Friday, October 9, 2015

The Wild Tree: October

Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
I went out to look at the wild Palo Verde tree today for the Tree Following meme.  My little cluster of Parkinsonia florida is looking very treelike at present.  It is fully leaved with branches brushing the October sky...
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
...not to mention a surprising little flush of its yellow blooms, mostly high up in the canopy.
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
The bark, always a lovely green, has a very nice sheen and particularly rich colour now as well.
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
The whole look of the tree says more than words about the nature of autumn in the desert: it is very like spring in the temperate zones.  This is when plants begin to revive after the most stressful season, the new leaves come out and blossoming begins again, though Parkinsonia florida's main bloom season is unquestionably April.

Many tiny leaves...
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
...once more veil the shapely green trunks.
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree, Palo Verde
While I was in the vicinity, I looked around a little more.  A bird (still unidentified) in the nearby Lycium had caught my attention so I took a closer look.  I found a nest -- empty, I think, now, though I haven't figured out nesting seasons here.
I really do not know where the builder found the plastic, but I know precisely where the hairs came from because our horses live just the other side of the wall.  I'm happy to know some of those carefully combed tail hairs helped build a nest!

And just in front of the Palo Verdes is a stand of wild grasses.  
desert grass, wild grasses, amy myers photography
I love them; I don't know what kind of grass they are, but I love the graceful stems and the rather ornamental flowering heads.
wild grasses, desert grass, Sonoran desert, amy myers photography
So there is a quick look at the wild tree for Lucy's meme at Loose and Leafy, where there is quite a selection of interesting trees to read about.
Parkinsonia florida, small sunny garden, amy myers photography, desert tree
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 91 F (33 C)/Low: 63 F (17 C)

2 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful tree! And it did feel a little spring-ish for a few days. But now, we've got another heatwave - it was over 95F before noon today.

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    1. It's heated back up here too, Kris... too bad - still waiting for autumn, let alone winter! The plants are happier though - I think the few cooler days chirked them up ;-)

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