Saturday May 29th, 2010

Quite a nice day @ Dreamy Draw today. About 95 today, sunny with only a little gusty wind. A nice day for a run! I did about 50 minutes today. Pretty much nothing is in bloom now! To be expected though in late May. The bougainvillea of course is still in bloom, it likes the summer heat! But all the wildflowers, the sunflower shrubs and the blooming cacti are no longer in bloom, including the bottle brush tree I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. When I ran by it today I noticed the red blooms were all gone. What a difference a couple of weeks makes around here! Just 2 weeks ago it was in full bloom with bees and hummingbirds buzzing all around it. Now, done!

**The photo is of some grasses that were very pretty back in April when I took this photo. They are turning yellow now.

Saturday May 15th, 2010

A hot weekend in Phoenix - summer has definitely arrived. Sunday reached 98 degrees, but we still haven't had our first 100 degree day yet, though they are forecasting it will happen next week. Usually happens mid to late May. I put in about an hour run/walk today staying on the main concrete path.


Pretty much all the wildflowers and even the sunflowers shrubs have died now from all the summer heat, though some trees like the red bottle brush are in full bloom. There aren't any bottle brush on the preserve, but on the main concrete path there is a nice one that is near the pedestrian overpass that connects to the high school on the other side of Hwy 51. Actually there's a lot of bouganavilla in that area that is in full boom as well. Very pretty over there right now, and a good place to see hummingbirds not only because of the bottle brush tree but there are hummingbird feeders there as well.

**The photo is of a map of the Dreamy Draw hiking area. You can find this map at the trail head that is just about 50 feet to the right of the toilets on the main concrete path.

Saturday May 8th, 2010

Summer has arrived! In the mid 90's all this week, including today. It was a beautiful day with a deep blue sky (not often seen in Phoenix w/all the air pollution!) and white clouds. May & June are my favorite months in Phoenix because the temps are in the 90's - low 100's so it's hot but not too hot yet. At this time of year @ Dreamy Draw, if you hit the trails in the mid-afternoon there is scarcely anyone around, only a handful of mountain bikers, cyclists, and runners/hikers. That was the case today, too. Nice!

I saw my first Roadrunner of the year this afternoon, in one of the residential neighborhoods bordering part of the park - on the main concrete path just east of the walking bridge that runs across the 51 north. A few Cottontails were out & about as well. Nice day!

**I took this photo a few weeks ago in April. This cactus species blooms each April for only a few weeks, but it's a beautiful flower.

Sunday May 9th: I went for another hour run today. Today was basically a repeat of yesterday weather-wise with more beautiful blue skies and some white clouds. Yesterday's sky was a little bluer and the white clouds a little puffier, but still very nice today! Haha....

Saw a warbler or vireo species (lime green colored w/yellow flanks) on the main concrete path, just east of the ramadas, before you get to the trailhead on the right. Didn't get a close enough look to ID it definitively .