start to burst out of the bushes and the temperature gets variable with the shifting winds. Temperatures got up to 83 this week on one day, but then snapped back to the 40s for highs.

Bison are having their calves now, and there are quite a few newborns out in the park. Some visitors were concerned about an "abandoned" bison calf in the picnic area. I told them to just make sure to give it plenty of space so that the mother can feel more at ease to come back to it rather than "Well, it'll probably die." It wasn't there yesterday, so the situation had resolved itself one way or another, either to the benefit of the calf or else the coyotes.

Chipping sparrows arrived on 4/29, a sure sign of spring. On 5/1 there was a large flock of white-crowned sparrows outside the apartment, about 30 all together, though it was hard to get a count with their movement while they fed. I was trying to get a picture of them with the door cracked open when a red squirrel started looking intent on going through the door. It must have smelled the open peanut butter jar in the kitchen.

White-crowned sparrow

The pasque flower is blooming on a couple of the nature trails. I've been told the yellow parsley is also out. Overall, the junipers, sage, and other plants are starting to look more green by the day. Some rain will really help.

I updated my website with last month's pictures.