Springtime on the Rio Grande
Flowers and Birds, Orilla Verde. The remarkable bloom continues. Kathy and I walked around Orilla Verde Recreation Area (Rio Grande del Norte National Monument) for a while a couple of days ago, to see what was new. As for the cacti: the green and claret cup hedgehogs can still be found in the shadier spots, the yucca are running riot and the prickly pear is starting up.
As for other plants, we saw indian paintbrush, mariposa lily, cliff fendler bush (has been blooming for a month or more), virginia creeper vine, globemallow, apache plume (already gone to seed i.e. pink plumes), blazing star and a variety of yellow composites.
Two birds were singing their heads off: the Spotted towhee is here year-round and the Western kingbird has arrived in good numbers.
It’s still Spring, and there is lots more to come! The next cactus to bloom will be the cholla, with its red-violet flowers. It is a tall-standing cactus and will make itself noticed all along the river. What else? Well … as we begin to see warmer days, the snowmelt will accelerate, and the river will rise. How much will it rise? I’m betting that, at the very least, it will double from the 2000 cfs we now have. When will it peak? I’m betting (again) that it will peak between June 15 and June 30, which is actually two weeks later than usual. Why is this? Because we have had a very chilly Spring here in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. So, it won’t be long now, and we are bringing out our big 4-thwart boats in anticipation of that 4000 or more cfs run-off. Stay tuned!
Flowers and Birds, Orilla Verde.
