It’s been a warm winter. I didn’t keep an exact count of the frosts, but there were only about half as many as last year, and though the rain started out good, it dropped off rather quickly, and we’re already below average for the year. 

Here’s hoping for a good monsoon season. 

As for what I’ve been up to, here’s a snapshot.

I trimmed all the trees this winter. I’ve been working on my skills and trying to keep the trees more ‘full’ looking while still being safe and accessible for me and for the birds; there are a couple of nests this year. I saved some of the trimmed wood to create some wildlife habitats in the garden, and I’ve seen an increase in the number of solitary bees this year, which has been wonderful, particularly the Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa sonorina). They’re quite large, and they make me a little jittery, but they’re harmless, really, and they’ve been pollinating everything so wonderfully. Despite the heat, the Yellow Bells of Tecoma, one of my favorite desert shrubs (it’s quite unusual in that it looks quite ordinary for being a desert native plant),  has bloomed better than ever. 

Yellow Bells of Tecoma
A little messy because of the recent windstorm, but very happy regardless.

Last fall, I collected a dozen or so acorns and planted them. I was concerned that with the warm weather, they would not germinate, but despite fewer frosts, our overnight lows were still very cold, so I have 6 wonderful oak trees. I did have 9, but I lost 1 to a leaf-cutter bee and 2 to a bad windstorm. Still, a successful project. 

My native corn is well underway, with the tallest plants almost reaching 2 feet. They should mature just before the worst of the summer heat starts, allowing me to harvest, and then plant again in August for a second crop.

Oak tree sapling
Growing fast! This oak sapling is growing almost an inch a month, which is excellent. It’s nearly time to move up a size in pots.

I’ve been struggling with pocket gophers this year; it feels like an army of them moved in. I spent two weeks installing hardware cloth to protect the plants. They managed to take out three shrubs, four ornamental flowering plants, and three dozen seedlings before I persuaded them to relocate to the outskirts of the yard, where I don’t mind them working through the weeds around the trees.

Right now, I also have pepper, cucumber, beetroot, and radish seedlings ready to transplant. The temperature swings over the past month have made hardening off difficult, and the cardinals have been rather peckish as well. Still, I have a healthy number of plants ready to go.

Dead mesquite log in a garden
This log is home to three insects this year. Some in the garden have a few dozen holes.

It’s going to be a busy year, I think—but I’m looking forward to it.